best tetris?

January 10, 2006 10:21 PM

what's the best tetris out there? please recommend me some nice tetris games

i play tetris daily and tried many tetris games and they all "feel wrong"

posted by suni to sports, hobbies, & recreation (43 comments total)

Surprisingly hard to find. I have looked too and couldn't find anything I felt really happy with. I'd pay quite a lot of money for a clone of the original that ran properly in OS X (with the original music, of course!)

I wonder who has the rights to the original now?

I have Tetris Worlds for the PS2 which my 6-year old likes a lot but it's not even close. All the OS X clones I've tried have sucked, more or less.
posted by unSane at 10:25 PM on January 10, 2006

Microsoft's version of Tetris that came with Windows Entertainment Pack is a pretty definitive version. It's not readily available legally, but if you google "bowep.zip" you can find it.
posted by Sxyzzx at 10:26 PM on January 10, 2006

They just announced a new tetris coming out for the nintendo DS... multiplayer up to 10 players (somehow)... interesting!
posted by joshgray at 10:32 PM on January 10, 2006

Tetrinet! Tetrinet2!
posted by ori at 10:33 PM on January 10, 2006

Tetripz - Tetris with progressive visual distortion.
posted by The White Hat at 10:40 PM on January 10, 2006

I think the definitive version is definitely the GameBoy version, as it sparked the whole Tetris phenomenon stateside (people would buy GameBoy for Tetris itself). According to wikipedia, the Game Boy version is slightly more difficult because of its field of 10 columns and 18 rows, two less rows than the Nintendo versions. It is supposedly a bit faster as well.

While I prefer the GameBoy version, I think the best Tetris clone is the old DOS game, Netris (not to be confused with the online Tetris clone of the same name). Netris had a few different blocks in addition to the normal shapes, including:

* A 1x1 bomb that destroys one 1x1 square.
* A 2x2 bomb that destroys at most a 3x3 square area.
* A 1x1 machine gun that fires bullets straight down upon pressing the space bar, each of which destroys one 1x1 square.
* A 1x1 masher that pushes down an entire column so that there are no empty spaces.
* A 2x1 inverter that, when fired, changes the state of every square below it (empty spaces to blocks and vice versa).

The last two allow you to get "Netrises," or high-scoring moves that clear more than 4 lines at a time. Anyway, this might all be in vain because I can't find a good link to the game, which is quite old. I remember some guy from Stanford made it.
posted by themadjuggler at 10:45 PM on January 10, 2006

I always liked tetris on the original Nintendo. You can download an emulator and rom from various places.

I know what you mean about different versions feeling "wrong." I think it has something to do with the version you played first... I never do as well on other tetris isotopes.
posted by logicpunk at 10:48 PM on January 10, 2006

Scratch that, I found it!

Netris!
posted by themadjuggler at 11:02 PM on January 10, 2006

tetripz was fun for a few minutes
i wasn't aware of nes tetris, gonna try it later today : )
gameboy tetris feels awful, tried it before i made this thread (it's so much better in my glorified memories of it)
the ms bowep version sadly doesn't want to run on my windows puter
netris has stupid default keys (4 and 6 for moving, 2 for dropping, that's impossible) and it's fullscreen

hope there will be more recommendations : )
posted by suni at 12:52 AM on January 11, 2006

I'm a gameboy tetris addict - out of curiosity, what do you play it on? I like it on the original and the pocket (the monochrome one that takes 2xAAA) but it feels wrong on the GBA, SP and Color (especially the Color, the timing feels off). I was pretty bummed that the micro doesn't do original gameboy cartridges.

On a less obsessive note, look for qtris - I remember it being quite reasonable. I think the problem I've had with every clone is that the sliding never feels as good as on the gameboy original.
posted by ny_scotsman at 4:06 AM on January 11, 2006

Blockout!
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 4:31 AM on January 11, 2006

I remember playing what I think was called Super Tetris in the early nineties on a Windows 3.1 machine. It was standard Tetris plus the addition of bombs. After each level you'd have to answer a trivia question that was answered in the manual (to keep you from giving away your disks, I guess). That will always be the definitive Tetris for me. I'd love to find it again.
posted by owen at 4:37 AM on January 11, 2006

If you're on Linux or OS X, you could try Bastard Tetris. A description?

Well Tetris(R) probably isn't evil, but Bastet certainly is. >:-) Bastet stands for "bastard tetris", and is a simple ncurses-based Tetris(R) clone for Linux. Unlike normal Tetris(R), however, Bastet does not choose your next brick at random. Instead, Bastet uses a special algorithm designed to choose the worst brick possible. As you can imagine, playing Bastet can be a very frustrating experience!

posted by Succa at 4:52 AM on January 11, 2006

This list of around 20 Tetris game versions includes one called Super Tetris. As DOS games they are of the right era, and many should run on under XP (likely with the need for a slowdown utility) or OS X amongst other OS's using DOSBox, or DOSEMU for Linux, or with a FreeDOS boot. But I don't think what is listed is the same Super Tetris, since there is no mention of bombs in the README.

However, there are a couple other Tetris versions listed on the page which have bombs in them, if that's your thing. A couple have rave reviews, though one might keep in mind the original platform.
posted by mdevore at 5:03 AM on January 11, 2006

suni,
I've you're going to get an NES emulator, make sure you get Tengen Tetris. It's the holy grail of Tetris games.
posted by Otis at 6:05 AM on January 11, 2006

I know it's been covered, but to throw in my two cents, I have never found a better one than the GameBoy Tetris. Running on an emulator it feels great (the actual units themselves are way too cumbersome to use now). It has just 'something' that makes it great compared to all the other knock-offs.
posted by wackybrit at 6:05 AM on January 11, 2006

(I'd suspect, in my case, it might be the music, and the lack of gimmicks..)
posted by wackybrit at 6:05 AM on January 11, 2006

Also, if you want to try out the arcade versions of Tetris, check out MAME.
posted by Otis at 6:08 AM on January 11, 2006

I've you're going to get an NES emulator, make sure you get Tengen Tetris. It's the holy grail of Tetris games.

Actually, if we're picking nits, the true "holy grail" Tetris is the Japanese MegaDrive (Genesis) version - it was developed alongside Sega's System-16 arcade version, but never reached shelves after legal wranglings gave Nintendo exclusive console rights.
Something like 10 copies are known to have escaped into collector's hands, and have changed hands in the past in the $3000-$4000 range.

And personally speaking, I'd pick the GameBoy Color update, Tetris DX as being the finest incarnation of Tetris.
posted by anagrama at 6:19 AM on January 11, 2006

"The New Tetris" for Nintendo 64 is incredibly addictive, especially if you have someone to play with that is of a similar skill level. I estimate that it's eaten about a half a year of my life so far.
posted by penchant at 6:21 AM on January 11, 2006

The only good Tetris is the original Mirrorsoft C64 version. Get out an emulator -- those are readily available -- and play it.

The old CGA version for DOS is OK, too, but it's just the C64 version with crappier graphics.
posted by majick at 6:45 AM on January 11, 2006

The appeal of the N64 New Tetris is that it keeps track of the total number of lines you've cleared over the life of the cartridge, unlocking backgrounds and music when you reach certain milestones (some of them are in six figures, if I recall correctly).

I remember the C64 Tetris as well, primarily for its really nice music.

I haven't played Blockout in years--thanks for reminding me of it, C_D. That game was genius. (I used to play it on the Commodore 64, which got so laggy at very high difficulty levels that you had to key in all the moves to get the piece into its proper place as soon as it appeared and watch it drop automatically--hard, hard, hard).

Also, if we can talk about Tetris variants--Tetrisphere and Wetrix for the N64 are both excellent. Wetrix has a PC version (which I've linked here) that I was unaware of until I Googled the word just now--I got more hooked on that than I ever did Tetris, and figuring out advanced strategies ate up one of my summers in grad school.
posted by Prospero at 7:18 AM on January 11, 2006

My New Tetris partner also swears by Tetris Attack for the original NES. From what I understand it was somewhat obscure (I've never played it) and has a very small but very loyal following.
posted by penchant at 7:27 AM on January 11, 2006

Acid Tetris. Not for gameplay (though it is fine), but for the relaxing ambient soundtrack and the cheesy smily face that coos when you eliminate lines.
posted by googly at 7:27 AM on January 11, 2006

Civil_Disobedient - thank you so much. Blockout was my favorite game on my old IBM. THANK YOU.
posted by agregoli at 7:29 AM on January 11, 2006

Allow me to blow your minds, but there's actually a tabletop (i.e. board) game called Blokus that replicates much of the fun of Tetris. You wouldn't think it could be so, but it is. Whereas Tetris' pieces are every shape you can make with four squares (the 4x1 line, the 2x2 square, a T, an L, an S), Blokus gives you one of every permutation possible with one, two, three, four and five squares, for a total of 21 pieces (I think). Players take turns placing these pieces onto a square board, with the simple rule that each player's pieces must touch on corners but cannot touch on edges. Definitely distinct from Tetris, but I can feel the same part of my brain being stimulated. The regular version is designed for four players, and the travel version is designed for two. Great game.

I'm told that Tetris Worlds for the Gamecube is about as bad as Tetris can get, FWIW.
posted by blueshammer at 7:33 AM on January 11, 2006

Being a Tetris Super-Freak (I often used to play 7-10 hours straight) I have to say that nothing beats Tetris on NES. The closest approximation is LavaSoft's Tetris on my old cell phone.

I am intriuged by the idea of competitive Tetris on the DS, I've long wanted to have a Tetris Tourney. Exciting.
posted by thefinned1 at 7:50 AM on January 11, 2006

Bah! The only true Tetris is played on the side of a building.

My ancient copy of the Mac Tetris desk accessory (remember DAs?) from Spectrum Holobyte still runs fine under Classic. No music, though.
posted by staggernation at 7:53 AM on January 11, 2006

There was a fantastic version of Tetris I played on a Windows 3.1 when I was younger, with the theme of Glinka's "Ruslan and Ludmila". The background music was MIDI files from the opera and the board backgrounds were gorgeous (for the time) illustrations of the story. Alas, I cannot remember the title!
posted by schroedinger at 8:01 AM on January 11, 2006

(4 and 6 for moving, 2 for dropping, that's impossible)

Did you try using the number pad?

Also--the original GameBoy version is readily playable on a GameBoy Advance SP.

I don't think there's a best/canonical/definitive Tetris. My personal fave is probably Tetris Worlds (GC, PS2, Xbox, etc.), for the variety of extra modes. I'm sure that will change, however, when Tetris DS comes out.
posted by box at 8:10 AM on January 11, 2006

Surely you're using Firefox, and can install the Blockfall extension. Free, easy, straightforward Tetris. And all y'all with your links have just eaten up my day, thankyouverymuch.
posted by theora55 at 8:30 AM on January 11, 2006

After searching the world eight times over for a good version of Tetris for GBA, PS2, and Gamecube (Tetris Worlds sucks ass), I settled on Big Screen Handheld Tetris, which you can probably find at like Target; it's inexpensive ($20?) and features the theme song you know and love from the original Gameboy version. It was the least expensive and most popular gift I gave this year.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 8:43 AM on January 11, 2006

Personally, my favourite version (err.. spinoff) of Tetris was Welltris.
posted by purephase at 8:45 AM on January 11, 2006

penchant: Tetris Attack was originally for the Super NES. It's also known as Panel de Pon. Has nothing to do with Tetris itself - Nintendo just stole the name for the North American version.

And my vote for best Tetris ever is Tengen Tetris. I usually play it once a day on my commuter train ride using my GBA SP and PocketNES emulator.
posted by chuma at 8:46 AM on January 11, 2006

There are a couple of boardgames becoming popular now that tend to remind people of Tetris. One is called Blokus and plays either 2 or 4 players well. The goal is to place all of your tetris-shaped pieces on the board connected only by their corners.

The other is Rumis and uses 3D versions of tetris-shaped pieces. The goal here is to again use all of your pieces and have the most visible from the top at the game end.
posted by Hubajube at 8:58 AM on January 11, 2006

Tetris from the Tetris & Dr. Mario game for SNES is my all time favorite Tetris. Pretty easy to find online for emulation on any computer.
posted by nickerbocker at 9:01 AM on January 11, 2006

My favorite version was Wesleyan Tetris (now unavailable, link goes nowhere useful). Each level had a new way to screw you -- for example, it would tell you what the next piece was going to be, and maybe 20% of the time it would lie.
Also it would make snarky comments on your play. "Nice slide!"

Chroniclogic's Triptych is a truly fascinating variant in which the blocks obey some physics, and rotate continuously rather than only in multiples of ninety degrees. Free demo for Windows, Mac, Linux. Truly, an excellent game.
posted by Aknaton at 10:10 AM on January 11, 2006

I second the recommendation for Tetrinet (and Tetrifast) and Tetrinet2, especially if you enjoy Tetris at an insanely high speed. However, Tetrinet2 also has been down for the last few months, and the OS X ports are horrendous.

In terms of feel, there's nothing that will be as satisifying as playing tetris in the arcade or on a console, but if you're looking at emulation, I recommend Tetris: The Grand Master on MAME.
posted by antiform at 10:41 AM on January 11, 2006

What makes a "good" tetris game? If I were to, say, program one in Flash, what special features would make it great?
posted by grumblebee at 11:13 AM on January 11, 2006

My friends and I had lots of fun with The Next Tetris on the Dreamcast. It's also available for the PlayStation and perhaps the PC. It's a great "screw your neighbor" two-player variant of Tetris where the pieces break apart... by color.
posted by xiojason at 11:30 AM on January 11, 2006

weeee, thanks for all the links : )
i'll happily check every single one out over the next days : )

grumblebee: a good tetris is defined by only a few obvious things and many things that can only be felt .. it's like wine
there's no features needed, just balance and behavior that keeps you happy for hours
posted by suni at 1:19 PM on January 11, 2006

"In terms of feel, there's nothing that will be as satisifying as playing tetris in the arcade or on a console, but if you're looking at emulation, I recommend Tetris: The Grand Master on MAME."

Blech. Arcade Tetris and console Tetris feel so very, very, very wrong. I've never seen an arcade Tetris that really captured the feel of the real thing.

If you don't want to monkey around with emulators, just download Spectrum Holobyte Tetris, which is as close to the real thing as you're going to get.
posted by majick at 4:08 PM on January 11, 2006

Eitris Eitris Eitris! Where by "Eit" they do mean evil. Against the computer or another player, the standard rules apply. But there are special squares on the board that, when eliminated, do some seriously good or awful things like switch the left/right keys, induce seizure-bot colors, turn your blocks upside down, and more. No other version of tetris can bring out so much hate!
posted by whatzit at 8:53 PM on February 12, 2006