Tetris Classic

Overview

Tetris Classic is a falling-block puzzle game developed by Sphere, Inc. and published by Spectrum HoloByte for PC (both DOS and Windows) in 1992.

The third Spectrum HoloByte adaptation of the classic puzzle game Tetris, Tetris Classic reworks the original game for modern computers at the time (with high-color VGA graphics and digitized sound) while adding new game modes similar to Super Tetris (including timed single-player and multiple types of multiplayer).

The game's theme, along with some of the "Tris" series standard Soviet branding, is based on the 19th century Russian poem Ruslan and Ludmila, with the illustrations depicting the story in the style of Russian lacquer art and the theme music based on the overture of the poem's opera adaptation. The game's manual helps re-tell this story, noting each of the game's illustrations.

It was sold alongside Wordtris and Super Tetris at the time, and was later included in the 1993 compilation Tetris Gold. It is notable for being the first Tetris game released after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and for being the last game in Spectrum HoloByte's "Tris" series.

Gameplay

Some player options that can be modified include the starting Level (from 1-10), the starting amount of garbage blocks per Level reset (none, 4 rows, 7 rows, 13 rows, and keeping the same board as the previous Level), the display of the Next Piece (which adds bonus score when disabled), and whether drops are "soft drops" (where pressing the drop button lowers the piece faster) or "hard drops" (where pressing the drop button lowers the piece to the floor).

Along with the scoring system from Spectrum HoloByte's original Tetris adaptation, the game includes an optional "Tetris Classic" scoring system, which adds bonus points for completing larger line clears.

For Competitive modes, players can enable a setting to have both players share the same piece queue.

Game Modes

• Single Player - Standard play on a 10×20 playfield, with a variety of timed options (Unlimited, 2 Minutes, 5 Minutes, 10 Minutes, and 15 Minutes).

• Cooperative - Both players share the same 16×20 playfield, difficulty level, and score.

• Competitive - Both players share the same 16×20 playfield and difficulty level, but have their own score.

• Dual Pit / Head-to-Head - Each player has their own 10×20 playfield, difficulty level, and score. Players can enable an option to have players send garbage rows to the bottom of the opposing playfield on 2+ line clears. Head to Head is the same thing, but for LAN and modem-based play.