Tetris Solid

Tetris is a tetromino puzzle video game made by Alexey Pajitnov. The game launched back in 1985. Since then the game has gained world popularity throughout many decades. Many large events are still being held till this day. CTWC, Guinness world records, and its 40th anniversary have already been held this January. This game is more than nostalgia it’s evolutionary. 

Bringing a digital game to the physical world using Lego bricks was an exciting experience yet also a tedious challenge. Before the development of this Tetris build I knew the seven brick built tetromino pieces could not be eliminated when a horizontal row was aligned. Because of these limitations the rules of the game had to be changed. Thus creating a new game called Tetris Solid.

Even though this is a new game, majority of the rules are not so different from the original Tetris. The goal is simple. aim for the highest score on the leaderboard. The player must stack as many shapes on the grid while maintaining a solid structure. That means the player has to avoid leaving any gaps between the tetromino shapes on the matrix grid. Encountering a gap will cause the player to finish the game. When the game is finished the player will select 1 of 6 colored round plates to make their mark on the leaderboard before clearing out the grid. 

The game works through six functions. 

The Play Space is a physical sliding mechanism that decides which shapes the player will select from the tetromino bin. Next and Hold are the primary functions of this game. 

The Hold allows the player to carefully strategize where the selected tetromino shape will land on the matrix grid. This decision will effect the outcome of the game. 

The Next gives the player an advantage to even out the play field. This allows the player to view an upcoming shape. The player can use this knowledge to either strategize the next move or to second guess the tetromino shape that is currently about to be dropped on the grid. 

There are a total of seven tetromino shapes. I, O, T, J, L, S, and Z. Each tetromino shapes is supported by four ball joints. These ball joints allows the player to rotate the shape to any four desired angles before dropping the shape into either ten vertical slots on the matrix grid.

The Leaderboard is a large board displaying the rankings of all six players. Six colored round plates identifies each player on the board.

The Matrix Grid is a grid that consists of ten vertical slots and sixteen horizontal rows that connect to the leaderboard. To play the game the tetromino shapes will be dropped down those ten slots. 

This bin holds forty-two tetromino shapes. The bin also supports as a Reset function when all the shapes are being dropped. 

The Reset is a door hinge function is supported by four blue rubber bands. Thus effortlessly supporting the weight of a total of forty-two tetromino shapes. When the game is finished the player will press down the red “ reset “ lever on the left side of the grid that will activate the hinge mechanism. Dropping all shapes back into the tetromino bin.

As a nod to Tetris 40th Anniversary, I decided to include an Additional build for this set. This small build is Alexey Pajitnov‘s Office. This build can be accessed inside a hidden compartment in the Tetris set. 

Help me make this set more than an idea. Let’s make it a reality!