NAME

       tetris — the game of tetris

SYNOPSIS

       tetris [-ps] [-k keys] [-l level]

DESCRIPTION

       The  tetris command runs display-based game which must be played on a CRT terminal.  The object is to fit
       the shapes together forming complete rows, which then vanish.  When the shapes fill up to  the  top,  the
       game ends.  You can optionally select a level of play, or custom-select control keys.

       The default level of play is 2.

       The default control keys are as follows:

             j          move left
             k          rotate 1/4 turn counterclockwise
             l          move right
             ⟨space⟩    drop
             p          pause
             q          quit

       The options are as follows:

       -k      The default control keys can be changed using the -k option.  The keys argument must have the six
               keys in order, and, remember to quote any space or tab characters from the shell.  For example:

                     tetris -l 2 -k 'jkl pq'

               will  play  the  default  games, i.e. level 2 and with the default control keys.  The current key
               settings are displayed at the bottom of the screen during play.

       -l      Select a level of play.

       -s      Display the top scores.

       -p      Switch on previewing of the shape that will appear next.

PLAY

       At the start of the game, a shape will appear at the top of the screen, falling one  square  at  a  time.
       The  speed  at which it falls is determined directly by the level: if you select level 2, the blocks will
       fall twice per second; at level 9, they fall 9 times per second.  (As the game goes on, things speed  up,
       no  matter  what  your  initial  selection.)   When this shape “touches down” on the bottom of the field,
       another will appear at the top.

       You can move shapes to the left or right, rotate them counterclockwise, or drop them  to  the  bottom  by
       pressing  the  appropriate  keys.   As  you  fit them together, completed horizontal rows vanish, and any
       blocks above fall down to fill in.  When the blocks stack up to the top of the screen, the game is over.

SCORING

       You get one point for every block you fit into the stack, and one point for every  space  a  block  falls
       when  you  hit the drop key.  (Dropping the blocks is therefore a good way to increase your score.)  Your
       total score is the product of the level of play and your accumulated points --  200  points  on  level  3
       gives you a score of 600.  Each player gets at most one entry on any level, for a total of nine scores in
       the high scores file.  Players who no longer have accounts are limited to one score.  Also, scores over 5
       years  old  are expired.  The exception to these conditions is that the highest score on a given level is
       always kept, so that following generations can pay homage to those who have  wasted  serious  amounts  of
       time.

       The  score list is produced at the end of the game.  The printout includes each player's overall ranking,
       name, score, and how many points were scored on what level.  Scores which are  the  highest  on  a  given
       level are marked with asterisks “*”.

FILES

       /var/games/bsdgames/tetris-bsd.scores    high score file

BUGS

       The higher levels are unplayable without a fast terminal connection.

AUTHORS

       Adapted from a 1989 International Obfuscated C Code Contest winner by Chris Torek and Darren F. Provine.

       Manual adapted from the original entry written by Nancy L. Tinkham and Darren F. Provine.

       Code for previewing next shape added by Hubert Feyrer in 1999.

Debian                                            May 31, 1993                                         TETRIS(6)