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Tetris

Manufacturer: Atari Games
Year: 1988
Class: Wide Release
Genre: Puzzle
Type: Videogame

Monitor:

Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Color

Conversion Class: JAMMA
Number of Simultaneous Players: 2
Maximum number of Players: 2
Gameplay: Competitive
Control Panel Layout: Multiple Player Ambidextrous
Controls:

Joystick: 3-way (down, left, right)
Buttons: 1 [Rotate]

Sound: Amplified Mono (one channel)

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Tetris Description

A puzzle game where seven different types of blocks continuously fall from above and you must arrange them to make horizontal rows of bricks. Completing any row causes those blocks to disappear and the rest above move downwards (completing four rows at once is called a Tetris). The blocks above gradually fall faster and the game is over when the screen fills up and blocks can no longer fall from the top.

Game Introduction

You must arrange bricks to form rows without the 'wall' getting too high, or it's game over. You can rotate bricks so that they fit into the wall and once a row is complete it will disappear, thus lowering the wall. Eliminated rows will lower the number of lines you need to complete a level. Bricks fall faster in the higher levels and sometimes there are already bricks in the field that block your path. Often, when you try to make a Tetris (four rows of lines that are removed at once), you end up waiting a long time for the long red brick (the only way of completing a Tetris). It is interesting to note that every brick is made up of exactly four blocks.

CAPS/VAPS Arcade Census

There are 6,862 members of the Classic Arcade Preservation Society / Video Arcade Preservation Society, 3,937 whom participate in our arcade census project of games owned, wanted, or for sale. Census data currently includes 64,459 machines (3,753 unique titles).

Very Common - There are 185 known instances of this machine owned by Tetris collectors. Of these, 30 of them are original dedicated machines, 43 of them are conversions in which game circuit boards (and possibly cabinet graphics) have been placed in (and on) another game cabinet, and 112 of them are only circuit boards which a collector could put into a generic case if desired.

This game ranks a 82 on a scale out of 100 (100 = most commonly seen, 1=least common) in popularity based on census ownership records.

Wanted - There are 5 VAPS members currently looking for Tetris.

This game ranks a 13 on a scale out of 100 (100 = most commonly seen, 1=least common) in popularity based on census want list records.

For Sale - There are 8 VAPS members with Tetris machines for sale. There are 8 VAPS members with extra Tetris circuit boards for sale. VAPS members are totally independent of VAPS and the International Arcade Museum, and we are unable to recommend, endorce, or guarantee any person or company selling games or game parts.

Rarity is NOT necessarily an indication of value. [More Information]

Technical

The game uses a 6502 microprocessor and two Atari Pokey sound chips. Game settings and the top six high scores are saved in EEROM (Electrically Erasable ROM). The game only uses font-mapped graphics; there are no sprite graphics.

Trivia

The original designer is a Russian programmer called Alexey Pazhitnov, which is why the artwork has Russian buildings and dancers.

Manuals

Kit Installation Instructions 15 Pages, 1796 KB File.

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eBay Listings

Click to search eBay for Tetris Videogame machines and related items.

Click to search eBay for machines and parts made by Atari Games.

Check out the IAM/KLOV report of the hottest coin-op machines on eBay, powered by Ace.com.

Photo contributed by: teedub

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