DragonFly On-Line Manual Pages

TETRIS(6)                   DragonFly Games Manual                   TETRIS(6)

NAME
     tetris - the game of tetris

SYNOPSIS
     tetris [-cps] [-k keys] [-l level]

DESCRIPTION
     The tetris command runs a display-based game.  The object is to fit
     shapes together to form 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:

     -c      Classic tetris mode, in which shapes rotate clockwise and are
             drawn with "[]".

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

                   tetris -l 2 -k 'jkl pq'

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

     -l level
             Select a level of play.

     -p      Switch on previewing of the shape that will appear next.  This
             penalizes your score.

     -s      Display the top scores.

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/tetris.scores    high score file

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.

     Shape previewing code adapted from code by Hubert Feyrer.

BUGS
     The higher levels are unplayable without a fast terminal connection.

DragonFly 6.5-DEVELOPMENT        May 31, 1993        DragonFly 6.5-DEVELOPMENT