How do you perform a web search to determine whether your idea is novel?

[amichail]

I've come up with a potentially novel Tetris variant. How would I perform a web search to determine if it is really novel?

Given the number of Tetris variants around, one might expect this to be difficult -- especially since my idea is quite close to a certain class of variants.

Perhaps a new kind of search engine is required?

[mahmud]

The first google hit for "list of tetris variants" is Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Tetris_variants

You scroll down that list and try as many variants as possible. Maybe even keep a checklist of ones you have seen and a journal recording your findings. Basic research, you might even become an expert on Tetris; it's very easy to become an expert on something that you love, btw ;-)

[unalone]

If you don't know, other people don't know either, and that means you have a potential market of people.

Research is always hard. Nothing exists to tell you exactly what you want to know because your idea is to some degree unique, and the rule of unique is it can't be handled by blanket rule.

Hacker News exists as a sort of search engine, though, because you're utilizing a bunch of people to do your work for you. Reddit works the same way, and I take advantage of that a lot.