
Are There Any Tetris Games for Mac? - zdw
https://daringfireball.net/linked/2018/03/28/tetris-mac
======
patsall
Just run "M-x tetris" in emacs. Works everywhere.

~~~
bitwize
Eventually that will go the way of 'yow.lines'.

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hprotagonist
This is only mildy related, but i've always enjoyed Hateris
[https://qntm.org/hatetris](https://qntm.org/hatetris)

No gravity, but you get the least-optimal piece every turn.

~~~
scrumper
Agh that was awful, relentless, and bleak. Thanks for sharing.

~~~
Skunkleton
I managed to get a line to disappear. I feel like a winner.

~~~
scrumper
You are! My top score in 10m of play: one line. One.

~~~
Skunkleton
Hey! We are winners together! A happy day for all.

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russellbeattie
How about, actual Tetris? [https://tetris.com/play-
tetris/](https://tetris.com/play-tetris/) (To turn it into a "Mac app", just
wrap it in Electron.)

Tetris online games:
[http://www.tetrisfriends.com/](http://www.tetrisfriends.com/)

Nullpomino:
[https://github.com/nullpomino/nullpomino](https://github.com/nullpomino/nullpomino)

Cultris: [http://gewaltig.net/](http://gewaltig.net/)

I have to say, it is sort of silly that the Tetris company doesn't take a bit
of effort and port one of their current Steam, iOS, Switch or XBox games to
Mac. I can't imagine that it wouldn't be profitable for them.

~~~
simonlc
TTC doesn't make any games, they just license Tetris to companies for certain
platforms and regions. The latest PC release was a port of a game originally
released in 2014, the PC port being released only last year.

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AndrewKemendo
I've played Tetris everyday for the past 15 years, so I feel John's anxiety on
this.

The solution is simple though:

\- NES emulator for Mac: [https://openemu.org/](https://openemu.org/)

\- Tetris ROM:
[https://www.emuparadise.me/Nintendo_Entertainment_System_ROM...](https://www.emuparadise.me/Nintendo_Entertainment_System_ROMs/Tetris_\(USA\)/57251)

However beware, if you go deep enough down the Tetris rabbit hole then you'll
inevitably find yourself buying an original NES and getting a CRT just to play
Tetris as God (Alexey Pajitnov) intended.

Alternatively you can buy a USB NES Controller and play with that instead of
buying the whole thing.

~~~
simonlc
They also make NES to USB adapters if you happen to have a controller already.

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rocky1138
Why not just install a Game Boy emulator and play the (arguably) best version
of Tetris? Heck, I think there are web-based JavaScript Game Boy emulators out
there.

~~~
mathiasben
yeah! here ya go -
[https://jsnes.org/run/Tetris%20(U)%20](https://jsnes.org/run/Tetris%20\(U\)%20)[!].nes

~~~
kolpa
NES tetris is not best Nintendo tetris

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borski
I used to play Tetrinet, a long time ago, with all of my friends. It was
absolutely brilliant.

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dbg31415
Anyone else play TetriNET?

I honestly feel like that game mede people smarter, faster... angrier. Ha.

~~~
Fnoord
Played it back in the days, loved it. There was even a unofficial Linux
version I found on Freshmeat.

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Tijdreiziger
The linked article is the really interesting gem here.

"The Tragic Story Behind The Man Who Helped Create Tetris"
[http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2018/03/feature_the_tragic_...](http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2018/03/feature_the_tragic_story_behind_the_man_who_helped_create_tetris)

~~~
codazoda
TLDR (SPOILERS);

He was the co creator and him and the main creator couldn't make money from
the title because it was made in Russia on work equipment. They later moved to
the US and started a new company. The main creator later got ownership of the
Tetris title when the copyright expired and so he started a company with it.
The co-creator stayed at the other company, which was eventually floundering.
He used a knife and hammer to kill his wife, 12-year old son, then himself.
Two weeks later the floundering company was offered an influx of money.

~~~
exikyut
Wow. :(

That's kind of bizarrely motivational, in a weird sort of way.

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jonstaab
Here's[0] a game I wrote a while back to learn Elm; it's a mashup of Tetris
and Boggle. It's web, but I _think_ it should run on OSX (use full-screen for
the best experience).

[0] [https://jstaab.itch.io/tetroggle](https://jstaab.itch.io/tetroggle)

Edit: linked to the actual game

~~~
exikyut
Bug report: wait for a 4-block line, move it to the far right, and hit Up to
rotate. The game first gets the piece stuck then decides that's where the
piece is going to sit.

Report 2: the arrow keys control the game _and_ scroll the page.

Edit: My brain isn't fast enough for this D:

Anti-kudos for making pause hide the grid, so I can't spend time staring at it
GRR :P

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slantyyz
Back in the old days of the Mac, I used to play what I believe to be an
"official" Tetris [1] on a Macintosh SE.

Odd that there isn't an official one on Mac today given how just about every
other platform has a version.

[1]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=34&v=2wnhPS5Q78E](https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=34&v=2wnhPS5Q78E)

~~~
icodestuff
Ah, Spectrum Holobyte. Such a great version of Tetris. Sadly it doesn't run
under SheepShaver (hangs SheepShaver), and the music, arguably the most unique
part of that version, didn't work under Classic. I downloaded WAVs of it a
while back and used them as various ringtones for a long time. Level 2 in
particular (Volga Boatman) was really good.

------
robertpelloni
Not Tetris but maybe relevant (my game): [https://bobsgame.itch.io/bobs-game-
puzzle-game](https://bobsgame.itch.io/bobs-game-puzzle-game)

Source:
[https://github.com/bobsgame/bobsgame](https://github.com/bobsgame/bobsgame)

------
sp332
133 results, no installation necessary :)
[https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary?and%5B%5D=tetris](https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary?and%5B%5D=tetris)

Note one result about halfway down has tiny blocky naked women, if your
situation makes that inappropriate.

------
bitwize
All falling tetromino games not officially endorsed by The Tetris Company
infringe on TTC's copyrights and trademarks. Tetris is perhaps one of the
world's most valuable software IPs and TTC protects it aggressively. There
have been several court cases on this, all ruled in TTC's favor.

Don't clone Tetris, kids.

~~~
simonlc
The sole purpose of TTC seems to be licensing and protecting Tetris. They
don't make any games, but recently have started selling merch online.

There is no copyright on Tetris, the lawsuits were based on "trade dress",
which is silly, since nearly every Tetris game looks different.

I actually have my own clone online, and so far haven't heard a peep from TTC.
_knocks on wood_ I think maybe it's because they've relaxed a bit in that
area, but I could be wrong. You can see it here if you like:
[https://simon.lc/tetr.js/](https://simon.lc/tetr.js/)

~~~
bitwize
The developers of the clone Mino had to pull their game because it was
considered "substantially similar" for copyright purposes. In general, game
clones that resemble the original, even if they use all-original assets, are
potentially infringing; see _Atari v. Phillips_. TTC asserts copyright over
all Tetris-type games, and also has trademarks on the suffix _-tris_ , the
Russian folk song Korobeiniki when used in a video game, and the shapes of the
tetrominoes themselves. Maybe someone can get a court ruling on whether the
abstract concept of a tetromino game is copyrightable (pray it doesn't go
before the CAFC), or get the vague trademarks overturned, but most unlicensed
clone makers are wisely unwilling to die on the Tetris-clone hill.

~~~
simonlc
Do you have a source for the song being used is part of the trade dress?

> Tetris Holding argues that Mino infringed the following copyrightable
> elements:

> \- Seven Tetrimino playing pieces made up of four equally-sized square
> joined at their sides;

> \- The visual delineation of individual blocks that comprise each Tetrimino
> piece and the display of their borders;

> \- The bright, distinct colors used for each of the Tetrimino pieces;

> \- A tall, rectangular playfield (or matrix), 10 blocks wide and 20 blocks
> tall;

> \- The appearance of Tetriminos moving from the top of the playfield to its
> bottom;

> \- The way the Tetrimino pieces appear to move and rotate in the playfield;

> \- The small display near the playfield that shows the next playing piece to
> appear in the playfield;

> \- The particular starting orientation of the Tetriminos, both at the top of
> the screen and as shown in the "next piece" display;

> \- The display of a "shadow" piece beneath the Tetriminos as they fall;

> \- The color change when the Tetriminos enter lock-down mode;

> \- When a horizontal line fills across the playfield with blocks, the line
> disappears, and the remaining pieces appear to consolidate downward;

> \- The appearance of individual blocks automatically filling in the
> playfield from the bottom to the top when the game is over;

> \- The display of "garbage lines" with at least one missing block in random
> order; and

> \- The screen layout in multiplayer versions with the player's matrix
> appearing most prominently on the screen and the opponents' matrixes
> appearing smaller than the player's matrix and to the side of the player's
> matrix.

It's hilarious that they were able to copyright tetr __O __minos (a
mathematical name) and call them Tetr __i __minos(tm).

I honestly think they have greatly relaxed trying to take down clones as long
as they are not distributed on any platform like Steam or an app store. There
are plenty of clones which copy certain versions of Tetris identically and TTC
doesn't seem to care. Games like Tricky Towers are able to go around the trade
dress, but sadly Spaera had to make changes.

It's very sad that the spirit of the game is a homebrew personal project that
was freely distributed became one of the most controlled games ever. All they
do now is make money off the name while release garbage. So people make their
own games, not to steal from them, just because their games are so shit and
there's a market who wants a better game.

~~~
bitwize
[http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=77037539&caseType=SERIAL_N...](http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=77037539&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch)

------
daredoes
I see a lot of people here saying something like "Not Tetris, but", BUT, what
about "Not Tetris 2"? Its like tetris, but not.
[http://stabyourself.net/nottetris2/](http://stabyourself.net/nottetris2/)

------
v64
nullpomino[1] gets the job done for me, contains all of the advanced modes
you'd expect from a serious tetris app

[https://github.com/nullpomino/nullpomino](https://github.com/nullpomino/nullpomino)

~~~
PetitPrince
Most notably, Nullpomino is the only non web Mac app that offers an
interpretation of the Tetris the Grand Master ruleset, which is in my opinion
the most interesting variation of Tetris worthy of attention in single player.

~~~
simonlc
There are a few open source projects which also have it and compile on macOS.
There was a Texmaster build too, but no one seems to have an archive.

------
sparrish
Not Tetris but similar and so fun and addictive - Torus:
[https://www.benjoffe.com/code/games/torus](https://www.benjoffe.com/code/games/torus)
Play garbage mode...

------
acetoxy

      brew install netris

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waterfowl
Started reading with intent of recommending grey market quinn.

It is a weird deficiency, finding (free or not)tetris without some weird
social integration or online play etc.

I guess emulators fall into the same grey market spot.

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gwillz
[http://www.victornils.net/tetris/](http://www.victornils.net/tetris/)

Literally the first thing I install on a fresh box.

------
fit2rule

        $ brew install vitetris
        $ brew install caskroom/cask/not-tetris
    

Those are tetris'y enough for me.

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jumelles
There used to be Quinn, way back when...

~~~
spike021
This was mentioned in the article and the problem is the developer got a cease
and desist order, so they stopped working on it, and now it's only available
from shady sites.

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Avshalom
TIL ltris doesn't have a OSX download.

but to the greater point of the article, this's just weird.

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TheJoYo
There's no tetris on mac except for all of the tetris on mac.

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ganlub
Any recommendations for Android?

