Tetrominoes, occasionally known alternately as Tetrads, Blocks, or Tetriminoes, are the blocks used in every known Tetris game. They come in seven shapes, all of which can be rotated and then dropped. Tetrominoes all have an area of four squares. In certain Tetris games, the colors of them vary.
A tetromino, is a polyomino made of four square blocks. The seven one-sided tetrominoes are I, O, T, S, Z, J, and L.
The spelling "tetromino" is standard among mathematicians. The Tetris Company had preferred tetramino around 1999 and has used tetrimino since 2001.
The basic tetrominoes
Each tetromino has a letter name and several alternative names.
In most games other than Tetris for NES, Tetris & Dr. Mario, or black-and-white systems, each tetromino has a different color. However, before about 2001, these colors varied from product to product, making it difficult for people who play different games to discuss "the blue piece". Since then, the color schemes associated with SRS and TGM Rotation have dominated new games, and "the blue piece" is always J.
I
Other names include straight, stick, and long. This is the only tetromino that can clear four lines outside of cascade games.
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O
Other names include square and block.
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T
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S
Other names include inverse skew and right snake.
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Z
Other names include skew and left snake.
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J
Other names include gamma, inverse L, or left gun.
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L
Other names include right gun.
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Multimino
In The Next Tetris, Sticky mode of Tetris Worlds and Tetris Mania, and Jewelry Master, some tetrominoes are multiminoes, that is, the tetromino itself is divided into visible components. Though the tetromino is moved and rotated as a unit, once it locks, the components separate by colors and fall.
"Poly"-mino
In some games like Magical Tetris Challenge, there have Minos that consist of 5 to 25 squares to make the gameplay more challenging.
The "Heaven" Polymino
In "Tetris Heaven" as concieved of by Randall Monroe in xkcd.com/888/, the "Heaven Block" is the exact size and shape required to eliminate every open row up to the highest column. In most fanmade adaptions, the piece is portrayed as a single square when shown as coming next.
List of Tetrominos
Puyo Puyo Tetris
In the upcoming Puyo Puyo Tetris, the Blocks: T, O, S, and I each has its own personification. All aboard the Spaceship Tet, named Teto gou (テト号) in Japanese.[1][2]
T (ティ, pronounced as Ti) is the youthful pretty boy commander of the group, resembling Puyo Puyo's Schezo and Maguro.
O (オー, pronounced as Oo) is the ship's mascot that supervises the ship, resembling Puyo Puyo's Carbuncle.
S (エス, pronounced as Esu) is a space Sci-Fi Southern Belle type girl, with sharp abusive tongue and a Father Complex. She resembles Puyo Puyo's Raffine and Strawberryna, along with Rhythm Thief R's Maria.
I (アイ, pronounced as Ai) is the easily scared rat headed engineer, resembling Puyo Puyo's Risukuma Sempai.
See also
External links
- Mathworld
- Wikipedia:Tetromino
- The Tetris Taxonomy: The Pieces (Adult audience)