Copyright: © 1998 Richard Fellner
Citation: Bricks 2000


Overview

Bricks '2000 is an exciting action game. Throughout the game, bricks of various types fall from the top to the bottom of the playing area. When the bricks form a solid row of blocks across the playing area, that row vanishes.

Because this is the only way to remove blocks, you should try to form solid rows whenever possible.  The game ends when the pieces stack up to the top of the playing area.

You can manipulate a brick only when it is falling. Falling pieces may be rotated, moved horizontally, or dropped to the bottom of the playing area.

More information:

Keyboard functions

Scoring

Strategy and Hints


Playing the Game

The object of Bricks '2000 is to continue playing for as long as possible. The game is over when the playing area is stacked to the top with bricks. The following section explains how to play the game.

To Choose a Skill Level:

In the Options menu, choose a starting level from 1 to 10. The higher the level, the faster the pieces fall.

To Start a New Game:

From the buttons at the right, choose Start, or press F2.

To Move a Brick Horizontally:

Use the appropriate keyboard controls. You can move the current brick either left or right. Note: If the current brick is close to the borders or close to already-positioned pieces, you may be unable to move it.

To Rotate a Brick:

Use the appropriate keyboard controls. You can rotate the current brick 90 degrees counterclockwise. Note: If the current brick is close to the borders or close to already-positioned pieces, you may be unable to rotate it.

To Drop a Brick:

Use the appropriate keyboard controls.  When you drop a brick, it falls rapidly until it lands on a stationary brick or the bottom of the playing area.

To Pause a Game:

From the Game menu, choose Pause, or press F3. Note: To resume the game, choose Pause again, or press F3.

You can also simply press ESC during a game. This will not only pause the game, but also minimize Bricks '2000 to the task bar (or to a very small icon beneath to the speaker icon in the System Tray area if you configured the program that way).

More information:

Keyboard functions

Scoring

Strategy and Hints


Rules of the Game

Bricks appear one at a time at the top of the playing area and then proceed to fall at a constant speed.

Each brick continues to fall until it lands on another brick or the bottom of the playing area.

You can manipulate a brick only when it is falling.

With the keyboard, you can rotate a falling brick and move it left, right, or down.

Each time there is a solid row of blocks across the playing area, that row vanishes. Try to manipulate the pieces as they fall so that solid rows form and disappear.

The game ends when the pieces are stacked to the top of the playing area.

More information:

Scoring

Strategy and Hints


The bricks

The "I" brick

The "J" brick

The "L" brick

The "O" brick

The "S" brick

The "T" brick

The "Z" brick


Scoring and the "Bricks '2000 Hall Of Fame"

The current brick starts with an initial score value, which increases for each successive playing level. Each time you rotate the brick or move it horizontally, its score value decreases. If you drop the brick, its score value increases proportionally to the distance it falls. Therefore, you can achieve the highest score per brick by immediately dropping the brick from the top of the playing area. The lowest score per brick will result when you continually manipulate the brick until it lands on another brick or the bottom of the playing area.

Note: Using the Brick Preview box dramatically lowers the score value of every brick. It is a helpful learning tool, but once you have gained experience, you should turn this command off (Options).

Also, the position pointer should be disabled if you want to maximize your points. Enabling the position pointer costs 5 points for every brick. However, you might want to experiment with it, because on the other side it allows you to drop the current brick on higher levels.

You can earn bonus points by removing multiple rows of blocks simultaneously:

•	one row	no additional bonus

•	two rows	30 points

•	three rows	45 points

•	four rows	60 points

The "Bricks '2000 Hall Of Fame"

If you achieved a new Highscore (this means, if you achieved more points than the ones listed in the "Bricks '2000 Hall Of Fame" window), a special window opens and you can add your name and a "cool quote" of your choice to this list !

You can also use the "Save" button to save your Highscore window to bitmap file named HiScore.bmp and send it to me ZIP-compressed if your Highscore is better than the one in the "Absolute Bricks '2000 Hall Of Fame" displayed on the Bricks '2000 Homepage at http://www.user.xpoint.at/r.fellner/DL_Bri.htm ,

BUT HERE ARE SOME IMPORTANT REQUIREMENTS - please READ !!!!

•	due to the high amount of email I receive I will add only players who have supported my work in a way - either by registering one of my other programs, sending me or Alexander some bucks by regular mail or something like that. There are really NO exceptions for that, even if you should achieve a zillion points (sorry for that, but please understand .. it is simply because I can't live from just updating the website a whole day =:-)

•	send me the files HiScore.bmp and Bricks.dat file ZIP-compressed, (you can get a ZIP compression program at http://www.winzip.com) - not simply the above files please !! It hate it when my mailbox is "bombed" by dozens of bitmap files each day.

•	if you entitled yourself to be listed on the "Absolute Bricks '2000 Hall Of Fame", I also offer you to add a link to your homepage if you'd like to increase your traffic. In this case, please also send me your website URL.

•	The MASTER (the cool man or woman with the best Highscore) may also send me a crazy photo of him or her to be shown here. ]-)

Please see the License page for detailled contact information.


Strategy and Hints

This section contains helpful hints for playing Bricks '2000 successfully.

•	Use the Brick Preview box to gain experience, and then turn this option off for higher scoring.

•	experiment with the position pointer tool .. based on your reaction time, does it bring you more points than it costs ?

•	Avoid building "mountains."  Try to keep the pile of pieces level at the top.

•	Avoid creating "canyons" that are one block wide and many blocks deep. You may find yourself nervously waiting for the long, skinny brick (which never seems to appear when you need it).

•	Always try to leave a "flat spot" at least three blocks wide along the top of the stacked pieces. This way you can drop most of the pieces without leaving any gaps.

•	Sometimes it is to your advantage to leave a gap and go on to the next level. If you can make the next level disappear, you may have time to fill the gap afterwards.

•	Once a brick lands on another brick, it can still be manipulated for a very short time. You can use this time to "slide" the brick under an "overhang."


Options

[ ]  Show preview screen

By unchecking this option, the preview box in which the upcoming brick is displayed, will be hidden. This results in special bonus points.

[ ]  Show position pointer

By checking this option, Bricks '2000 will display a position pointer at the bottom of your "playground" to ease navigation of your pieces. Read the Scoring section for information about how this could influence your bonus points.

[ ]  Minimize to System Tray

By checking this option, Bricks '2000 will be mimimized to the System Tray (thus shrinking to a very small symbol beneath the speaker icon) instead of displaying at the Windows task bar. Especially suggested when you play during working time... ;-)

[ ]  Show blinking row

If you check this option, Bricks '2000 blink completed (bonus) rows.

Skill Level

Here you can choose from which level to start playing. Suggested for advanced users who want to improve their techniques when it comes to the harder levels...

Background Color

Click on the color preview area to change the background color of your Bricks '2000 "playground".


Keyboard

Key	Action

Up Arrow,

Insert,

Home	Rotates the current brick

Left Arrow	Moves the current brick left

Right Arrow	Moves the current brick right

Down Arrow,

End,

Delete,

Space	Drops the current brick to the bottom

ESC	Minimizes the Bricks '2000 window to an icon (works just during a game).

(the game can be re-activated by clicking its icon in the Windows task bar or - if you have configured Bricks '2000 to minimize to the System Tray area - by double-clicking its very small icon beneath to Windows' speaker icon).

F1	Opens the Help index

F2	Starts a new game

F3	Pauses or resumes the game


License

This nice and small game offers Highscore lists and more. It's no multimedia "bloatware", but intended to bring a taste of fun to a small break on a long, hard working day. Please visit my website to get the latest version and most up-to-date information.

This program is FREE, no money shall be charged for it. However, if you would like to support my work, please register one of my other programs I offer for download at my website.

Check them out!

Game idea

Alexey Pajitnov

Game by

Alex Bikov	email: avb@te.net.ua  (aka "Bricks '2000 Chief Engineer" ;-)

Richard Fellner	e-mail: r.fellner@xpoint.at

Website: http://www.user.xpoint.at/r.fellner/

Postal Mail Address: Pazmanitengasse 24 / 9, A-1020 Vienna, Austria (Europe)

NOTE:

Bricks '2000 is in no way affiliated with 'The Tetris Company' nor is it an official Tetris product.

For german-speaking users:

Bricks '2000 ist Freeware, für das Programm selbst darf daher kein Geld verlangt werden. Wie auch immer, wenn Sie meine Arbeit daran unterstützen möchten, registrieren Sie bitte eines meiner anderen Programme, die ich auf meiner Website anbiete. Einfach ansehen und ausprobieren !

Here are some of my other programs that might be of interest for you

(each of it can be downloaded from my website):

INF-Tool

Check out this alternative to huge and/or complicated, expensive installation programs !

This installation script and setup program generator for Windows 95/98/NT lets you design full-featured installation solutions (including uninstall support) in seconds. The program can generate single-EXE setups, ZIP- or CAB-based setups, or installations centered around very small installation scripts (only 1-3K) in INF format, which is fully supported by Windows 95/98/NT. Currently supports 13  languages, offers INI file modification, OCX file registration and much more. With INF-Tool, you will no longer need expensive, large installation "bloat"ware !

Phantastic Screensaver

*8* of the most popular screensaver-types compiled in ONE single Application:

moving pictures & company-logos, screen fader, fractal painter, color fader, falling rain, "crazy" balls,  "Bull's Eye" and a "funky" clock. Save space by installing 1 powerful unit instead of multiple smaller ones .. the Phantastic ScreenSaver is highly configurable - Try it out !

Resource-Grabber

Extract graphical resources from other programs ! The Resource-Grabber will scan the directories and drives on your computer and extract all Bitmaps, Glyphs (button images), Icons, Cursors, JPG image and AVI clips it finds inside the programs and DLL files in any directory of your choice. Forget painting all that stuff by yourself; forget hours of searching for Windows-compatible button layouts ... simply use the images that are already on your computer ! The Resource-Grabber will extract them from their "hidden" locations inside DLL and EXE files and give you full access by saving them as regular bitmaps. Now also comes with an Image Organizer Tool which will help you to categorize your image collection.

Advertising Screensaver

When the screen saver kicks in on the computer at your place of business, don't display flying toasters or some psychedelic light show -- promote your business instead. Sure, you could use Windows Marquee screen saver to some effect, but the Advertising Screensaver offers a lot more. It lets you display your company logo(s) moving around the screen, complete with animation; select a single-color, gradient-color, or tiled background; and define an unlimited number of text strings to scroll across the screen. Plus, it can automatically search for displayable images, or you can point it to a folder containing several graphics, which it will continuously cycle.

Cannabinatic Screensaver

Learn about the medicinal uses of the marijuana plant !

(eierlegende) WollMilchSau  (german only)

(eierlegende) WollMilchSau bietet eine rasche, aber auch vielseitig nutzbare Oberfläche zur Verwaltung Ihrer Adreß- und Termindaten, eine CD-/LP-/MC-, eine Video- und eine Bücher-Datenbank. Verschiedenste Arten von Listendruck sind möglich, direkter Start von Web-Seiten, e-mails oder Telefonanruf aus Ihrem Adreßregister etc. etc. !


Bricks '2000 history

Bricks '2000 (and its ancestor) started with enourmous success right from its first official release.

THE STORY:

Alex Bikov started the whole thing by publishing a small game including sources (based on Borland Delphi). Since it has always been my (Richard's) dream to create a logic game like this one, but I've never taken the time to even think about where to start with, I took the chance. We put ourselves together, added a some nice features we knew people like you would like and ... voila - here it is !

Everything we did on that game is just for our all fun. We don't want $$$ for it, it simply makes us happy to receive mails from you telling us if you like the game, why you like it (why you don't like it ... well, not sure :) and also if you should have some spiffy ideas for add-ons (if they won't require us to make the game a multimedia bloatware killer-product, of course ]-).

These version numbers are based on Bricks '2000 ancestor.

The first release of Bricks '2000 started with Version number 1.0 again.

Version 0.9:

•	first official release of the game in May 1998

•	still had a few bugs, but looked quite nice and has already been one of the smallest games in its section around !

Version 1.30 and below:

•	added user-configurable background color

•	added support for saving highscores, Hall Of Fame etc.

•	option to display/hide preview screen

•	option to start with different skill level

•	can be minimized to system tray area (hide it from your boss ;-)

•	added 3 icons for the program (choose one via the "Properties" settings of the shortcut symbol)

Version 1.31:

•	added user-friendly installation support (based on INF-Tool, my installation software)

•	optimized delays for higher levels

•	supports direct Screenshot from Highscores and "Hall Of Fame"

•	to help you getting most out of this game, this help file is now part of the Bricks '2000 package

Meanwhile, Bricks '2000 has become one of the most famous games in its section.

Most of the prominent software sites on the web are listing it top-scored ! THANK YOU.

Version 1.4:

•	improved 3D-look of the pieces - this should give Bricks '2000 the ultimate look (without "graphical overkill")

•	updated "Scoring" part of this helpfile

Version 1.5:

•	now optionally shows a position pointer to ease figure placement - please see the "Scoring" and "Strategy" part of this helpfile for hints about optimizing your highscores using it

•	optimized scoring logic (old highscores not valid anymore)

•	new button styles

•	now correctly saves skill level

•	better display at non-standard screen resolutions

•	Screenshot feature removed from the highscore list (you don't need it anymore for the "Absolute Bricks '2000 Hall Of ")

•	Blinking rows can be disabled

•	prompts you with a warning message when Alt-F4 is pressed during a game

•	a few keyboard functions changed to ease operability

Version 1.6:

•	renamed to Bricks '2000 following threats from 'The Tetris Company'

•	bricks are now resizable


searching for Web Site

Due to the incredible success of Bricks '2000 it's time to expand the

"Bricks '2000 Absolute Hall Of Fame"

(currently at http://www.user.xpoint.at/r.fellner/DL_Bri.htm)

We are searching for a person or company who would be willing to be target for Highscore submissions, to check them and to offer

•	The weekly "Best Of Bricks '2000 Scores"

•	The monthly "Best Of Bricks '2000 Scores" and

•	"The Absolute Bricks '2000 Hall Of Fame 1998"

Keep in mind that this will result in dozens or more (especially if we officially invite to submit Highscores) emails daily. You or your company should be capable to process them and to update the Scores on the page regularly. Also, Alex and I would expect a reasonable donation for the work we've put in this program.. and, not least, the increased hits your other pages will get since you could, of course, link from the "Hall of Fame" page to your own site.

Please get into [image] with us for detailled information and if you have a serious offer.