Some of the more complex ideas (e.g. moving columns) are much easier to understand if you read through once, play a few games, and come back and read again.
You move a falling shape down the screen, trying to accomplish different goals, depending upon what kind of game you're playing. When a shape can't move down any farther, it is stopped and a new shape is started.
The game is over when a new shape starts on top of a non-empty area. So the higher the fields build, the closer you are to losing.
While the shape is falling, you can move and rotate it:
Survival - the object is to stay alive as long as your skills will allow
Race the clock - like pressure? Set a time and see how much you can get done before the clock hits zero.
The object of "Line Removal" is too fill up lines horizontially, leaving no empty spaces. It is possible to remove up to four rows at one time. When playing a game with obstructions you may build a line around an obstruction and the entire line (including the obstruction) will be removed.
Everything above the row(s) that are removed will be shifted down (exception: Obstructions).
The game is over when the next new shape starts on top of any existing blocks.
See the scoring section for point values.
You must make a group of blocks of the same color. The grouping only occurs above/below and left/right of the blocks. You can NOT do matching diagonaly.
You need to have at least 6 touching blocks of the same color to remove them. When you do that, all blocks that are physically resting on the ones removed will be shifted down.
It is possible to have several different color groups at the same time. In the case, the first color group is removed, blocks are shifted down, and then the next group is removed (and so on).
The means that shifting can occur BEFORE checking for the next group. So if you are setting up 2 different color groups with a single falling shape, the removal of the first color group may shift some blocks from the second causing it to "fall apart".
When a new shape stops, the matching begins with the highest block, proceding down.
See the scoring section for point values.
Speed - this effects how fast the shapes fall. The speed will increase with each level
[Lines / Matches] per level - how many lines/matches you must make to advance to the next level.
Start On Level - which level you start on. This will have no bearing on your score.
Garbage - when a new game starts, random blocks will be placed, building up however many lines you choose. If set to random, a number between 0 and 15 will be assigned.
Obstructions (Line Removal Only) - these gray blocks are stationary and do not move (even when Move Columns is on). To remove them, you must build a line around them.
Move Columns - All blocks shifts to the right. The rightmost column wraps around to the first. Everything shifts to the right except:
a) Obstructions - they never move.
b) Blocks that are being "blocked" (due to an obstruciton or a falling shape preventing an opening to the right).
Wrap Around - when you move a shape off the right hand side it "wraps around" to the left. The opposite occurs if you move a shape off of the left hand side.
When color matching and wrap around are on, you can make groups that run off of the left side over to the right.
When "Move Columns" is on, you can use the following shape to halt/block the shifting columns. Under "Color Matching" this can possibly force blocks of the same color together causing them to be removed.
As there are many different combinations of game play, the high scores are divided into 3 categories:
For instance, you do not get points for the speed setting or the number of lines per level, but they will each effect which high score list you can possibly make.
So if you think you will just get the #1 spot by playing slow at 1000 lines per level, you're right, but you will only be #1 in the [Line Removal][Slow][1000 per] category.