Introducing Tetris Solid, a real working LEGO version of the classic video game. A technical feat, but there is also an immediate danger in it.
LEGO is not averse to paying tribute to gaming history. Think of the Atari 2600 set, or the Nintendo Entertainment System. Pure nostalgia that the Danes are capitalizing on in a lucrative way.
Tetris Solid scores on LEGO IDEAS
In fact, the manufacturer regularly allows fans to immortalize their nostalgia and creativity themselves, via the IDEAS platform. As an avid builder you can share your own LEGO constructions there. Other fans can then vote for their favorite designs, after which the ultimate honor awaits: LEGO regularly selects fan designs that are transformed into an official set. These Dungeons & Dragons and Polaroid sets are successful examples of this.
Back to gaming. A new gaming culture-inspired and fan-designed LEGO set is going viral online. A hobbyist who calls himself Victorvey300 has put Tetris Solid on IDEAS. A physical, board game-like version of the classic 1980s video game. Hence the name: the virtual blocks become solid in the form of LEGO bricks.
Technical tour de force with a twist
The structure is quite impressive. The game ‘really’ works. You can actually drop the Tetris stones by sliding the colored stones down. There is also a scoreboard to keep track of your high score, without the need for a motor or other ‘electronic’ LEGO parts. A treadmill even ensures that you can see what the next stone will be. Just like in the game.
A technical tour de force, the only major difference with virtual Tetris is that you cannot make a filled row disappear. Instead, this LEGO set is a puzzle where you have to fill the entire board. A twist, a spin-off.
Once you’ve finished adding all the pieces to the board, or if that fails, there’s a handy and very satisfying “Reset” switch that drops all the pieces at once, allowing you to start playing all over again. Beautiful.
The great danger (and good news)
It doesn’t stop there. Victorvey300 is all too aware of the rich history of Tetris, immortalized in the form of a hidden Easter egg. There is a small office hidden in the Tetris Solid set, in which Alexey Pajitnov sits behind his computer. Exactly: the creator of Tetris, who also recently got his own film.
Then of course the big question is whether this fan design will actually be released. At the time of writing, Tetris Solid has 4000 votes on IDEAS. Only after 10,000 votes are designs eligible for LEGO’s selection rounds. But even with so many votes, the question is whether the manufacturer dares to take on Tetris Solid in its current form. The design is quite complex, and LEGO’s requirements in terms of accessibility and build quality quickly come into play.
However, don’t grieve too early, because even in that scenario there may be an alternative. Many LEGO IDEAS designers share the building instructions for their designs on their own blogs or social media accounts. Then you can still realize their vision with your own stones. So to be continued!
In the meantime, also check out this popular IDEAS model, based on typical Amsterdam houseboats. A design that has a greater chance of being immortalized as an official set.
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