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{{GameInfobox | developer = California Dreams | publisher = American Technos,California Dreams | designer = Aleksander Ustaszewski, Mirosław Zabłocki | na_rel = {{Release|1989|October||NA|Arcade}} | genre = Puzzle | features = Single-player,Multi-player | platforms = Arcade, Mega Drive,Genesis,Commodore 64,Amiga,MS-DOS,Atari Lynx,Atari ST,Apple IIGS | cancelled_platforms = Nintendo Entertainment System }} '''''Blockout''''' is a [[Computer puzzle game|puzzle]] [[video game]], published in 1989 by [[California Dreams (company)|California Dreams]], developed in [[Poland]] by Aleksander Ustaszewski<ref name=nyt/> and Mirosław Zabłocki. The game is the logical extension of ''[[Tetris]]'' into the third dimension. In regular Tetris, the player manipulates a set of [[tetromino]]es which fall into a two-dimensional pit (seen from the side). The aim is to solve a real-time [[packing problem]] by forming complete rows, which then disappear and score points. Poor play leads to incomplete rows, caused by inefficient arrangements of tiles; these rows do not disappear, giving the player progressively less space and less time to play subsequent pieces. Similarly, in Blockout, the player manipulates a set of [[polycube]]s which fall into a three-dimensional pit (seen from above; the pieces appear in the foreground and fall away). The pieces can be rotated around all three [[Coordinate axis|axes]], and moved horizontally and vertically. The aim is to form complete layers. ==Game modes== The game allows the player to choose the set of blocks they will play with and the size of the pit. Pits range from 3x3x6 to 7x7x18, giving a total of 195 possible pit sizes (counting e.g. 3x5x6 and 5x3x6 as identical). Three block sets are available — flat, basic, and extended — making a total of 585 possible game modes. Under "Main Menu", three of the possible 585 game configurations are recommended to the player. These are called "Flat Fun", "3D Mania", and "Out of Control", and use the flat, basic and extended block sets respectively. Other features of the game include: '''Demo mode''': This is not a pre-recorded game of an expert playing, but a well-programmed [[Computer game bot|bot]] that plays a good game in any given setup. The bot finds smaller pits and more complex block sets more difficult and achieves correspondingly lower scores. '''Practice mode''': A game where the pieces do not move down with time. The player can manipulate the pieces for as long as they like before dropping them into place with the space bar. This is very useful for beginners learning to navigate the 6 keys required to rotate in two directions around each of three axes. Practice mode scores are not recorded in the High Scores file. ==High scores== The [http://www.blockout.de/index_english.html Blockout Halls of Fame] list the top ten scores ever in each one of the 585 permutations. Scores can be submitted to the site, and the high score database is updated about once a year. World rankings depend on a number of appearances in these tables and scores achieved, suitably corrected by "M-factor", which captures the varying difficulty of different game modes. A world championship is held each year in Germany, usually in [[Ingolstadt]] in November. There is also a new real-time [http://www.blockout.net/blockout2/scoredate.php online high score database]. Players can upload not only their high score, but also their entire game, and watch [[replay]]s from others. This allows players to learn by watching the playing and stacking techniques of other gamers and to identify possible fake high scores. ==Polycube block sets== ===Flat=== The flat block set consists of polycubes that all fit into a single layer. These are effectively just two-dimensional [[polyomino]]es with thickness added, and include all but one of the members of the n-polyominoes up to n=4. (The tetromino consisting of four squares in a row is excluded.) ===Basic=== The basic block set consists of the seven polycubes present in a [[soma cube]], all of which are polycubes of order three or four. ===Extended=== The extended block set consists of all n-polycubes up to n=5. This is a block set with 41 members, consisting of the single cube, two cubes together, the 2 tricubes, the 8 tetracubes, and the 29 pentacubes. ==Critical reception== The New York Times reviewed the game in an article about educational software for mathematics, writing that Blockout "doesn't pretend to be educational, but the skills required to master it are not unrelated to mathematics, particularly geometry."<ref name=nyt>L. R. Shannon: [http://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/23/science/peripherals-no-frills-mathematics-instruction.html No-Frills Mathematics Instruction] The New York Times, 23 January 1990</ref> A 1993 study found evidence that playing Blockout improved the [[spatial visualization ability]] of 10 to 14 year olds.<ref>NOSS, A. (1994): Förderung der Raumvorstellung bei 10- bis 14-Jährigen durch das Computerspiel BLOCKOUT. Diploma thesis, University of Vienna.</ref> The [[Atari Lynx]] version of the game was reviewed in 1992 in ''[[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]'' #181 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 5 out of 5 stars.<ref name="Dragon181">{{Cite journal |title=The Role of Computers |author=Lesser, Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk |journal=Dragon |issue=181 |date=May 1992 |pages=57–62}}</ref> ==See also== * [[3D Tetris]] * [[Welltris]] * [https://blockout.nu Online BlockOut version in JavaScript/HTML5 with global scoreboard] ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External Links== *[http://www.blockout.de Website with a Blockout game download, high scores, world championships and a guestbook] *[http://members.chello.at/theodor.lauppert/games/blockout.htm Information about different Blockout Releases] *[http://www.3dtris.de/blockout_essay A Blockout Essay from Igor Vukomanovic about Blockout tactics] *[http://www.blockout.net/blockout2/ GPL version of the original BlockOut]
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