AWKTC
Version: 1.2.0 Web: https://github.com/mikkun/ AWKTC
Since its first release nearly 40 years ago, Tetris has gone on to become the most ported game that’s available on over 60 different platforms. It’s no surprise then that while there are several graphical variants for Tetris available for Linux, you could also partake in the block-laying shenanigans from the comfort of your terminal.
Released under the MIT licence, AWKTC – a recursive acronym for AWKTC is Workable Klutzy Time-wasting Command – is a nifty little implementation written in Awk. You won’t find AWKTC in the software repos of Linux distros, but don’t let that bother you since the game actually doesn’t require installation, as long as you have gawk installed on your machine, along with the GNU CoreUtils package.
Clone the Git repository with git clone https:// github.com/mikkun/AWKTC.git . Next, navigate to the AWKTC directory and launch the game with ./awktc.awk . The game’s controls are fairly straightforward to master, but might take some getting used to because the project doesn’t default to the use of arrow keys and space bars like most Tetris implementations we’ve encountered before.
AWKTC requires you to use ‘a’ and ‘d’ to move blocks left and right, while ‘k’ and ‘l’ are used to rotate the blocks left and right. Press ‘s’ to make the blocks fall faster and pause the game by hitting ‘p’. Should you ever tire of making horizontal lines disappear, hit ‘q’ to exit.
The controls are listed in the sidebar on the left, along with the score at the top and the next block. Unlike other implementations however, AWKTC doesn’t remember your high score and the level you’d reached previously. You start each session with a blank slate.