Hatris (USA)

Hatris is a unique puzzle game created by Alexey Pajitnov, the mastermind behind Tetris, for the NES console. The primary objective in Hatris is to clear the screen of ever-growing stacks of hats. Unlike Tetris, where you form horizontal lines, players must stack two identical hats directly on top of each other to make them disappear.

The game takes place on a screen featuring five separate columns. From the top, pairs of hats (or sometimes single hats) will fall. It is the player's task to move and rotate these falling hat pairs to place them into one of the five columns. When two identical hats are placed directly on top of each other, they vanish, reducing the height of that particular hat stack. This clears space and prevents the column from reaching the top of the screen.

A significant departure from Tetris is that Hatris does not involve clearing "lines." Instead, it focuses on pair matching and managing individual hat stacks. Players need to plan carefully to ensure that unwanted hats do not become trapped at the bottom of a stack, as this will make clearing that stack much more challenging. If any hat stack reaches the top of the screen, the game ends.

As players progress through the levels, the speed at which hats fall increases, and the variety of hat types also expands, raising the game's difficulty. Occasionally, a "store" will appear, allowing players to purchase special items with accumulated points, such as a tool to remove a specific hat or to clear an entire stack. Hatris demands strategic thinking, quick reflexes, and spatial management skills to achieve the highest scores.