Serious Game Classification

Statetris aims to teach geography through the gameplay mechanic of Tetris. Instead of forming lines with differently shaped blocks, players are presented an empty map of a continent or country. The different parts that make it up drop down at a steady rate and it is up to the player to rotate and move them to the correct location. If the choice is correct, it sticks on the map and a new one appears. Incorrect ones disappear and are added to the loop of parts again. The shapes have different colours and if a certain part has been missed too many times, an arrow appears to point to the correct location. For certain countries or towns, a magnifying glass appears to navigate the parts to the precise location.

Not all levels were available with the initial release, but added gradually. In October 2008 the selection includes Africa, Brazil, China, Europe, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, South Carolina, the UK and the United States. There are three difficulty levels. On easy, the names of the parts (countries, states, cities) are shown and the shapes do not need to be rotated. On medium the names are shown, but the pieces need to be rotated, and on hard there is rotation, but no names. The game keeps track of the time needed to complete the level. [source:mobygames]

Distribution : Retail - Commercial
Platform(s) : Browser (Flash)

Links

• http://www.mobygames.com/game/statetris/