RUMOR: Game & Watch Tetris prototype surfaces

Years before the Game Boy was a thing, Nintendo was cranking out portables with their Game & Watch line. This series of handheld devices included a number of different releases, each with a different game. Now it turns out one of those releases might have been a different take on Tetris.

A supposed Game & Watch Tetris prototype has been discovered, and you can see gameplay footage of it via the tweet above. This prototype hasn’t been 100% confirmed at this time, but if it’s a fake, someone went through an incredible amount of trouble to pull this off. As you’ll see in the footage, the prototype is extremely convincing.

It’s interesting to see that even this early on in Tetris’ life, there were already some ideas of toying with the basic mechanics. The gameplay on this supposed prototype shows a playfield that’s considerably different from what Tetris fans are used to, opting for a wider box for stacking Tetriminos, rather than a narrow pit. This small tweak actually changes gameplay in a notable way!

If/when this prototype is confirmed to be real, we’ll make sure to bring you full details. For now, let’s just be impressed with the idea overall.