Changelog

New themes

• NewTheme Pack 2 — Heroes, Glam & Cartoon. Three bold new premium themes in one pack: Heroes (comic-book superhero action), Glam (80s hair-metal stage) and Cartoon (Saturday-morning pop) — each with its own backdrop, ambient effect & soundtrack. One code, verified offline. Get the pack →
• NewAbyss — free for everyone. A deep-sea theme with drifting bubbles and bioluminescent light.
• NewCipher — earn it. A code-vortex theme that unlocks when you clear 2,000 solo lines (the new "Decrypted" achievement).
• NewPrism — share to unlock. Earn the Prism theme by sharing Blocktrix with a friend.

Cosmetics & audio

• NewRounded block skin. A soft-rounded gel skin with a matching ghost piece, rounded NEXT/HOLD previews and a bouncier landing. Pick it in Settings → Cosmetics.
• NewTheme-matched sound effects. Two curated SFX sets now follow your chosen theme, loudness-matched across the board.
• NewBuilt-in death-field designs. Spidey, Seahorse, Flower and Smiley now ship as ready-made death-field presets (Plus) — no image import needed.

Gameplay & spectating

• NewEnd-of-game stats panel. Regular multiplayer games now finish with a bordered results table in the partyline — lines, 4T (tetrises), specials and more, per player, best values highlighted.
• NewExpanded spectator view. Watching a match now shows every board in an equal grid instead of one big main board.
• BetterKeep watching after you top out. Top out in a regular game or a raid and, after a short beat, the view collapses to the spectator grid so you follow the rest of the match instead of staring at a static death screen.

Feel & controls

• BetterLower input latency. The first horizontal move now fires on key-down (not the next poll), a hard drop pressed during the spawn gap is buffered, input is flushed more aggressively, and desktop audio/vsync were retuned — noticeably snappier at speed.
• BetterSnappier repeat-attacks. Hold an opponent's number to auto-fire faster (a short lead-in, then ~16/sec), tuned to avoid accidental repeats when you flick between targets.

Achievements & unlocks

• BetterAchievement progress. Long-running achievements (100 games, 2,000 lines) now show a progress bar and count.
• BetterLocked-theme hints. Tapping a locked theme now explains exactly how to unlock it — pack, referral or achievement.

Raid

• NewOverseer parting taunt. When a raid ends, the Overseer drops a random gloat (win vs loss pools) into the partyline.
• BetterRaid spectating. Watchers now get the raid FX and boss HUD, a hint when the roster overflows, and the downed-player collapse fires correctly on a networked top-out.

Replay

• BetterTruer playback. Fallen boards now collapse during replay to match the live match, the exit (X) returns to the main menu, tapping outside the control bar hides it, and the music stops when playback ends.

Steam Deck

• BetterTuned defaults. Bigger partyline / list and achievement fonts, with in-game chat hidden by default for a cleaner HUD.

Fixes & polish

• FixedOpponent field desync. Boards no longer drift out of sync when 2.0 specials or Concrete blocks are in play (a field-encoder overflow), and replays render Concrete correctly.
• FixedClearer connect errors. Connecting with a name that's already in use now denies the new connection and tells you the name is taken — in a popup — instead of a generic "connection closed" or booting the person already on it.
• FixedDouble drop sound in TetriFast, a stale channel after a server-forced move (idle/spectate park), and a phantom "new message" flag on your own line right after joining a room.
• FixedRelative numbering now freezes at game start, so a mid-game death never renumbers the opponents.
• BetterReadable corner labels. The version + FOUNDER labels get a theme-aware dark shim so they stay legible over bright backdrops.
• BetterSharper text & leaner engine. Pixel-snapped 2D rendering keeps moving text and the grid crisp, plus a performance pass — per-frame VFX budget, pooled particles, flattened field paint, and lower-allocation networking — for steadier play in busy games.

New

• NewIn-game effects. Soft-body jelly blocks (on by default now), a reactive grid that lights up under your piece, a materialize-in spawn, a glint on the idle HOLD piece, and rolling odometer HUD numbers. Toggle any of them in Settings → A/V.
• NewCustom Ghost colour — free for everyone. Pick any tint for the ghost piece, or have it borrow the piece's own colour, right under the Ghost-piece toggle in Settings → A/V.
• NewDiscord Rich Presence (desktop). Your Blocktrix status — in a match, in the lobby, spectating, and the public server you're on — can show in Discord. Toggle it in Settings → Integrations.
• NewOne in the Chamber. A channel type where you hold exactly one special at a time — fire it to grab the next, and any special you pick up while full is dropped.
• NewSniper channels. #Sniper and #FastSniper are specials-only — clearing lines sends no garbage, so it's a pure special-vs-special duel.
• NewAudio-visualiser styles. Switch the in-game equaliser between several looks in Settings → A/V.
• NewDrop Raycast ghost + death-field import. A minimalist raycast ghost style (Plus), and you can now import your own image as a custom death-field design.
• NewPartyline recall & replay seek. Press ↑ / ↓ in the chat composer to recall previously-typed messages, and the replay player gained ±10-second seek buttons.

Feel & controls

• BetterHold to rotate. Hold a rotate key to keep spinning continuously, with cadence tuned to the classic client.
• BetterHOLD returns true. A piece pulled back from HOLD now comes back at the same column and orientation it left in, matching the original — instead of re-centring.
• BetterGame-start transition. A quick neon shutter reveals the board as a match begins, so the jump from partyline to game reads clearly.

Online play

• BetterNetwork gameplay optimizations. Leaner networking and per-frame work — cached piece geometry, a flatter collision loop, fewer allocations, and smaller field updates on the wire — for steadier, lower-latency play in busy online games.
• BetterSmoother mid-game joins. Join a game already running and every participant's board now appears at once (the server sends a full baseline for each player), instead of some fields trickling in as players moved.
• BetterDeath screen & spectating. Join mid-game or top out and your own death screen shows immediately; you then watch the rest of the match. Topping out online no longer bounces you to a game-over screen.
• FixedLingering fields. An opponent's board no longer sticks around after they switch channels, and a downed player no longer takes garbage over their death screen.
• FixedRaid room count. A raid in progress no longer reads as "full" just because the Overseer and AI teammates fill the roster — you can still join.
• FixedRaid joiners. Joining an in-progress raid no longer fires a false "has fallen" alert or lists you in the end-of-raid damage summary.

Fixes & polish

• FixedCrisper desktop text. Fixed blurry, unevenly-spaced text when the window was resized below its design size; text now stays sharp and the window resizes freely.
• FixedAssorted layout, effect and stability refinements across desktop and mobile.

Raid Mode — co-op boss battles

• NewTake down the Overseer. Two new co-op channels, #Overclock and #Overdrive (no piece delay), pit a squad of 2+ players against a boss. Your line clears and offensive specials auto-aim the boss — nothing lands on its own board; instead you chip its 3 shields (which absorb all your damage until they break), then crack its hull to zero.
• NewThe boss fights back and escalates. It rains garbage and specials on the squad and speeds up through three phases (online → overclocked → meltdown). With its shields down and hull at half or less it enrages — hitting everyone at once and dropping faster — and from 90 seconds in it unleashes a squad-wide barrage once a minute (announced in game chat, with the boss tower shaking).
• NewFight on after you fall. Top out and you drop to spectating until the squad wins or is wiped, with a teammate-fallen alert and a server-wide shout when any squad clears or wipes.
• NewWinlist scoring. Clear a raid and every member banks points on the channel winlist for the damage they dealt (rounded up, ÷100); whoever lands the killing blow gets a bonus. A post-raid table shows each member's contribution and the killshot.
• NewSolo & help. Nobody online? As the room host, /raidfill adds AI teammates so you can raid alone (they clear out when everyone leaves). /raidrules explains everything in plain language, and both raid channels' MOTDs point you to it.

New

• NewReady-up auto-start. An optional ready-check starts the match the moment everyone's set — no waiting on the host to press start.
• NewUkiyo-e theme. A 12th theme — indigo palette, drifting sakura, koto soundtrack — unlocked by the new 7-day solo Ritual streak, which now shows live progress in the achievements grid and a gentle launch reminder while it's unearned.
• NewAchievements. Overseer's Bane (clear a raid), On a Roll (win on 3 separate days), and Ritual (a solo game 7 days running). Speedster now unlocks for winning 5 matches at 100+ PPM.
• NewReplay scrubber. The web replay player has a seekable timeline — click or drag to jump anywhere — and raids replay with the boss tower and the CLEARED/FAILED result.

Performance & networking

• BetterSmoother busy rooms. A broad performance pass for crowded / no-delay games: cached opponent-panel layout, far fewer per-frame allocations and redraws, a cached special-glow check, and a time-budgeted network pump — noticeably steadier input when the garbage is flying.
• FixedPartyline / room changes could trickle in. On native clients, chat and channel switches sometimes surfaced only a couple of lines every 15–20s (and MOTDs wouldn't show). The receive pump now always drains buffered messages, and a chat-render error that was aborting it is fixed.
• BetterPer-device layout. Raid and in-game layout now scale to the screen's shape and pixel density, so wide phones and squarer tablets both get correctly sized boards and readable text.

Fixes & polish

• FixedA downed operator can no longer abort a raid the rest of the squad is still fighting.
• FixedClassic-theme raid HUD. The hull % readout is now legible in every theme (it was dark-on-dark in Classic).
• BetterMobile raid layout. Bigger teammate boards, larger name labels, the "downed" cover now sits exactly on your field, and the ready dock no longer resizes the side panel or clips its text.
• BetterRaid balance. Self-help specials (nuke, gravity, left-gravity) come up less often in raids so more of your play lands on the boss.
• FixedAssorted raid layout and bot-behaviour refinements, plus general polish.

New

• NewCustom death fields (Blocktrix Plus). Design the board that fills the screen when you top out — paint your own, or pick a preset (heart, invader, skull and more). Save several designs and share them as codes.
• NewSubscriber name styles. Blocktrix Plus supporters get animated partyline name styles — shimmer, duo-chrome, neon glow and wave.
• NewFive more achievements to earn, on top of the existing set.
• NewLive cosmetic previews. Every cosmetic in Settings now has an ⓘ button that opens a live, animated preview — see a block skin, attack arc, line-clear effect, hard-drop trail, ghost or spawn style in motion (and page through the options) before you pick one.
• NewChannel scrollback. A channel's recent chat now replays when you join it, so you drop into the conversation instead of a blank partyline.
• NewA game-start countdown with kinetic art and sound, plus a music equalizer on the HUD.

Performance

• BetterSmoother in-game frame rate. The settled part of the board is now cached and redrawn only when it changes, so the periodic frame dips during play — worst when the stack got high — are gone.
• FixedThe brief freeze at game over in online games is gone — the replay is now saved off the main thread.

Gameplay & multiplayer fixes

• FixedSwitch fields. Taking an opponent's board no longer trims and mangles it — you now inherit their stack exactly as it stands, tall or not, instead of getting a half-empty partial field.
• FixedDeath fields render solid to everyone. When you top out, the board other players see is now completely filled in, instead of full of holes (your topout fill was being sent as a lossy partial update).
• Fixed#SnS deals the right pieces. The Sticks & Squares rooms now serve line and square pieces (they were serving line and T).
• FixedLeftover specials from a finished game can no longer be fired or discarded from the lobby.
• FixedThe win flourish cosmetic now actually plays on a win (it was being drawn behind the game-over overlay).

Classic theme & audio

• FixedClassic-theme specials. The four 2.0 specials (Blackout, Concrete, Shield, Mutation) now render correctly in the original Classic block art instead of looking out of place.
• FixedClassic soundtrack loops seamlessly. The Classic theme's music now loops at the right point, without the gap/restart at the seam.
• FixedIn-game music now stops when you're spectating a match.

Lobby & chat

• BetterCleaner channel switching. Switching rooms now wipes the partyline and opens the new channel on its own MOTD at the top, with a jump-to-latest button when there's more below — no more mixing one room's chat into another.
• FixedTrying to join a channel you can't (e.g. a mobile-only room) no longer mislabels you as being in it — the refusal notice just shows and you stay put.

Menu & mobile

• BetterThe menu's drifting pieces now have parallax depth — near pieces larger and brighter, far ones smaller and soft-focused.
• BetterChannel-list sizing scales with screen density on mobile (so it isn't tiny on high-DPI phones), with tighter row spacing.
• FixedThe game-type grid (poster) view is now fully d-pad / controller navigable.

New: #Sprint

• NewSolo 40-line time race. Clear 40 lines as fast as you can — your time is the score, lowest wins. Three runs per player per day, fastest one counts.
• NewIts own monthly leaderboard (with past months archived), a Sprint 40L champions board on the home page, and a Sprint card on your profile with best time, runs logged and monthly rank. Today's fastest three also land in the lobby MOTD.
• NewThe finish line is verified server-side from your field, so a time can't be faked — the clock stops the instant your 40th line clears.

Gameplay

• NewSudden death. Any normal full-specials room that runs past five minutes announces sudden death and rains one garbage line on everyone every 15 seconds until a winner emerges — so a match can't stalemate forever.
• FixedGarbage matches the original again. A line-clear attack now drops a solid row with exactly one hole (it had wrongly been using the Add Line special's random 1–11 holes). The Add Line special itself keeps its random hole count.
• FixedA falling piece shoved upward by an attack or garbage now locks where it's pushed, exactly like the 2000-era client, instead of floating there still under your control.
• BetterSolo Pure Survival ramps up more gently — it takes about two minutes to reach top speed now, instead of under one.

Spectating & watching

• FixedWatch a live game with /watch and every board renders correctly — no phantom extra "P3" field, and the same player no longer shows up twice as "player 1".
• Fixed/who and other server commands now work from the spectator seat (their replies were being dropped as if they were your own echo).
• FixedThe attacks/defenses log clears when you join or watch a game, and idle-parking to #Lobby from a watch seat no longer leaves the old channel wrongly highlighted in the list.

Desktop

• NewTaskbar flash. When Blocktrix isn't the active window, incoming chat, private messages and in-game messages — plus players joining, leaving or switching channels — flash the taskbar button. New toggle in Settings (on by default).

Defaults & polish

• ChangedThe CRT/scanline filter is now off by default for a cleaner board, and flashing specials is on so threat blocks stand out. Both still toggle in Settings.
• FixedThe drop sound no longer plays when you hold the drop key during the brief gap before the next piece spawns.
• FixedD-pad menus and dialog lists scroll to reach off-screen items and no longer shift sideways as you move down them.
• BetterThe channel-list scrollbar fades out when the pointer stops moving over it, and reappears on movement.

Joining a game in progress

• FixedEvery opponent's full board now shows the instant you join a live game — boards no longer stay half-drawn while they fill in from the next few pieces.
• FixedNo more stale "WINNER" label from the previous round lingering over players who are still alive and playing.
• FixedThe main board no longer opens dark (your last game's game-over shading carried over) when the player you're watching is alive.

In-game chat

• NewMessage toasts. When you don't have the in-game chat box open, incoming messages pop as a toast at the top of the screen — and your own sent line toasts too, so you know it went out.
• NewPress T to reply. A quick one-line box slides up over the bottom of the screen; type, send, and it disappears. Phones & controllers get a CHAT button for the same thing (with the on-screen keyboard). Only while a game's running.
• FixedChatting from a spectator seat now shows your name instead of "Server".
• NewEmoji in chat. Emoji shortcodes now render as real glyphs across the partyline and in-game chat.
• FixedThe #AllAround score announcement no longer prints a stray "?" before the trophy.

Controllers & navigation

• FixedThe main menu takes focus the moment the app opens, so a controller's d-pad works without a click first (it re-grabs focus after the online-players check finishes, too).
• BetterMoving down a menu now auto-scrolls to reach controls further down instead of stopping at the last visible one.
• FixedThe Achievements grid is fully navigable with the d-pad and shows a clear highlight on the selected badge.
• FixedWith a controller connected the main menu no longer reverts to the old row-by-row layout, and it fits the panel on more devices.
• FixedDialogs open scrolled to the top instead of jumping to the bottom when a control is auto-focused for d-pad navigation.

#AllAround

• FixedYour daily runs record to your web profile again — every day now logs to your history, not just your single best. Failed uploads are retried instead of dropped.

Site

• NewDeep-dive guides: the Specials Guide & strategy, the client features & command reference, all 11 themes, and every game mode — linked from the home page.

Achievements

• NewOnline achievements & profile badges. Registered players now earn achievements from ranked play — First Blood, Champion, Centurion, Veteran, 4Tris Maniac, Garbage Lord, Sharpshooter and Speedster — each with a badge on your web profile and an in-game toast the moment you unlock it.
• NewSolo achievements & badges. Playing offline vs the CPU earns its own set — first win, tetris master, survivor, speed demon and more — each with its own badge, browsable from a new Achievements tile in Play Solo.
• NewUnlock broadcasts. When someone earns an achievement online the whole room sees it, and #AllAround runs now post each player's score after every stage.

Local play

• NewLAN auto-discovery. Host a game and players on the same network see it in the server list automatically — no IP typing. The built-in server announces itself and the client scans for nearby games.

Sound & visuals

• NewA sound per special. Every special now has its own distinct sound effect, so you can tell what hit you without looking.
• NewGlow special blocks. An optional Settings toggle gives special blocks a slow pulsing glow so they stand out on a busy field.

Spectating & joining mid-game

• BetterJoin a game already in progress and every player's field shows immediately — the server sends a full snapshot up front instead of filling in piece by piece.
• NewYou can run /commands (whois, msg, difficulty…) while spectating — the in-game chat now routes them like the lobby does.
• BetterJoin a running room and you now take an open seat (dealt in next round) — you only watch when the room is genuinely full. A player who joins mid-game shows a filled field so everyone can see they're sitting the round out.
• FixedThe player you're watching no longer appears twice (as the main board and a tile), and starting to spectate no longer leaves your last game's pieces or stats on screen.

Connection & stability

• FixedBusy-match disconnects. The client no longer stalls when the network is briefly slow during a hectic game — sending is now non-blocking, which had been dropping players on both Windows and Android.
• FixedYou're no longer dropped the instant a game starts after sitting idle in the lobby — the keep-alive timer resets when a game begins.
• BetterOne slow connection can no longer hold up message delivery for everyone else in the room.

Bots

• FixedBots no longer drop pieces into columns they can't actually reach, and they top out correctly when their spawn is blocked.
• BetterA bot channel's difficulty (set with /difficulty) now sticks between games and only resets once everyone leaves the room.

Site

• NewThe bug tracker is now searchable and filterable by status, type and severity.
• NewProfile search autocomplete — start typing a name and matching players suggest as you go.
• BetterThe download page only asks for a captcha if you've downloaded in the last day, instead of every single time.

Built-in server & fixes

• FixedThe built-in "Host a game" server now sends the four 2.0 specials (Blackout, Concrete, Shield, Mutation) to everyone.
• FixedClient platform info no longer shows up as a stray chat line on a hosted game.
• FixedThe "Host a game" button is no longer clipped on Android.

Spectating & replays

• NewSpectate a game. Join a full or in-progress channel as a watcher and see every player's field — no seat needed. Take a seat the moment one frees up. Idle watchers are moved back to the lobby after a while, and spectators show with a marker in the player list.
• NewReplays. Every online game is auto-saved. A Replays browser lets you watch them back with pause, restart and speed controls, mark favourites (kept when older replays are pruned), and delete.
• BetterThe replay control bar auto-hides after a few seconds so it stops covering the fields (any input brings it back), the replay list is wider so labels don't wrap, and per-game stats reset to a clean baseline during playback.

Getting in the game

• NewQuick Play. One tap drops you straight into the busiest room with a person or a bot, instead of landing in an empty lobby.
• NewFriendlier first run. A "Play now vs CPU" front door gets newcomers into a game immediately, and you can set the bot difficulty (easy · normal · hard · insane) — bot channels announce the current level when you join.

Profiles & site

• NewPlayer profile pages. Every registered player has a profile with lifetime stats — games, win rate, PPM/LPM/APM, 4Tris%, yield% and downstack% — plus their #AllAround history as a sparkline. Open one from any name on the leaderboards, or your own from the in-game profile card or the new /profile command.
• NewProfile card link. Tap a player in-game to open their card; registered players get a View full profile button to their web page.
• BetterThe homepage shows live presence — a "players online now" pill that names the busiest active channel and flags a live match.
• BetterIf a subscription lapses, your stats are kept for 7 days (restored if you re-subscribe), then archived rather than lost.

Lobby

• NewLive channel counts. The lobby channel list updates the instant players join, leave or move between channels (Blocktrix servers push updates; TetriNET/TetriFast fall back to a gentle refresh).
• NewDrag-to-resize columns in the Modern Grouped layout — the channel rail and roster column resize to any width and remember your choice, on desktop and touch.
• FixedSwitching channels no longer carries an "away" or "typing" flag from the old channel onto a different player in the new one.
• FixedDisconnecting now clears the old server's channel list, roster and spectators cleanly.

Gameplay

• FixedTeam play. Teammates no longer receive each other's add-to-all garbage from line clears (matching classic TetriNET — targeted specials still hit teammates).
• FixedQuick Join now advertises your Founder badge and flair in the room you land in.

Client & polish

• NewA dismissible new-version banner on the connect screen, with a one-line summary of what's changed.
• FixedNames in the player list no longer trigger text selection on touch — a tap opens a PM, a long-press (or click) opens the profile card, and your own name opens your own card.

Lobby & chat

• NewFive partyline layouts — Classic, Modern Grouped (channel rail · chat · players/winlist column), Thumb First for phones, Top Tabs and Icon Rail Tabs — each with adaptive scrolling.
• NewClickable channels. #channel names in chat and the MOTD are tappable to join; the channel you're already in stays un-linked, and links keep their printed colour with a hover highlight.
• NewAnimated typing indicator with trailing dots when someone's composing.
• BetterThe modern rail header shows the actual protocol and server you're connected to, not a placeholder.
• BetterPrivate messages dock as tabs over the partyline; the Players tab sits before PMs, tapping a name opens their PM, and joining a channel auto-switches you to the partyline.
• BetterThe Copy button copies the entire message group, not just one line.
• BetterChannel list is drag-scrollable on mobile, hides its scrollbar until hovered, and no longer jumps to the top when you join.

Gameplay

• NewRevenge. Your last attacker is highlighted with a glow shaped to their title bar; a single, rebindable Revenge key fires straight back. The marker auto-clears once you retaliate or after three seconds.
• NewRelative targeting (optional). A new Settings ▸ Gameplay ▸ Special targeting option makes number 1 always target yourself, renumbering the on-field player numbers to match, so specials are easier to aim. Classic by-seat targeting stays the default.
• BetterMutation no longer stacks on itself — it has no effect if you're already mutating (client, bots and server all agree).
• BetterSmooth sideways piece slide is now on by default.

Steam Deck & input

• NewBuilt-in on-screen keyboard for entering names and chat in Gaming Mode.
• FixedGaming-Mode performance. The Deck now renders with Vulkan under gamescope instead of the slow GL fallback.
• FixedPhantom d-pad inputs that caused double moves and rotate-then-hard-drop on the Deck.

Themes & UI

• FixedClassic-theme info dialogs were black-on-dark and unreadable — now legible.
• FixedWinlist names on some light Retro themes were black on a dark panel; colours are now theme-aware.
• FixedThe attack/defense log numbers events from 1 each game instead of carrying over.
• FixedThe react/reply/copy bar no longer gets its border clipped on the bottom-most chat message.
• BetterClassic-theme partyline and PM areas get a white panel with a thin border and inner padding, matching the player/winlist boxes.

Server

• Fixed#AllAround now runs the 3‑2‑1 countdown before each round.
• FixedReturning from #AllAround (and the idle move) now sends the full leave, so your client cleanly shows you back in #Lobby — even as the only player in a solo channel.
• BetterMutation is non-cumulative server-side, matching the client.

Steam Deck, Linux & macOS

• FixedSteam Deck & Linux controllers. The d-pad moves one cell per press, pressing Up hard-drops without an extra rotation, and menus & drop-downs navigate correctly.
• FixedThe how-to-play tutorial now fills the whole window on Linux and the Steam Deck.
• BetterThe online server browser retries a slow first connection instead of giving up.
• BetterThe macOS build is now ad-hoc signed, so it runs on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. It remains an unofficial, un-notarised community extra — on first launch, right-click ▸ Open.

Blocktrix 2.0 Beta

• NewFour 2.0 specials — Blackout (fog), Concrete (indestructible row), Shield (absorb the next hit) and Mutation (bigger pieces) — cross-compatible so old and new clients share a room.
• NewModern partyline chat with grouping, nick colours, timestamps, mentions and badges.
• NewPrivate messages — 1-on-1 DMs between Blocktrix clients.
• NewMobile-only channels for phone and tablet players.
• BetterThe classic year-2000 block game, rebuilt in a modern engine — 16 specials and 11 neon themes across Windows, Linux and Android (plus a macOS community build).