Xixit

Xixit is a falling-blocks puzzle video game for MS-DOS from 1995, in some ways similar to Tetris. The purpose is to earn points by lining up the colored gems, that come falling from the top of the playing field in sets of 3, in such a way that a 3 or more identical gems are lined up, in any direction.

Vertical blocks of 3 random colored gems keep falling down the screen filling up the playing field. Depending on the three difficulty modes, each gem can be one of the 4, 5 or 6 possible gems. Once the stack of gems reaches the top of the screen, the player reaches a game over.

However, the player can remove gems by creating vertical, horizontal or diagonal lines of 3 or more identical gems. The place the blocks fall down can be determined by using the keyboard controls to move the block left and right across the screen while it is falling. In addition, the player can rotate the order of the 3 gems in a block for as long as it is falling. When blocks are removed, the other gems drop further down where this is possible. So much like Tetris, removing blocks not only delivers the player points, it also prevents the playing field from filling up and reaching a game over.

The natural speed with which the blocks come falling down the screen increases with each level. The player progresses to the next level when a certain amount of points are earned.