u/Mission-Long-2913

Game Title: Teskyra

Playable Link: https://kalachama.itch.io/teskyra

Platforms: Web on PC/mobile

Description: Teskyra is a falling-piece puzzle game where the gameboard is an Archimedean tessellation. Pieces are chiral (left- and right-handed) and can be flipped to their counterpart. Complete two adjacent rows to clear them. Getting stuck? Strip the piece of its outer shapes, then get two more of that center shape as a bonus to get past those tricky bottlenecks. Earn extra "strips" ever 2,500 points. If a piece is placed where it doesn't match, it pops and you lose a heart. If it matches, it locks in and the next piece is served. Use the piece preview to plan ahead.

In tutorial mode, each shape's component pieces are fully outlined to show how they match the background pattern. In casual mode, the full piece is outlined. Both also have wall kicks on, instead of the walls blocking piece rotation, as they do in hardcore mode.

Current hardcore mode high score 33,619. You can beat it!

Teskyra is free to play.

Development: creator, developer.

Videos are double speed with no audio.

Casual mode video

Hi Tetris fans,

I've posted about Teskyra a few times already. Let me be a bit more thorough here.

Teskyra is another falling-piece puzzle game, sharing the genre with Tetris, but it is not a reskin, fan game, or knock-off copy. The seed for the game was looking at Archimedean tessellations and imagining games that could be played on these alternative "grids". If you're interested in detail about this development, see my dev logs here (three more to come):

https://kalachama.itch.io/teskyra/devlog/1581365/teskyra-completed-and-launched-development-notes

https://kalachama.itch.io/teskyra/devlog/1587752/teskyra-detailed-devlog-part-1

Teskyra is named for: "Tes" from tessellation and "kyra" for chiral, meaning the left- and right-handed nature of the flippable piece pairs. You can play it here: https://kalachama.itch.io/teskyra

I'm interested in people trying out the game and giving me feedback, of which I've gotten some useful responses already, here on reddit and over on the godot community forums.

I will post a video comment below so you can get a quick visual on what the gameplay looks like--from my latest high score. I'll post the double-speed version with audio, but there are more samples on my YouTube channel, here: https://www.youtube.com/@Teskyra/shorts .

Important notes about gameplay!

• Teskyra is a harder game than Tetris. The pieces only lock when they are oriented to match the background geometry. If there's no match, they pop, and you lose one of 10 hearts.
• There's no game-over-when-you-reach-the-top mechanic. The hearts will bleed out fast if you get anywhere near the top.
• Row clears happen in adjacent pairs, to maintain the background geometry. Single filled rows must wait for a completed partner for them to both clear together.
• The ten pieces come in five pairs, which the player can flip between (F on keyboard, or the on-screen button using touch controls): towers (square-ended), bolts (diamond-ended), claws (right-angled, diamond-ended), cup/tack (right-angled, square-ended), and thorns (the only two-shape pieces).
• Thorns are your friend as they will always have (multiple) legal placements.
• Learning the colours of the pieces and what tends to go easily in which columns is particularly important, especially for placing vertical towers and bolts.
• Strategic stack management and piece placement will help to avoid bottlenecks (no legal placement options). For example: place as much of a piece as low or flat as you can, don't leave any holes if possible, and I've found trying to keep a flat area available for the wider pieces can be helpful.
• Learn how to use the Strip mechanic / charges to get through those bottlenecks! Bottlenecks happen when the top shape along your whole stack is the same (squares or diamonds), which means certain pieces you get served will have no legal placement.
• This is why Strip was invented: it removes the two outer shapes, leaving only the center, and serves your next two pieces as only that same center piece. In practice, I've found it's better to use these charges when you need them rather than trying to save them. But don't use them unless you have to.
• You get a new Strip charge every 2,500 points.

I think if people understand the game better, they'll enjoy playing it more.

Please tell me what you think, or if you have any detailed feedback or comments! Thank you in advance for being constructive and helpful.

https://i.redd.it/535ju871wudh1.gif

Try Teskyra here: https://kalachama.itch.io/teskyra

Watch a gameplay video below:

High score clip (normal speed)

2x speed

4x no audio

https://i.redd.it/c7wga4wa93dh1.gif

If you want to try another falling-piece puzzle game that's a different challenge on a different kind of grid with different pieces...check this out!

https://i.redd.it/ksmnb8oxpych1.gif

Game Title: Teskyra

Playable Link: https://kalachama.itch.io/teskyra

Platform: itch.io / web

Description:

Teskyra

Created by Kalani L Chapman, prompt engineered with Claude AI, all sounds from Freesound (CC0 licenses...but I will try to rediscover their creators for attribution).

Teskyra (pronounced tes-KYE-ruh) is a falling-piece puzzle game played on an Archimedean tessellation (the "tes" in the name) where squares and diamonds alternate in a repeating pattern. The pieces are all left- or right-handed (chiral--the "kyra" in the name), and can be flipped to their opposite orientations. Pieces fall from the top (or sky) and you try to fill rows. Unlike other falling-piece puzzle games, the unusual grid means placement requires more thought: each piece must land in an empty cell that matches its shape and orientation, or it disappears (pops) and you lose a heart.

Two adjacent rows must be completed to clear together.

There are ten piece types, all geometrically paired:

Tower r/L · Cup/Tack · Bolt r/L · Claw r/L · Thorn r/L

Controls Touch / Keyboard

Move L/R Swipe L/R / ⬅ ➡

Drop one row ⬇ (keyboard only)

Rotate Tap / ⬆

Hard drop Swipe ⬇ / Space

Flip Flip button / F

Strip ⚡ button / S

   (Strips outer shapes from piece, leaving only the center x3 — easier to place)

Scoring

Each Flip reduces your score by 2 points

Successful placement: 10 points

Hard drop bonus: +1 per row dropped

Row clear: 250 points

Lives & Progression

Start with 10 lives. Bad placements cost a heart. Pieces spawning on an existing stack also cost a heart. Speed increases with level. Gain a Strip charge every 2,500 points. Game over when you lose your last heart.

Tips

Learn which colors of which shapes align naturally in which columns--most useful for towers and bolts. Place pieces to fill gaps as far down as possible. Avoid leaving deep holes. Rotate pieces freely away from the sides and stacked pieces, where they won't be blocked. Use Strip to escape situations where a piece has no legal placement! Beware stacks near the top as they can result in rapid heart loss!

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Free to Play - Donations appreciated!

I developed this game on Godot, prompt engineered with Claude AI.

Feedback appreciated! I hope you enjoy it or even love it!

High score to beat (someone will surpass me one day, surely?):

https://preview.redd.it/x8mg3borpych1.png?width=437&format=png&auto=webp&s=4d4e40ea0412d2fa97b23bbe3556c1530a48f880