AVALANCHE

■ Drop. Connect. Let the avalanche begin.

AVALANCHE is a falling-block puzzle about placing pieces and clearing lines. Stack five-cell pieces called Trons, then reshape the board with column-by-column gravity and sideways pushes. Blocks fall into the gaps left by a clear, sometimes setting off an unexpected chain.

■ How to play

◆ Clear a line, then watch each column fall

Fill a horizontal line to clear it. The blocks above fall down their own columns and close the gaps. Blocks that were separated can come together and trigger another clear before you place the next piece. Plan not just for the line you are clearing, but for where the remaining blocks will land.

◆ Seven five-cell Trons and the one-cell Spark

The normal pieces are seven different five-cell Trons. Each set also includes one Spark, a special one-cell piece. While Spark is falling, touch a neighboring block and press in the same direction again to push the connected cluster one cell sideways. Use the space you open to set up your next line.

◆ Snow takes up space on the board

Snow falls as the game progresses. It leaves less room for your pieces, but Spark can push it from the side or land on it from above to crush it. Check the snowfall forecast and decide whether to clear the snow or build around it in another column.

◆ Place quickly, or keep more time before the snow

Hard drop instantly drops and locks a Tron. It also advances the snowfall countdown by one extra turn compared with a normal lock. With 10 turns remaining, a normal lock leaves 9 and a hard drop leaves 8. Choose between a quick placement and more turns before the next snowfall.

■ Six solo modes

Choose a mode with its own goal.

Endless (ENDLESS) : Build your score until game over.

Cascade (CASCADE) : Race to clear 120 lines.

Rush (RUSH) : Race to clear 50 lines.

Storm (STORM) : Chase a high score in three minutes.

Pressure (PRESSURE) : Survive while clearing lines that rise from below.

Combo Hunt (COMBO HUNT) : Race to reach 12 consecutive clears (12 CON).

■ 180-second online battles

Find an opponent through Random Match, or share a room number to play with a friend. Clear lines and build chains to send trash lines to your opponent. Win by making the opponent top out, or by leading in score when the 180-second timer runs out.

■ Features

Seven normal five-cell Trons and the one-cell Spark.

Blocks fall column by column to fill gaps after a clear.

Push connected clusters sideways to open space.

Plan around snow with the snowfall forecast.

Hold, Ghost and NEXT previews.

Keyboard and XInput controller support.

Japanese, English, Simplified Chinese and Korean UI, achievements and personal bests.