Do I dare say there is a better puzzle game than the world famous, best-selling, three-decade-old Tetris that was once downloaded on every Gameboy, flip phone and computer? Unfortunately, I think the day has come where a game with an all too familiar look and purpose has outdone the original.

1010! was released to Google Play and the App Store on Sept. 25, 2014, but did not emerge in the top app rankings until January. In the App Store, the free game is currently ranked as the No. 1 board game and the 50th best app overall.

After downloading the game, there is no tutorial or instructions available anywhere within the app, so the first time you play, you have to figure out how it works yourself. While the concept is not hard to unveil, the lack of explanation by the developer may leave users confused and frustrated.

When you hit the big green play button on the home screen, it takes you to a blank 10 by 10 board of squares with three shapes beneath it. Nine different shapes with designated colors are reoriented and recycled throughout the game, and range from a single purple cube to a large teal three by three cube that is notorious for ending games. You may place the shapes anywhere on the board, with the objective of completing a line of 10 squares either vertically or horizontally to clear that line. You get three new shapes every time you are done placing your current shapes on the board.

Sounds too easy, right? Well, the game can become extremely frustrating when the given shapes work against you in filling up your board rather than clearing it. It seems that when you need a particular shape the most, it will not come around forever, and the shape conveyor will instead keep feeding you the largest, most inconvenient blocks to kill your game. The game is over when you do not have room on your board for a given shape.

While the game isn’t action-packed or perhaps exciting at all, it is addicting to see how long you can go and if you can beat your high score, which is a big component of the game. The game is scored simply, awarding you a point for every square on the board you fill, and 10 points for every row you clear. For example, if you place a two by two cube on the board, you will get four points, and if that cube happens to clear two rows, you will get an additional 20 points. If it isn’t thrilling enough to play just to better your own high score, you can also connect to Facebook and play against friends.

In comparison to Tetris, it’s nice that there is no time limit on arranging your blocks, which gives you time to look around the board and strategize, like in a chess match. On the downside, 1010! is a bit harder due to the aspect that after completing a row, only that row is cleared, and not everything above it like in Tetris.

If you like fun, challenging puzzle games, and have time to kill—you won’t play it just once—go download 1010! for free in your smartphone’s app store.

by RYLEA GILLIS