Blox

There are at least two completely unrelated games named Blox.

Blox by Graham Cluley (DOS, 1990)

Blox was Graham Cluley's first graphic game (ASCII graphics are graphics) after he gained some fame with two text adventures. It is remarkable for a couple of reasons (mind that all the firsts and onlies are according to my current knowledge):

• It is one of the very few PC Tetris games that run in 40-column text mode. The only other ones I know are the original Tetris and Tore Bastiansen's Small Tetris.
• It is probably the game closest to the screen layout of the original (again, on the PC), though the well is 11 instead of 10 columns wide and the scoring system is rather arcane.
• Not counting commercial spin-offs like Klax and Stack Up, it was the first Tetris clone from the UK, and has remained one of the few.
• It was also the first DOS game with ASCII graphics from the UK, and has remained one of the few. The only other one I know is the Mahjongg solitaire Tiles.
• But most of all, it is the game with the most sophisticated boss key ever: a fake spreadsheet into which you can actually enter data.

After Blox, Graham Cluley wrote one more game: Wilf II, a Pac-Man clone or rather variant that is every bit as remarkable as Blox.

Blox by Mike Hershberg (Windows, 1994)

This Blox is a little bit like Chip's Challenge, only less complex. You must guide circle face to the exit, pushing, blowing up, or unlocking blocks on the way.