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I've been playing Tetris on the virtual Game Boy console on my Nintendo Switch. As a kid, with an actual Game Boy, I remember getting to see a space shuttle launch after doing well enough on an A-Type game.

This Gamespot forum guide claims that this ending appears after you get more than 200,000 points. So far, I've managed about 269,000 points (getting to level 16), but I only saw the third rocket in this image launch.

The image states that the three rockets appear after 100,000, 150,000, and 200,000 points respectively, which matches my experience, but says nothing about the shuttle.

What do I have to do to get the shuttle?

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You are playing the wrong game mode.

In A-TYPE, a rocket launch is shown when the player surpasses a certain score:

  • 100,000 to 149,999 points: small rocket
  • 150,000 to 199,999 points: medium-sized rocket
  • 200,000 or more points: big rocket

The small, medium, and large Tetris rocket graphics

In B-TYPE, a screen with Russian musicians and dancers is shown when completing 25 lines on level 9. The number of musicians and dancers increases with the initial height level. When completing level 9 on height 5, a Buran shuttle launch is shown additionally.

The Tetris space shuttle graphic

Source

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  • Ah! Sweet. Are the A-Type vessels missiles, and not rockets?
    – Paul D. Waite
    Feb 13 at 0:07
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    This is the kind of misunderstanding that could spark a nuclear war! What is Nintendo thinking?!?
    – Paul D. Waite
    Feb 13 at 0:23
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    "Big missile" looks like a R-7 derivative. Initially an ICBM, the rocket family has been the primary orbital launch system for the Soviet Union and Russia. Here it appears to have a Soyuz spacecraft on top.
    – SE - stop firing the good guys
    Feb 13 at 7:53
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    @PaulD.Waite In general - especially during the Space Race - the only difference between a missile and a rocket is whether you put explosives or a satellite/capsule on top. To me the "medium-sized rocket" looks a lot like a Titan II - the launch vehicle ("rocket") used for the Gemini program, which was derived from an ICBM (missile).
    – Andrzej Doyle
    Feb 14 at 17:30
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    @PaulD.Waite I think that's a fair assumption. Additionally, while the tops of the Titan ICBM and Titan GLV look nearly identical at this resolution (a black triangle), the top of the R7 definitely shows a Soyuz-like capsule rather than its missile variant (which again would be a simple tapering triangle).
    – Andrzej Doyle
    Feb 15 at 10:06

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