Crack Attack!

2026-07-10T22:58:25Z

Thiosaur: Expand stub: add gameplay, development, ports and distribution sections; complete infobox and add repositories

{{Gameinfo
|title = Crack Attack!
|image = Image:Crack_Attack!.png
|caption = ''Crack Attack!'' 1.1.14
|genres =
|genre = [[:Category:Puzzle games|Puzzle]], [[:Category:Tetris-like games|Tetris-like]]
|developers = [[Daniel Nelson]], [[Andrew Sayman]]
|developer =
|code licenses =
|code license = [[GNU General Public License|GPLv2]]<ref name="lic">https://www.nongnu.org/crack-attack/</ref>
|media licenses =
|media license =
|engines =
|engine =
|latest release = 1.1.14
|release date = May 14{{th}}, 2005
|release date iso = 2005-05-14
|release announcement = https://savannah.nongnu.org/forum/forum.php?forum_id=3898
|languages =
|language = [[:Category:C++ games|C++]]
|libraries =
|library = [[OpenGL]], [[GLUT]], [[Simple DirectMedia Layer|SDL]], cairo
|platforms =
|platform = {{Linux}}, {{Windows}}, {{Mac}}
|link homepage = https://www.nongnu.org/crack-attack/
|link chatweb =
|link forum =
|link project = https://savannah.nongnu.org/projects/crack-attack/
|link tracker = https://savannah.nongnu.org/bugs/?group=crack-attack
|link scmweb =
}}

{{Repositories
|right
|Debian = crack-attack
|Ubuntu = crack-attack
|Fedora = crack-attack
|Suse = crack-attack
|Gentoo = games-arcade/crack-attack
|Mageia = crack-attack
|FreeBSD = crack-attack
}}
'''Crack Attack!''' is a [[puzzle game]] by [[Daniel Nelson]] and [[Andrew Sayman]], a clone of ''Nintendo's [[:wikipedia:Tetris Attack|Tetris Attack]]''. It is written in [[:Category:C++ games|C++]] using [[OpenGL]], and also relies on [[GLUT]], [[Simple DirectMedia Layer|SDL]] and cairo. It runs on Linux, Windows and Mac OS X, and is licensed under the [[GNU General Public License|GPL]]. The last stable version, 1.1.14, was released on May 14{{th}}, 2005.

==Gameplay==
[[Image:Crack-attack-debgt20080921.png|thumb|right|A game of ''Crack Attack!'' in progress]]
The playfield keeps filling with coloured blocks pushed up from the bottom, and the aim is to stop the stack from reaching the top. Moving a cursor, the player swaps neighbouring blocks; lining up three or more of the same colour, in a row or a column, clears them. Clearing groups back-to-back or triggering chain reactions dumps "garbage" onto the opponent — or onto oneself in solo play. The whole thing gradually speeds up as a round goes on.

Available modes are a solo score attack, a two-player duel (shared screen, over a network, or against the computer), and an ''X-treme'' variant that adds further block and garbage types to raise the difficulty.

==Development==
The game was started by [[Daniel Nelson]] around 2000 and had made its way into [[Debian]] by the end of 2001. [[Andrew Sayman]] took over maintenance at release 1.1.10 and put out what turned out to be the last stable build, 1.1.14, in May 2005 — bringing a soundtrack by [[Miguel Ángel Vilela]], a cut-down graphics mode for weaker hardware and a computer opponent.

A 1.1.15 alpha appeared in June 2006, chiefly to trial a new [[ENet]]-based network layer, which broke compatibility with older clients; [[Thorbjørn Lindeijer]] lent a hand on graphics and networking around then. That build never reached a stable release, and in 2012 Sayman wrote on his blog that he had let the project go.<ref name="blog">https://gnu-lorien.livejournal.com/11774.html</ref>

===Ports===
Mac OS X was first handled by [[Jeff Disher]]; [[Daniel Aarno]] later put together a more rounded port, ''Mac Crack Attack!'', adding sound, a full-screen mode and a Cocoa front-end. Aarno's version far outlasted the original — a 2021 build still runs on recent Intel and Apple-silicon Macs.<ref name="mac">https://crackattack.sourceforge.net/</ref> The game also reached the [[Wii]] through a homebrew port by [[Alberto Mardegan]], released on the Open Shop Channel in 2024.<ref name="wii">https://oscwii.org/library/app/crack-attack</ref>

===Contributors===
* [[Daniel Nelson]]: original author;
* [[Andrew Sayman]]: maintainer (from version 1.1.10);
* [[Miguel Ángel Vilela]]: sound;
* [[Thorbjørn Lindeijer]]: rendering & networking;
* [[Kevin Webb]]: co-developer.

==Reception and distribution==
Packages exist for most large Linux distributions, and the game is still looked after in [[Debian]] by the Debian Games team.<ref name="tracker">https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/crack-attack</ref> It shipped out of the box on the [[Asus Eee PC]], showed up on plenty of magazine cover discs between 2004 and 2010, and had a listing on [[The Linux Game Tome]]. In its 2025 farewell issue, ''Linux Format'' picked it — alongside ''Unreal Tournament'' — as one of the magazine's two informal favourites.<ref name="lxf">https://archive.org/details/linux-format-july-2025-final-issue/page/8</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[https://www.nongnu.org/crack-attack/ Crack Attack!'s homepage]
*[https://savannah.nongnu.org/projects/crack-attack/ On Savannah]
*[https://crackattack.sourceforge.net/ Mac Crack Attack!]
*[https://gnu-lorien.livejournal.com Andrew Sayman's Blog]

[[Category:Games]]
[[Category:Puzzle games]]
[[Category:Tetris-like games]]
[[Category:Game clones]]
[[Category:OpenGL games]]
[[Category:SDL games]]
[[Category:GLUT games]]
[[Category:C++ games]]
[[Category:GPL games]]
[[Category:Physically released games]]

Libregamewiki - User contributions [en]

Crack Attack!