The number 13 might be unlucky for some, but Animal Crossing: New Horizons fans won’t mind that about the 13th Grand Prix event for the block dropping battle royale Tetris 99. This event will add a cute Animal Crossing theme for you to earn in game this weekend.
Running from 8AM BST on Friday 15th May to 7:59AM BST on Tuesday 19th, the Grand Prix will work almost exactly live every other themed event that has been run in Tetris 99 since its release last year. You simply take part in the game’s distinctive take on the battle royale genre, earning event points depending on how well you place. If you earn at least 100 points then you unlock the Animal Crossing: New Horizons theme to keep and use in the game permanently.
Tetris 99 is a free game included with Switch Online subscriptions, setting you against 98 other competitors in competitive Tetris, battling to knock other players out and survive until you’re the last one dropping. At the time of its release, I wrote:
“But in many ways, this is the purest form of Battle Royale we’ve seen thus far. You start with an even playing field on which pure skill can thrive as the field of players closes in, but because of that there’s also less chance for people to get lucky with good gear or to let others fight it out while you simply bide your time. Once you get to the final ten, you need to be a dab hand at Tetris or go home.”
The game has been used to promote and tie in with big releases on the Nintendo Switch since then, such as hosting a Fire Emblem crossover to go alongside the Fire Emblem: Three Houses release. However, Nintendo have also released DLC for the game that has expanded on that original premise.
The Big Block season pass has added offline modes like CPU Battle, where you fight 98 bots, and Marathon mode, which is a simple Tetris high score chase. Later last year, it then added local multiplayer modes, with Local Arena letting eight players battle locally, and 2P Share Battle facing you off against another player on the same system. This was all brought together in a retail release of the game.
Source: YouTube
