Get Better at Tetris

You may have seen certain players that are extremely good at Tetris - as in, they move so fast that you're not even sure they're human anymore. You too can improve your skills and play at a higher level; learn some basic tricks such as the "T-Spin" or avoiding "garbage", and you'll be a star player in no time!

Steps

  1. Learn how to do a T-Spin. In certain versions of Tetris, a T-Spin will count for extra points. (Don't worry, it's easier than it looks!)
    • Set up a T-Slot. A T-Slot should be exactly the same size as a T-Block, with one central block on the bottom and three horizontal blocks on top. See the picture at the beginning of this step for reference. Make sure your space going down to the T-Slot is only two blocks wide.
    • Let the T-Block fall slowly toward the bottom. Keep an eye on it as it moves.
    • When the T-Block is close to the bottom, press up to start rotating it. It looks impossible, but you can actually rotate the T-Block beneath the overhang.
    • T-Spins can be worth 400 points. Clearing 2 lines with a T-Spin is worth even more.
    • When the level and speed get high, you can rotate the piece constantly to lengthen the amount of time you have to drop it. Learn to use both clockwise and counter-clockwise keys to rotate, and remember to sometimes hold an I-Piece in your Hold. You can set up combos by leaving a two block wide gutter at the side of a stack, and then when its almost to the top, insert pieces vertically into it. Play it smart and you can get up to 9 combo or more.
  2. Do Tetrises. A "tetris" is when you clear four lines at once. The easiest way to do this is to build up four solid lines, and leave a one-block column clear on one side. Then, when you get an I-Block (the long, skinny one), use it to clear all four lines at once. Tetrises help you gain points fast, and are a good weapon in 2-player mode.
  3. Determine your playing style. There are several ways to play Tetris, but here are two common beginner styles:
    • Horizontal: Most people start out this way, trying to make sure every piece is laid horizontally and not caring about garbage, just making sure that it's flat.
    • Vertical: Some people experiment with this after horizontal. This usually happens when they get more familiar with garbage and the horrors it brings. They try to usually lay everything vertical, but caring more about filling in holes and and not letting garbage appear.
  4. Try to avoid garbage. Garbage is, quite simply, the holes that form in the Matrix because of a misplaced block. Because of garbage, certain rows cannot be cleared, as there is a hole and an unfilled space where a block should be. It is usually a pain in the neck to get rid of garbage, so that's one of the reasons it got it's name. Usually, players try not to let garbage appear, instead opting to do anything but let it. Or sometimes, if they are sure that they can clear it, they let it happen, then get rid of it.
  5. Keep pushing yourself. Don't just restart a game that's going poorly - try to save it! If you can set your level at the beginning of the game, try to pick one that challenges you without making the game insanely difficult. Practicing like this will make you better in no time.
  6. Battle another player. 2-Player Battle is a common mode in most types of Tetris. In this mode, you and an enemy player face off in a battle of wits, determination and calculated button-mashing. The first person to top out (that is, get blocks all the way to the top of the screen) loses.
    • Learn how to attack in 2P. Lines are sent to your opponent's Matrix whenever you clear two or more lines, do a combo, or do a T-Spin. When you send two lines to your opponent, they receive one, when you send 3, they receive 2, but when you send a Tetris (four lines), they receive the full four. T-Spins also do hilarious amounts of damage to your enemy, and so do combos.
      • One thing that is almost never mentioned or done is a Dual-Tetris. It sends 10 (4 for first Tetris, 6 for second if back to back) lines towards your opponent, and considering that the height of the Matrix is 20 Minos high, that's half their Matrix! Many times it is easy to destroy a person with one of these. So here's how you do it. In Tetris, there is a Hold Queue. You can press C or SHIFT(default) to place a piece in your Hold Queue. When you get a little bit better, you can set up a stack of pieces at least 8 lines high. Beware of the risks though, if the enemy does a Dual or even a regular Tetris at that moment, you're pretty much done. While you're setting up those 8 lines, you should HOLD one I-Piece(stick),then when you receive another one, pull off the move. When one I-Piece is dropping and you have the other one in your Hold, use one for a Tetris, then press the Hold button again to switch to the other one, using it for a Tetris as well.
  7. Practice! You know when they say: when you practice something, it becomes easier. The cool thing about Tetris is that when you play it once, you feel yourself getting better after 1 minute. Just play a lot, and if you really love the game, through your playing you will eventually find your own personal style of playing.

Tetris Friends Game Modes

  1. Marathon: A Tetris player can't be called a Tetris player unless they've played Marathon at least once in their lifetime. This is where it all began. Basically, Marathon is the classic game mode of Tetris, where different blocks fall from the top, you have to rotate them and stick them into holes so you can fill entire rows and clear lines. A line gets taken off of the Matrix (playfield) when an entire row is solidly filled with squares. When the line is cleared, all the pieces on top of it move down one row to fill in the empty space.
  2. Sprint: Now that Marathon has been explained, all other game modes of Tetris are based off of this. The way you score is the same, but different strategies are necessary. Sprint is exactly like Marathon, the only difference is that you're not trying to survive as long as you can (hopefully to level 16 when the game ends at Tetris Friends). Instead, your goal is to clear 40 lines as fast as you can. You don't worry about score or anything, just wanna clear those 40 lines. There's a timer at the top of the screen that tells you how well you're doing. Generally, anything under 2 minutes is a very good score, anything under 1 minute and 30 seconds is excellent, and if you can get under one minute, you are a top dog.
  3. Survival: Survival is just like Marathon, in that you have to clear lines to get to the next level. The thing is though, that instead of clearing more lines every time, you always have to clear 10, and instead of getting to level 15, you have to get past level 20 for it to count as a very good game and 40 Tokens. There's a catch, though. As soon as you beat level 20, a Bonus Round commences and all the blocks you've laid down so far start to flicker and disappear. Every once in a while, you get a glimpse of the pieces. This is why it's called Survival. In order for you to truly get far in the Bonus Round, you need to have an excellent memory, and remember exactly where every single piece has fallen.
  4. Ultra: This mode is also a fairly classic mode of Tetris, and back in the day, the only two modes available were this and, of course, Marathon. In Ultra, you have 2 minutes to get as much points as possible. Think of is as a time trial. This is a good training mode for speed. Speed is a huge component of Tetris.
  5. Sprint 5-Player: This is going to be a mode that you will play a lot in the beginning, and then maybe leave later on. The reason is that it's the first multiplayer mode you get (and the only one you get if you don't have an account). In it, you go face to face with 4 other people and attempt to make them breathe your dust as you try to clear 40 lines faster than any single one of them. It gets pretty hectic at times. In this mode you can gain Ranks (which is kind of like leveling up), and the higher Rank you are, the harder the competition gets.



Tips

  • If you start to dream about Tetris and see how different stuff in the street fit together after playing for a while, don't worry, you're not insane, it happens to every serious Tetris player. Usually only around 3 times though, and it's actually kind of FUN! It's just your brain adjusting to it.
  • Practice really does make perfect, or pretty darn good.
  • You can buy small handheld Tetris games at any mall or store, usually they are black and white graphics, but it still does wonders for on-the-go practice.
  • Even though the pieces fall down constantly and the whole stack moves downwards to fill in any empty spaces, there is no actual gravity in Tetris. Sometimes you may notice a Mino(small square) floating in mid-air, with no pieces around it, which usually results from clearing a line in a very strange way. You can sometimes exploit this to do certain things. This is not a glitch, just the specific algorithm that Tetris uses.
  • You might get the urge to organize your room. By all means, do it! It's good practice, and it'll make for tidy living conditions.
  • In the beginning, don't use Ghost Pieces(turn them off) or Hold Queue(just don't press the button). It will be insanely difficult, but do it. Pretty soon, you will start to like the game and how easy it's become. Instead of losing at level 3 you might lose at 6, and then 8, then 10. If you get to level 5 without Ghost or Hold, then turn Ghost on and start using Hold.
  • The following control layout is recommended:
    Up:HARD DROP
    Down:SOFT DROP
    Left and Right:LEFT AND RIGHT
    Z and X:ROTATE CLOCKWISE AND COUNTERCLOCKWISE
    C:HOLD
  • If you're having trouble with t-spins, try to identify the patterns in the matrix that can lead to an easy set up- everyone plays differently, but for me its all about patterns. Once you can identify them in your current game it gets easier to integrate them into your future game.
  • Find out what type of Tetris you'd like to play. Tetris has many versions and variants. Here are some free possibilities:
    • Tetris Friends: This is a good site to play at, beginner or intermediate, pro, or legend. It has ghost pieces, hard (instant) drop, customizable pieces and ghosts, different game modes, a leaderboard, hold queue, customizable controls and even real-time multiplayer. Multiplayer is currently a 5-Player Sprint Mode and a 2-Player Battle Mode.
    • Play Tetris: A more old-school version of Tetris, it doesn't have a hold queue, doesn't award points for T-Spins and is a bit harder in the controls, seeing as they take more time to register, as well as the fact that they aren't customizable. Single player only.
    • Free Tetris : This is just like Play Tetris, only with a bigger screen.

Warnings

  • Tetris can be addictive.

Related Articles

  • Play Tetris
  • Play Tetris at an Advanced Level
  • Use Video Games to Improve Your Brain Power
  • Get a High Score in Tetris
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