Tetris
Stack, rotate and clear lines in the classic block game.
FAQ
How do I play Tetris?
Why do the pieces fall faster?
How is scoring calculated?
Is my high score saved?
How to use
- Start and read the preview
Press Start and the first piece begins to fall. The preview panel shows the next piece, so you can plan where the current one should go before you rotate it.
- Move, rotate and drop
Use the left and right arrows or A and D to move the piece. The up arrow or X rotates it, and the down arrow speeds up the fall. The space bar hard-drops the piece to the bottom.
- Clear full rows for points
Fill all ten cells of a row and it disappears. One row scores 100, two score 300, three score 500 and four score 800, all multiplied by your current level.
- Level up every ten lines
Every ten cleared lines raise your level by one. Pieces fall faster and line scores grow with the level, so higher levels demand quicker decisions and better planning.
- Pause or start over
Press P or the Pause button to stop the game and press again to resume. Restart clears the score, level and line count so you can begin a fresh run.
About this tool
Tetris was designed in 1984 by the Soviet programmer Alexey Pajitnov, first implemented on an Elektronika 60 computer. It reached a worldwide audience in the late 1980s, above all through the Game Boy version. It became one of the best-selling video games ever made. Seven four-square pieces fall from the top; you rotate and shift them to fill complete rows, which then vanish. Scoring is 100 for one row, 300 for two, 500 for three and 800 for four, all multiplied by your level. Every ten cleared lines raises the level by one.
Tetris suits players who enjoy fast reactions and spatial planning. A round can be short or long, it pauses whenever you need, and it fits an elevator wait or a lunch break. The rules take seconds to grasp, yet a high score demands flat stacking and a reserved well for the long bar. For millions of people it was the first video game, and it is still easy to start and hard to stop.
How it works
The scoring table shows exactly where points live. Four single clears pay 400 in total, while one four-row Tetris pays 800. Both amounts are multiplied by your level, so the gap grows as you climb. That makes a reserved well for the I piece the main long-run strategy, even when early progress slows. Levels rise every ten lines and push the drop speed up, so flat stacking starts with the first piece, not after trouble appears.
The seven pieces are not a random pick. They are every way to join four squares edge to edge, so the set can never shrink or grow. The first version ran on a text terminal with no graphics, and pieces were drawn with brackets. The name joins tetra, Greek for four, with tennis, the sport Pajitnov liked. Knowing the shapes pays off directly. S and Z lean and hide holes, while J and L mirror each other. Half of each placement decision is made the moment the piece appears.
When to use it
- A ten-line lunch break
A round fits inside ten minutes and the P key pauses instantly. Line scores grow with the level, so even a short session can post a satisfying number, and two rounds cover a lunch break.
- Two skills in one game
Reading the preview, rotating and holding a well must all settle before the piece lands. That trains fast reaction and short planning together, and speed matters less than deciding before you place.
- Geometry for kids
Seven shapes that rotate, slide and complete a row make a vivid first geometry lesson. Let children master I and O for confidence, then add T and L, and spatial intuition grows on its own.
Tips & tricks
- Keep the stack flat and avoid deep wells, because a hole can only be filled by a long bar and quickly ruins a run.
- Save one vertical well for the I piece: clearing four rows at once scores 800 and is the fastest way to climb.
- Use the ghost outline and hard drop when the landing spot is obvious, so you save time for the pieces that follow.
Things to watch
- Filling in the well
Once a T or L plugs the column saved for the I piece, four-row clears disappear. Dig it open again, or keep the well empty and fill it with the bar in one deliberate stroke.
- Clearing the urgent row only
Random dumps that clear one protruding row often leave holes two or three cells deep. The row can wait; only a vertical bar reaches the holes, and flatness cannot be rebuilt cheaply.
- Hard-dropping on reflex
The space bar saves seconds but turns a misread landing into a collapsed layer. With a ghost outline and a preview on screen, half a second of checking rescues entire runs.