How to Play Tetris

Setup

Open the home page or any playable mode page and the game starts in the browser. No signup is required. On desktop, focus the canvas and use the keyboard. On mobile, use the touch panel at the bottom of the screen or switch to swipe mode in settings.

Goal

The goal is to place falling pieces inside the board and clear horizontal lines. A row clears when every cell in that row is filled. Cleared rows give points and make room for more pieces. The run ends when the stack reaches the top, except relaxed modes that may allow a penalty recovery.

Controls

Move with Arrow Left or A and Arrow Right or D. Soft drop with Arrow Down or S. Hard drop with Space. Rotate clockwise with Arrow Up or X, rotate counter-clockwise with Z, rotate 180 with C, hold with Shift, pause with P or Esc, restart with R, start a new seed with N, and full screen with F.

Line clears

One filled row clears a single line. Two, three, or four rows can clear at once if the placement completes them together. Larger clears are worth more points, but clean survival is more important for beginners. A smaller clear that fixes a dangerous board is often better than waiting too long for a big score.

Scoring

Classic scoring uses level multipliers: single line clears score 100 times level, doubles score 300 times level, triples score 500 times level, and four-line clears score 800 times level. Soft drops and hard drops add small placement bonuses. Every ten cleared lines increases the level and makes gravity faster.

Beginner strategy

Keep the stack reasonably flat, avoid covered holes, and glance at the next queue before committing to a placement. Use hold when the current piece would create a problem but the held piece or next piece can keep the surface clean. Do not panic hard drop on mobile; keep misdrop protection on until you are comfortable.

Common mistakes

The most common mistake is covering a hole because the current piece seems to fit. Another mistake is building one column far higher than the rest of the board. A third mistake is ignoring the next queue and solving only the current piece. The after-game analysis highlights holes and stack danger so you can pick a useful drill.

Practice drills

Try flat stacking for twenty pieces without creating a hole. Then practice downstacking by deliberately fixing a messy board. Sprint players should do short 40 Lines attempts and review where time was lost. Casual players can use Zen mode to practice placements without pressure.