How to play Tetris
Tetris is the falling-block puzzle that needs no introduction. Pieces of four blocks drop into a 10 × 20 well; slide and rotate them so they fit together, and complete rows to clear them away.
Besides Classic, you can try Cascade, where loose blocks crumble into gaps for chain reactions, and Sand, where every piece turns into falling sand.
Rules
- Classic: fill a row from wall to wall and it disappears. Clearing 1, 2, 3 or 4 rows at once scores 100, 300, 500 or 800 points × (level + 1).
- Every 10 lines raises the level and pieces fall faster.
- Cascade: after each clear, loose blocks fall into the gaps below. Every extra clear in the same chain multiplies the points (×2, ×3…).
- Sand: locked pieces turn into grains of sand in four colours. Connect one colour from the left wall to the right wall to wash it away.
- Soft drop earns 1 point per row and hard drop 2 points per row.
- The game ends when a new piece has no room at the top. Each mode keeps its own high scores.
Controls
- ← →
- Move the piece
- ↑ / X
- Rotate clockwise
- Z
- Rotate counter-clockwise
- ↓
- Soft drop
- Space
- Hard drop
- P / Esc
- Pause
- Touch
- On-screen buttons for move, rotate, soft and hard drop
Tips
- Keep the stack flat and leave one column open for the long I piece — a four-line Tetris is worth eight single lines.
- Watch the Next preview and plan where the following piece will go.
- A piece that has landed can still slide and rotate for a moment before it locks, which is enough to tuck it under an overhang.
About Tetris
Tetris was created in 1984 by Alexey Pajitnov at the Soviet Academy of Sciences in Moscow, on an Electronika 60 that could only draw characters — the first pieces were made of square brackets. It spread across early PCs and then the Game Boy in 1989, and the “one more line” pull made it a fixture of office lunch breaks everywhere.
This is an original browser remake inspired by the classic: the 10 × 20 well, seven pieces and the familiar line scores are all here, plus two modes of our own — Cascade, where loose blocks fall into gaps, and Sand, where pieces dissolve into coloured grains.
Questions
Is this the original Tetris?
No. It is an original remake inspired by the 1984 classic, free to play in your browser with nothing to download. The well, pieces and scoring follow the familiar rules; Cascade and Sand modes are our own additions.
How do I play Tetris on a phone?
On touch devices the game shows on-screen buttons for moving, rotating, soft drop and hard drop. On a keyboard use the arrows, X and Z to rotate, and Space for a hard drop.
How is the score calculated?
Clearing 1, 2, 3 or 4 lines at once scores 100, 300, 500 or 800 points multiplied by (level + 1). Soft drops add 1 point per row and hard drops 2. The level rises every 10 lines.
Are my scores saved?
Yes, locally in your browser, with a separate high score for each mode. If you choose a nickname you can also post qualifying scores to the global tops — no email, no password.