🧱 Blocks

Rules

A new piece appears at the top and falls one row at a time. Complete a horizontal row with no gaps to clear it; every block above drops down. Clearing one, two, three or four lines at once scores 100, 300, 500 or 800 points, multiplied by your level. Every ten lines the level rises and pieces fall faster. The game ends when a new piece has no room to appear.

Controls

• ← → move the piece, ↑ rotates it.
• ↓ soft drops one row, Space hard drops it to the floor.
• Touch: tap to rotate, swipe sideways to move, swipe down to drop.
• The Next box shows the piece that comes after the current one.

Strategy tips

• Keep the stack flat; deep holes and tall towers are what end most games.
• Leave one column open at the edge and save it for the long I piece to clear four lines at once.
• Check the Next box before placing a piece, so you can plan two moves ahead.
• Pieces come in shuffled sets of seven, so you will never wait more than twelve pieces for any shape.
• Rotate near walls freely: pieces nudge sideways to fit when there is room.

History

The falling block genre began in 1984, when Alexey Pajitnov created Tetris at the Soviet Academy of Sciences. It became one of the best-selling games ever, and its rules inspired countless puzzle games like this one.

FAQ

• How do I score the most points? Clear four lines at once. A four-line clear is worth 800 points times your level, double the value of four single clears.
• Can I play on my phone? Yes. Tap the board to rotate, swipe left or right to move and swipe down to drop the piece.
• Why did my piece not rotate? It only rotates when the turned shape fits. Near walls the game tries small sideways shifts first; if all are blocked, move the piece and try again.

Build it yourself

Curious how this game works? Our step-by-step tutorial How to Make a Tetris-Style Game in JavaScript rebuilds it from this page's code, with examples you can copy.