Tetra Blocks
Pieces of four squares fall, you rotate and slide them, and a complete horizontal line disappears. Tetra Blocks puts neon around a set of rules that almost everybody already knows.
Everyone knows the rules and almost nobody plays it well, because the game that looks like reflexes is actually about the shape of the surface you leave behind. Skilled play is quiet and slow at the start and only looks fast because the decisions were made two pieces ago.
How to play Tetra Blocks
- Move the falling piece left and right.
- Rotate it to change its orientation.
- Drop it into place.
- A complete horizontal row clears and everything above falls.
- The game ends when the stack reaches the top.
The seven pieces
There are seven shapes and each has a job. The long straight piece is the only one that clears four rows at once. The square is the least flexible thing in the game. The S and Z shapes are the ones that create holes if you place them carelessly, and they are why a flat surface is so valuable.
Tips and strategy
Keep it flat
The surface you build is the real board. A flat stack accepts every piece. A jagged one rejects most of them, and each rejected piece makes it worse.
Every placement should be judged by what it leaves behind, not by whether it fitted.
Holes are permanent
A covered gap cannot be filled until every row above it clears. One hole costs a little, three holes usually cost the game. Given a choice between an awkward placement with no hole and a tidy one with a hole, take the awkward placement every time.
The well
- Leave one column open, usually at the edge, for the long piece.
- Build the other nine columns level.
- When the straight piece arrives, drop it in and clear four rows at once.
- Do not open a second well. One is a strategy, two is a jagged stack.
Speed
- Decide where the piece is going before it has fallen far.
- Use the preview. The next piece is shown and it should change the current placement.
- Do not fine tune at the bottom. Adjustments in the last moment are how pieces land one column off.
- As the speed rises, simplify. Flat and boring survives, clever does not.
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Frequently asked questions
How many block shapes are there?
Seven, each made of four squares. The long straight piece is the only one that can clear four rows in a single drop.
Why should I keep the stack flat?
Because a flat surface accepts every shape. A jagged surface refuses most of them, and each badly fitting piece makes the next one harder.
What is a well?
A single column left open, usually at one edge, so that a straight piece can drop in and clear four lines at once. One well is a plan, two is just a mess.
How do I stop making holes?
Judge each placement by the surface it leaves rather than by whether the piece fitted, and prefer an ugly flat placement over a neat one that buries a gap.
Is Tetra Blocks free?
Yes. It runs in the browser, free, with nothing to download.