What is Tetris?

Tetris is the classic block-stacking puzzle game. Rotate and position falling tetrominoes to complete horizontal lines. As lines clear, the game speeds up. Compete against yourself for the highest score and longest survival time.

The board is the canonical 10 columns wide, 20 rows tall, with the seven standard tetrominoes (I, O, T, S, Z, J, L) and a hold slot. Touch controls work on mobile, while desktop uses arrow keys with Z/X to rotate and space to hard drop. Your high score is kept on the device between sessions.

How to use

1. Use arrow keys or on-screen controls to move and rotate the falling pieces left, right, or down.
2. Complete full horizontal lines to clear them and earn points. Clear multiple lines at once for bonus points.
3. The game speeds up as your score increases. The game ends when blocks stack to the top of the board.

When to use

• A five-minute coffee break when you want to think about something other than work.
• Quick reflex warm-up before a stream, study session, or interview.
• Showing kids the classic game on a laptop without installing an app or making an account.

Result

During a quick break, you play Tetris starting at level 1. After clearing 40 lines, you reach level 5 with a score of 12,500 — a new personal best you can try to beat next time.

FAQ

How do I rotate pieces and use hard drop?

Up arrow or X rotates clockwise, Z rotates counter-clockwise, and space hard-drops the piece to the bottom for instant lock. On mobile, swipe left or right to move, swipe down for soft drop, and tap to rotate.

What does the hold slot do?

Hold sets the current falling piece aside for later. Press the hold key (C by default in many ports) once per piece — when you press again the held piece comes back. Useful for saving an I-piece for a four-line clear.

How does scoring work?

A single line gives 100 points times the current level, two lines 300x, three 500x, and a four-line clear (the Tetris) gives 800x. Consecutive clears earn a combo bonus of 50 × combo × level on top of the line score, and chaining Tetrises back-to-back without breaking the streak multiplies the Tetris score by 1.5x.

Does the game get harder over time?

Yes, the level rises every ten lines you clear and each new level speeds up the gravity, giving you less time to position each piece. Around level 15 pieces fall almost as fast as you can react, which is where most runs end.

Is my high score saved if I close the tab?

Yes. The best score lives in local storage on your device, so it survives reloads and tab closes. Switching to a different browser or clearing site data resets it, but no scores are uploaded anywhere.

Related Tools