This is Tetris unblocked: the full game loads straight from tetris-unblocked.org in your browser, so you can play Tetris online free on a school Chromebook, a laptop or a phone with no download and no sign-up.
Tetris on a Brick Game screen: what is different here
Most browser Tetris games try to look like a modern console. This one goes the other way. React Tetris, written by the developer chvin and published as open source, copies the cheap handheld Brick Game consoles that sold everywhere in the 1990s: a yellow plastic case, a dull green LCD where the blocks are little black squares, and a row of round buttons underneath. The rules are the classic ones, and the bits that are different come straight from those handhelds.
The biggest difference is the setup screen. Before you press Space you choose two things. Left and Right set the speed from 1 to 6, and Up and Down set the start lines, from 0 to 10 rows of random junk already sitting at the bottom of the well. Speed 1 drops a piece one row every 0.8 seconds; speed 6 does it every 0.16 seconds. Starting on speed 3 with five junk rows is a very different game from speed 1 on an empty board, and that is the point: you set your own challenge.
Scoring is simple and printed on the screen. Every piece that lands is worth 10 points, plus 2 more for each speed level above 1. Clearing lines pays 100 for one, 300 for two, 700 for three and 1,500 for four at once, so a four-line clear is worth far more than four singles. Every 20 cleared lines the speed goes up one step until it reaches 6. The score counter tops out at 999,999.
Controls & mechanics
| Action | Control | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Move | Left / Right arrow | Slides the piece one column; hold to keep sliding |
| Rotate | Up arrow | Turns the piece; also adds a start line on the setup screen |
| Soft drop | Down arrow | Pushes the piece down faster while held |
| Hard drop | Space | Drops the piece to the bottom at once; also starts the game |
| Pause / sound / reset | P / S / R | Pause, switch the sound effects, or start over |
| Touch | Buttons on the console | The round buttons do the same as the keys on a phone or tablet |
Getting more lines in Tetris
- Keep one column open: Build up the other nine columns flat and leave one empty. When the long I piece comes, drop it in for a four-line clear worth 1,500.
- Watch the Next box: The next piece is shown on the right of the screen. Place the current piece with the next one in mind.
- Flat beats tall: A flat, even stack takes almost any piece. Towers and deep holes need one exact piece that may not come.
- Use hard drop once you are sure: Space saves time on fast speeds, but it cannot be undone. Line the piece up first, then drop.
- Do not wait forever for the I piece: Pieces are picked at random, so the long one can stay away for a while. If the stack is getting high, take the lines you can.
- Practise with start lines: Starting with a few junk rows teaches you to dig down through messy stacks, which is the skill that saves games later.
Key features
- Brick Game look: Yellow handheld, green LCD, black squares and round buttons.
- Six speeds: Pick a starting speed from 1 (slow) to 6 (fast).
- Start lines: Begin with up to ten rows of random junk for a harder game.
- Clear scoring: 100 / 300 / 700 / 1,500 for one to four lines.
- Saves as you play: Close the tab and your board is still there when you come back.
- Keyboard or touch: Arrow keys and Space, or the console buttons on a touch screen.
Game info
- Title: Tetris
- Developer: chvin
- Category: Falling Blocks & Merges
- Platform: Web browser (HTML5)
- Build: React Tetris by chvin · open source · served from tetris-unblocked.org
Pro tip: On speeds 5 and 6 there is no time to think after a piece appears. Decide where it goes while the one before it is still falling.
