Glossary

The following are brief definitions of terms related to Tetris and similar games.

A

Active piece

Alternate term for falling piece.

ARE

A term for entry delay originating from Japan.

Arika Rotation System (ARS)

The rotation system used by most games published by Arika.

B

Block

A solid element occupying one cell of the playfield. Also used to represent the length or width (e.g. a 2-block-tall hole). In some publications, a "block" may refer to a whole piece, but Tetriswiki uses "piece" or "tetromino" for clarity.

Block Out

To top out when a block overlaps the entry position. [1]

Bounding box

A conceptual mechanism for explaining rotation systems that allows depicting how orientations are positioned relative to one another.

C

Ceiling

The horizontal line separating the in-bounds rows of the playfield from the out-of-bounds rows. Most games place the ceiling above row 20.

Cell

A 1x1 square within the playfield

D

DAS

Delayed Auto Shift. Refers to the autorepeat of sideways movement.

Drop

Downward movement of a piece.

E

Entry delay

Time between when one piece finishes and when the following piece enters.

F

Falling piece

The tetromino or other piece under the player's control.

Firm drop

Moving the piece straight down as far as possible and starting the lock delay.

Floor kick

Upward movement of a piece when it rotates against the floor of the playfield or other blocks.

Frame

Period during which the sequence of rotation, movement, and gravity is executed, and the result is displayed. Video games in Japan and North America run at 60 frames per second.

G

G

A unit of speed of one cell per frame. Refers most often to gravity; can also refer to DAS or soft drop speed.

Garbage

Rows of blocks added to the bottom of the playfield at the start of the game or during the game.

Ghost piece

A marker in the playfield showing where the falling piece will land.

Gravity

The automatic downward movement of a piece over time.

H

Hard drop

Moving the piece straight down as far as possible and locking it immediately.

Hold

Placing the falling piece in storage and moving the piece that was in storage (or next in line if no piece was in storage) to the top of the playfield.

I

Initial Hold System (IHS)

A rule allowing the player to hold the next piece during entry delay.

Initial Rotation System (IRS)

A rule allowing the player to rotate a piece as it enters the playfield by pressing and holding a button during entry delay.

Infinity

A rule in which lock delay resets every time a piece is shifted or rotated.

L

Line clear

Creation of a complete row of blocks with no holes after a piece locks. It disappears, and the blocks above the row move down.

Lock

After a piece has landed on the floor of the playfield or on other blocks, it becomes part of the playfield and is no longer subject to the player's control. Or to cancel lock delay, causing a piece to lock immediately.

Lock delay

The time between when a piece lands and when it locks.

Lockdown

See Lock.

Lock Out

To top out by locking a piece above the ceiling. [2]

M

Matrix

A term used by The Tetris Company for a playfield.

Mino

A term used by The Tetris Company for a block;[3] this sense is little used outside TTC due in part to the similarity to Minos, the name of the Cretan king who judges the dead in Greek mythology, and to minnow, the common name for the fish P. phoxinus. Also the name of the "block creatures" in the games Tetris Worlds and Kids Tetris.

Misdrop

A misdrop is when a player accidentally drops a tetromino in the wrong place, or in the wrong orientation.

Move reset

Another name for Infinity.

N

Next piece

Alternate term for piece preview.

O

Orientation

The direction that a piece faces.

P

Piece

A set of blocks that moves as a unit.

Piece preview

A display area of the tetrion devoted to displaying the next pieces that will enter the playfield.

Playfield

A (usually square) grid.

R

Random Generator

A specific randomizer used in newer games that guarantees an even distribution of piece types.

Randomizer

An algorithm that generates a sequence of piece types.

Rotate

To change a piece's orientation by turning it clockwise or counterclockwise, generally by 90 degrees.

Rotating the tires

Alternate term for a twist.[4]

Rotation system

A rule specifying the orientation for each piece type and the movements (including wall kicks and floor kicks) when changing orientations.

S

Shadow

Alternate term for ghost piece.

Shift

Moving a piece sideways.

Slide

Placing a piece under an overhang by moving it sideways.

Soft Drop

Moving the piece down faster than the current fall speed, while still retaining control over it.

Speed

See Drop or Tetromino Per Time.

Super Rotation System (SRS)

A rotation system for tetrominoes used by games that adhere to the Tetris Guideline.

Step reset

Lock delay resets every time the falling piece moves downward.

T

Tetrion

A term used by The Tetris Company for the game object that contains a playfield. Different tetrions may implement different variations of the game rules.

Tetrad

Alternate term for tetromino used especially in older games.

Tetramino

Alternate term for tetromino used by The Tetris Company in The New Tetris.

Tetrimino

Alternate term for tetromino used by The Tetris Company as of Tetris Worlds.

Tetromino

A piece consisting of four square blocks joined at the sides.

Top out

A piece reaches the top of the playfield and the game ends.

T-spin

A twist performed with the T tetromino that satisfies specific requirements.

Twist

Placing a piece under an overhang by rotating it.

W

Wall kick

Sideways movement of a piece when it rotates against the floor of the playfield or other blocks.

Well

A term used in some older games for the playfield.

Z

Zangi-move

Moving a piece downward, sliding it, and locking it.

See also

• Term Correspondence Chart for Japanese terms
• TGM legend for more explanation of terms used with the TGM series