Super sweet online multiplayer Tetris

September 8, 2009 1:59 AM

Oh woop de do it's Tetris on the internet. No seriously, Tetris Friends is awesome.

The game features online multiplayer that is fast, reliable and matches you with players of your own skill level. Unfortunately it doesn't have the option to play against a friend, but it hopefully will gain that feature before it leaves beta.

This game was developed by Tetris Online, the sole holder of the license to create online Tetris games. Part of being fully licensed means that the game fully complies with the strict guidelines for Tetris games set forth by The Tetris Company. If you want to know more about it there is a surprisingly interesting Destructoid interview with Tetris Online's VP of Sales and Marketing.

posted by The Devil Tesla (48 comments total)

Nobody is going to get anything done ever again.
posted by louche mustachio at 2:01 AM on September 8 [2 favorites]

so that's why i'minlikewithyou/omgpop.com had to re-do their tetris clone...
posted by slater at 2:12 AM on September 8

I just played three sets of the two minute game with six players. I destroyed my opponents. How long does that skill matching algorithm take to kick in?
posted by ursus_comiter at 2:40 AM on September 8

Awesome. This is the perfect thing to do in my fever-riddled state. Watching myself earn stars and rise up the ranks: satisfying! Mellow music: soothing! Bonus: slightly creepy cube animal avatars! A++ would tetris again.
posted by Mizu at 2:52 AM on September 8

I had a very nice comment to leave here. But it came out at an angle. I tried rotating my comment and moving it from side to side to make it fit in the thread but it still doesn't fit and now I'm out of time...
posted by twoleftfeet at 3:15 AM on September 8

I always thought I kind of sucked at Tetris, but I just obliterated three games against four other opponents. Do I not suck or do they actually suck?
posted by Scattercat at 3:24 AM on September 8

FAP FAP FAP FAP!
posted by newfers at 3:27 AM on September 8

I just played three sets of the two minute game with six players. I destroyed my opponents. How long does that skill matching algorithm take to kick in?

Yeah. I got promoted to rank 5 on my first match but don't seem to be accelerating past that.
posted by Talez at 3:29 AM on September 8

Are the opponents even real?
posted by doublehappy at 3:39 AM on September 8 [1 favorite]

Are the opponents even real?

The first hit is free...
posted by soundofsuburbia at 3:53 AM on September 8 [1 favorite]

Are the opponents even real?

Nothing is real. Everything either materialized out of a pool of amino acids (like Obama) or is simply a holographic projection (see crappy New Scientist article for further information).
posted by IvoShandor at 3:53 AM on September 8 [3 favorites]

Well, I'm up to rank 10 now (Specialist, booyah) and my opponents are finally obliterating me instead of the other way around. This last round was the first time I didn't get 1st place, and I ended up in 6th. It turns out, if you get last place, you lose a star. So if you're having a sucky tetris day, you'll lose until you get matched up with complete idiots, and then you'll win again! Not bad.
posted by Mizu at 3:58 AM on September 8

I'm up to rank 10 and still yet to see more than one KO from my opponents where I'll do 1-3 per match.

There's a lot of dolts out there up at rank 20. I can top out at about 20 lines a minute playing full throttle on this shitty flash based version of Tetris. Bottom of rank 20 is about 1.25 lines per minute.
posted by Talez at 4:04 AM on September 8

(see crappy New Scientist article for further information).

How am I supposed to read a crappy New Scientist article when I'm playing Tetris? How am I supposed to read ANYTHING any more? :(
posted by doublehappy at 5:05 AM on September 8 [1 favorite]

Great, now I can watch never-ending Tetris behind my eyelids while I try to fall asleep tonight. It's been a few years since I dealt with that particular form of insomnia.
posted by joelhunt at 5:20 AM on September 8 [5 favorites]

This is disastrous. Gloriously disastrous. So much for my day. Hopefully Go Banana Jr. can figure out how to change her own diaper.
posted by Go Banana at 5:55 AM on September 8

Still not convinced I'm playing against real people..
posted by doublehappy at 5:58 AM on September 8

Speaking of multiplayer online tetris, see also Quinn which is free and awesome and doesn't require giving away your email address to an unknown entity with an iffy-looking unstyled web page.
posted by majick at 6:16 AM on September 8 [1 favorite]

There's a lot to like here. Note the "historic" old-skool tetris (1p only), and the ability to replay your round, just in case you want to revel in wrecking your opponents.
posted by dammitjim at 6:32 AM on September 8

I won!!!! Which one of you did I beat??
posted by 8dot3 at 6:56 AM on September 8

I just played three sets of the two minute game with six players. I destroyed my opponents. How long does that skill matching algorithm take to kick in?

Just a few notes: Yes, the people appear to be real. The "matching" algorithm is based on your "level". If you obliterated your opponents, you probably jumped to level 5. Now keep playing. Each game you win earns you a star. Every 5 stars you level up. So after about an hour of play, assuming you're any good, you'll reach level 12 or 13. At that point the players start to be pretty good. I played to level 13 without losing once -- I play 2 player, not 6. And then that was it. I'm now "at my level" it would seem, because I sometimes get enough wins in a row to push up to 14 or even 15, but losing the match loses you a star (or half a star in 6-player, depending on where you finish) so you tend to reach your level and then bounce around a bit.

There appear to be a lot of players and once you reach your level it's . . . a productivity disaster.

It's a lovely implementation, though, and it's free, except that they've now added annoying pop-ups.
posted by The Bellman at 7:03 AM on September 8

nthing the "easy" complaints. I played a couple of rounds where no one even sent a single line, and finally got asked if I wanted to be "promoted." The next game I got sent one line.

Who dares play this game?! Don't they know I'm from The Internet?!
posted by Mr. Anthropomorphism at 7:28 AM on September 8 [1 favorite]

[this is evil]
posted by maudlin at 7:37 AM on September 8

Thanks for destroying my productivity today, Mefi.

In other news, as far as I can tell, these are bots. You never wait for other players to get ready and when you come in first place on sprint mode, if you click ahead, it shows you the finish times for the other players immediately.

Still, it's tons of fun.
posted by TBAcceptor at 7:57 AM on September 8 [1 favorite]

I don't think the opponents are real. My boyfriend and I found this site a couple months ago and spent FAR too much time trying to both press "start" at the same time when we were at the same level, and never once ended up playing each other.

Also suspicious: the games always start immediately, no matter when you're playing, and I've never had an opponent leave a game. A little too perfect, if you ask me.

(On preview: yes, what TBAcceptor said)
posted by Fifi Firefox at 7:59 AM on September 8

They require an email address to register. The form says it's used to reset your password, but the privacy policy says it's used to send you spam. Sleazy.
posted by phrenq at 8:04 AM on September 8

Also, I'm pretty sure you can pause the games.
posted by doublehappy at 8:33 AM on September 8

Yes, you can pause the games using the escape key, so I don't see how they can be actual players. And it definitely is easy-peasy. Going to check on Quinn now.
posted by misha at 8:44 AM on September 8 [1 favorite]

Damn, how hard is it to program netcode for Tetris? It doesn't seem like it would be that difficult to set up a quick lobby system.

It's fun because it's Tetris, but I can't help but feel a little let down that I'm not actually kicking the butts of 5 other mediocre players.
posted by arcolz at 9:24 AM on September 8 [2 favorites]

Does anyone have a license for online Dr. Mario?

Because that would be awesome.
posted by Sys Rq at 9:32 AM on September 8 [1 favorite]

It's not Tetris, but the venerable Yahoo! Towers still offers some excellent multiplayer block-dropping action.
posted by martin10bones at 10:13 AM on September 8

Does anyone have a license for online Dr. Mario?

I hear Mario isn't even a licensed practitioner.
posted by ersatz at 10:15 AM on September 8

Does anyone remember TetriNET? I had some good times playing that about 12 years ago. Against real opponents.
posted by bertrandom at 12:05 PM on September 8

TetriNET is one hell of an addiction... we used to play it over the high school LAN...
posted by spiderskull at 12:18 PM on September 8

Bummed that they're bots. Badly wishing for a lobby system and friend matching and all of that. I'm seriously badass at Tetris. I WOULD BURY YOU IN BLOCKS! I WOULD DESTROY YOU ALL!
posted by EatTheWeak at 12:24 PM on September 8

I'm pretty sure that it saves other people's games and you play "against" saved games; that's how you can pause and they both start at the same time. (So you're going against real people, just not in real time.)
posted by NoraReed at 12:27 PM on September 8 [2 favorites]

(Also: Tetris Friends has a Facebook app. Just sayin'.)
posted by NoraReed at 12:27 PM on September 8

Ah, then in that case my saved play scripts are lurking out there, ever-ready to DESTROY YOU ALL. Next time you're up against someone that never leaves a gap in his pile and pummels you with three tetrises in a row? Yeah, that was me. FEEL THE FURY.
posted by EatTheWeak at 12:31 PM on September 8

Speaking of multiplayer online tetris, see also Quinn

I like Quinn too, but unfortunately it doesn't have holds and I can never find a server to play on.
posted by The Devil Tesla at 12:34 PM on September 8

I played without registering. Pretty fun.

Speaking of multiplayer online tetris, see also Quinn

People on Macs play games?
posted by mrgrimm at 1:13 PM on September 8

So this is like TetriNET except that I don't get my arse kicked by azns and that was so last century?
posted by Enki at 1:31 PM on September 8

Fun idea. Lag makes it unplayable.
posted by Brosef K at 2:13 PM on September 8

I ♥ ┐ ┳ ┙ ┃
posted by at the crossroads at 3:04 PM on September 8 [3 favorites]

You can sign up for their Tetris Friends Live beta, where you can play against actual people, here. It looks like you get accepted immediately.
posted by zsazsa at 3:40 PM on September 8 [3 favorites]

Haha, yeah, I was gonna ask if anyone else remembered TetriNET...
posted by Nattie at 3:59 PM on September 8

Yeah, it's live if you sign up for the Live Beta that zsazsa links to.
posted by suedehead at 9:06 AM on September 9

Will Tetris ever get old?
posted by entropic at 1:14 PM on September 9

I got to rank 11 before my opponents even got close to beating me. Now I'll start actually trying to KO people.

I spent 1991 playing Tetris, and I'm not exaggerating much.

In 1992 I was at a contract job that involved a LOT of sitting around. One of my coworkers had a pair of GameBoys with the cable that you could connect between them. We would play head-to-head, and we were nearly perfectly matched in skill, so it was quite competitive. And incredibly fun.

I have wished for that day to come back,and that day is apparently today. There goes the rest of September.
posted by intermod at 9:55 PM on September 20