Tetris: The Grand Master - A Guide

Beat the Game?

Yes, this game can be beaten. Not only that, but a full game only lasts about 15 minutes.

This game is beaten by reaching level 999 after clearing a line at level 998, like the X99 levels. Once you do, the credits start playing while pieces continue to drop on your stack. You can continue to play during the credits if you want, but you won’t get any additional points for clearing lines, so letting yourself top out at this point is fine. If you fulfilled the requirements for the GM rank, you’ll get it as soon as you reach level 999.

Grade Score
9 0
8 400
7 800
6 1,400
5 2,000
4 3,500
3 5,500
2 8,000
1 12,000
S1 16,000
S2 22,000
S3 30,000
S4 40,000
S5 52,000
S6 66,000
S7 82,000
S8 100,000
S9 120,000

But wait, how do you get the GM rank? Well, it’s a process that involves that timer down there and the ranking system.

There are eighteen grades you can get through getting points, and they and the scores required to get them are listed on that table to the right in order from lowest to highest rank.

After you get S9, the game will show “??????” in the “next rank at X points” text. This is because there are no further ranks to get with points alone. GM is not just about getting points. Instead, there’s a whole new set of requirements you have to meet. There are three “checkpoints” at levels 300, 500, and 999. To get GM, you must have 12,000 points (rank 1) at level 300, 40,000 (rank S4) at 500, and 126,000 (a bit higher than S9) at 999. In addition, you must get to level 300 in less than 4 minutes and 15 seconds, level 500 in less than 7 and a half minutes, and level 999 in less than 13 and a half minutes. Only if those requirements are met will you obtain the coveted GM rank.

These requirements might sound more strenuous than the requirements for a college thesis paper, but I promise it’s not that bad. If you can get to level 999 with 126,000 points in less than 13 minutes and 30 seconds, you can probably fulfill the other requirements naturally. That’s still a challenge, to be fair, but you don’t have to keep track of every requirement. I’m saying this as someone who has never done this myself, but many people from all over the globe have done it. You could very well be next.

However, to get there, you might want to get into the Nitty Gritty.