Reading Your Score and What Drives It

Where the points actually come from in a real run, and which habits move the number most.

The scoring table tells you what each clear is worth. This is about where the points actually come from over a whole run.

The rough breakdown

In a typical marathon run reaching level ten or so, the majority of points come from a small number of large clears rather than many small ones. Drop points, meaning one per row soft dropped and two per row hard dropped, are a rounding error by comparison.

That means the number on screen is driven almost entirely by two decisions: how often you clear four rows at once, and whether you keep the back-to-back chain alive between them.

The level multiplier

Everything scales with level, which creates a compounding effect. The same four-row clear at level twelve is worth twelve times what it was at level one.

Consequently, surviving longer is worth far more than scoring efficiently early. A run that reaches level fifteen with mediocre technique will usually outscore a run that plays beautifully and dies at level eight.

What moves the number most

In rough order:

1. Surviving to higher levels. The multiplier dominates everything.
2. Four-row clears instead of smaller ones. A factor of two per clear.
3. Keeping back-to-back alive. Another 1.5 times on top.
4. T-spin doubles. Worth more than a four-row clear, for less setup.
5. Perfect clears. Rare, enormous when they happen.

The counter-intuitive part

Because level survival dominates, the highest-scoring play is often the safest play. Chasing a perfect clear from a risky board, or holding a well open past the point of comfort, costs you levels, and levels are worth more than the clear you were chasing.

Watching it live

TETERI rolls the displayed score up to its new value rather than snapping, so a large clear reads as an event rather than a number changing. The clear name, the points, and any bonuses appear over the board as they are awarded, which makes it easy to see which parts of the table you are actually using.

If you never see BACK-TO-BACK on screen, that is the cheapest improvement available to you.

Read next

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• The Four Game ModesMarathon, versus CPU, split-screen and online duels, and what each is actually for.
• Every Control in TETERIThe complete list for keyboard, touch and gamepad, including the ones that are not obvious.
• Playing on a PhoneTwo layouts, two control schemes, and the specific problems that had to be solved to make touch work properly.
• Downstacking: How to Dig Yourself OutClearing your way down to a buried hole is a distinct skill, and it is the one that turns bad runs into recovered ones.
• Plan in Sequences, Not PlacementsA piece that is awkward alone is often fine as the middle of a three-piece plan.