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Mino Dojo

Lessons for beginners

Lessons for players who are just starting out, in the order to learn them: where to begin, controls, where each piece fits, flat stacking and the Quad. Read from the top and try each one right away in Basic Practice.

Recommended reading order

  1. 01What to learn first? A learning path for beginnersWhat a new falling-block puzzle player should learn, and in what order, in six stages, each with the lessons to read, how to practise and when to move on.Beginner
  2. 02Basic controls: moving, rotating and droppingLearn the basic controls of a falling-block puzzle: DAS and ARR for sideways moves, soft drop versus hard drop, three rotations and the habits to build first.Beginner
  3. 03The seven piece shapes and where they fitThe seven pieces, I, O, T, S, Z, J and L, one by one: what each shape is like and which surface it fits exactly without making a hole, with board diagrams.Beginner
  4. 04Flat stacking and managing stepsHow to stack flat with no holes and steps of one row at most: where S and Z go, where to keep your well, and what to put first when you are unsure.Beginner
  5. 05Six common beginner habits and how to fix themMaking holes, a tall middle, two wells, a covered well, soft dropping every piece, ignoring the next preview: six habits that hold you back and how to fix them.Beginner
  6. 06Stacking for Quads: leave one well open and clear with an IHow to set up a Quad, four lines at once with one I: where the well goes, when to put the I in, how far apart I pieces come in 7-bag and where spare ones go.Beginner
  7. 07What is 7-bag? How piece order worksHow the 7-bag randomizer guarantees every piece once per cycle, and how to use that for look-ahead.Beginner
  8. 08How to use HoldThe basic hold rule and practical uses such as saving a piece or reordering, with board diagrams.Beginner
  9. 09Look-ahead and elimination: reading the queueHow to start looking ahead: use the five next pieces, hold and 7-bag elimination to decide where your pieces go several moves in advance.Beginner
  10. 10Wall-kick rotation basicsHow rotation still works when a piece touches a wall or other blocks, with typical kicks illustrated.Beginner
  11. 11Line clears and scoringFrom Singles to Quads, T-spins, back-to-back, combos and perfect clears: an overview of how each kind of line clear is scored and how it is detected.Beginner
  12. 12GlossaryThe terms used on Mino Dojo, grouped by topic: piece names, controls, line clears, perfect-clear stacking and setup names, a list to consult when unsure.Beginner

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