The basic gameplay of Tetris: The Grand Master is similar to that of other Tetris games. The player must move and rotate Tetromino-shaped pieces falling into a well to form horizontal lines, which will then be cleared. During gameplay, the game automatically gives ranks to the player according to their score, starting from 9 up to Grand Master, roughly following the danranking system. The game speeds up rapidly, reaching instant gravity and upwards of three tetrominoes per seconds. Tetris: The Grand Masters gameplay is heavily inspired by its arcade predecessor, Sega Tetris, released 10 years earlier. It uses a modified rotation system, color scheme, and relies heavily on mechanics such as lock delay. Another game which inspired Tetris: The Grand Master is Shimizu Tetris, a fan game which was the first to introduce 20G gravity. The main goal in Tetris: The Grand Master is to score points, awarding the player a higher grade. The game ends when a player reaches level 999. If the player scored enough points, they will be awarded with the grade S9. To achieve the grade GM, the player must also meet some time requirements during play. If the player tops out before reaching level 999, the game ends, awarding the player the current grade and its "mastering time", the time at which the grade was awarded during gameplay.
Games
''Tetris: The Grand Master''
The original game was released in Japanese arcades in August 1998. US, Asia, Europe, Hispanic, and Brazil warning texts were found in the game, suggesting that the game was planned to be released in these countries.
''Tetris: The Absolute - The Grand Master 2''
Tetris: The Absolute - The Grand Master 2 was released in 2000, and added additional modes of play. One of these new modes is the Master mode, which extends the classic Tetris: The Grand Master gameplay with larger speed increases, more requirements to achieve the M or GM grades, and an additional challenge when the M rank is achieved where the player must survive the credits roll with the additional handicap of the Tetrominoes turning invisible upon locking. Additional modes include a more casual Normal mode, a Versus mode enhanced with item battles, and a two-player co-op mode.
''Tetris: The Absolute - The Grand Master 2 Plus''
Tetris: The Absolute - The Grand Master 2 Plus added additional modes such as TGM+, which adds rising garbage blocks to the gameplay, and T.A. Death where the game begins at 20G and every other aspect of the game also speeds up steadily.
''Tetris: The Grand Master 3 - Terror‑Instinct''
Tetris: The Grand Master 3 - Terror‑Instinct was released in 2005. The game now runs on PC-based hardware, specifically the Taito Type X. The level system has been expanded in many forms with increasingly stricter requirements to reach the Grand Master rank. Modes include Easy, Sakura, the traditional Master mode, and Shirase. It also features World and Classic Rules, the former added by Arika due to The Tetris Company's recent policy changes.
''Tetris: The Grand Master Ace''
Released in 2005 as a Japan-only launch title for the Xbox 360, this was the only game in the series to be released outside of arcades.
Unreleased games
''Tetris: The Grand Master'' (PlayStation)
Tetris: The Grand Master was to be ported to the PlayStation in 1999, but because of a licensing restriction the port was canceled.
''TGM-K'' (tentative name)
In July 2004 Arika announced TGM-K for release on the PSP. In 2011, Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu reported its release again for spring of 2012.
''Tetris: The Grand Master 4 - The Masters of Round''
In September 2009, Tetris: The Grand Master 4 - The Masters of Round was unveiled at the Amusement Machine Show. Three modes of Tetris: The Grand Master 4 - The Masters of Round have been shown so far: Master, Konoha, and Rounds. Additionally, it featured World and Classic types just like Tetris: The Grand Master 3. Tetris: The Grand Master 4 - The Masters of Round was supposed to run on the Sega RingWide hardware. On September 18, 2010, Arika Vice PresidentIchiro Mihara announced the cancellation of The Grand Master 4 on his blog. In July 2015, Arika began location testing The Grand Master 4 in Japan and the United States. The titled was changed to The Grand Master 2015 reflecting the lack of a Tetris license or planned release.
