You've very likely heard about Tetris, so I won't bother explaining how it works to you.

One of the things that you'll notice, though, is that over on the right side of the screen there's a preview of what piece is coming next, which is very useful information.

However, by just pressing the Select button you can make that box clear.

Supposedly this is to make the game more challenging. Which it does, but only by destroying some of the strategy, so I'm not really sure why you'd want to do it. You can press Select button again to make the piece reappear.

This also works in the original Game Boy version.

This power-saving tip is pretty much for the DS guys only, sorry PSP folks.

If you check out the bottom of your Nintendo DS, you'll see another slot. This is where stuff like the Rumble Pak or the Guitar Hero add-on goes. You can also toss in your older Game Boy Advance games and play them on your newfangled system. The benefit here is that when you're playing your GBA games, only one of the screens is being used, saving you precious wattage.

The only problem is that Game Boy Advance games are getting hard to find nowadays. So unless you've stockpiled a few (*cough*), you might not have a whole lot (or anything) in your current library to cram in there.

That's about the time you're going to want to visit your local video game resale shop.

Which we'll discuss another day.

If you're without power in the daytime, you might consider turning off the backlight on your portable system. If you have sufficient light (i.e. the Sun) shining down on your system, then you have all the illumination you need, which will save precious watts to power your system a bit longer.

Of course, systems like the DS and Game Boy Advance almost need a backlight because they're just so dark without one, but direct sunlight is actually pretty playable.

Tetris Attack is a game that's all about matching up colored tiles to make them disappear before they hit the top of the screen and ruin your day. After a while the game speeds up, and your reflexes slow down (well, they seem to, anyway). Wouldn't it be great if there was some kind of way to arrest the geyser of blocks so you could think about your next move?

Other than pause, smart guy.

Right before your game ends, you'll notice that the tiles do a little panic dance just before your game ends and you off pouting in the corner. But! That's the time to strike!

Right when the tiles are doing their Dance of Doom, you need to make a clear of 4 or more tiles or a chain of at least two clears. Do that, and you'll hear a voice yell, "STOP!"

Then you'll notice the little clock-guy over there on the right. He gives you a few seconds where the stack doesn't move and you get to take a little breather. Keep the blocks just licking the top of the screen while you make combos and chains and you can extend the stop for quite some time.

Just make sure you have a clear waiting in the wings so you can reinstate the STOP! when the time runs out.

Oh, and this works on Pokémon Puzzle League, Puzzle Challenge, and Planet Puzzle League.