Today we're going to look at one of the slightly more advanced skill chains you can do in Tetris Attack / Puzzle League, something that I'm going to call a Delayed Skill Chain.

Starting with this puzzle here

we first slide the Green Tile to the right so that it falls down and creates a 4-combo

Then, moving quickly, we move the first Yellow Tile over so that it falls on the Green Tiles as they clear

Then we (quickly!) move the second Yellow Tile over to the gap between the two that are already there

So that it falls to where the Green Tiles were before the other Yellow Tiles fall

So when they do fall, you get a quick chain!

And since it's a little bit easier to see the timing in video form, I've prepared a short clip for you

A huge part of Tetris Attack and its descendants is performing chain reactions of clears. That's when you you clear three or more blocks, and the ones that fall clear some more.

But I have trouble thinking far enough ahead, especially once the pile starts rising quickly or in a heated battle, to set up more than one chain in a row, so I use something called Skill Chains. Skill Chains are chain reactions that you set up on the fly, usually while the previous clear is... erm... clearing.

For example, take this puzzle and clear the stars in the vertical column in the middle

And while those are clearing, move that triangle in the bottom-right corner two columns to the left

For an instant 2-chain!

This is actually much easier to show in animated .gif form, so you can do that here (2MB file warning, dial-up users).

You can extend these as long as you can find the correct blocks to do them with, and with enough practice this essential skill will become second nature.

Good luck!

Tetris Attack is all about getting chains and combos to keep your puzzle alive and rain garbage down upon your enemies. One of the more nebulously defined category is the 'skill chain', where you maneuver blocks to form matches while others are still clearing.

Let's say you have this setup here, and you make a clear.

Then you move up, slide out the Heart

With timing so that the bottom part of the puzzle falls before the Diamond on top does

Then, when the Diamond does fall, it counts as a chain!

And, so you can get a better sense of the timing required, I've put together an animated .gif here (4MB) to show it in action.

And yes, I know that this would have been a 2-clear even without timing it just so. But the timing is the key. You can use this technique to create chains where you normally wouldn't get one, which can really put a hurting on your opponent.

Is Tetris Attack too easy for you? Playing against the computer just not giving you the challenge that it once did? Well, you can ratchet the difficulty up one more notch... if you feel up to the challenge.

All you have to do is start a new game, go to the difficulty select

Highlight 'Hard', hold L & Up, and press A. Done right, the background will go from pink to red

Letting you know that you're in for a challenge.

Are you up to it?

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.