You've Been Playing Tetris Wrong This Whole Time
What is the proper way to hold a gamepad? When Nintendo first introduced its revolutionary D-pad controller, some gamers weren't quite sure what to make of it. Used to the joysticks of older systems like the Atari 2600, YouTube channel Gaming Historian has illustrated that some players would use their index and middle fingers to press the A and B buttons. Since then, most gamers have become accustomed to a fairly standard style of cradling the controller. That doesn't mean it's the definitive way to play every game. Throughout the weird history of "Tetris," perhaps the most bizarre thing you will learn is that you may have been playing the classic puzzle game wrong this entire time.
What if, instead of holding the controller with both hands, one of your hands passively placed atop the gamepad while the other hand did all the legwork? Surprisingly enough, you would actually have the most effective strategy for obliterating records in "Tetris." Known as "rolling" or "flyheccing," this new technique allows players to move their tetrominoes faster than ever before.
As YouTuber aGameScout points out, prior to rolling, competitive players were limited to the standard controller grip, commonly referred to as "DAS," and a method known as "hypertapping." The problem with the former was that it supposedly prevented gamers from playing beyond a certain level, while the latter was extremely difficult to master, not to mention physically taxing on the hands.
How rolling works is you have one hand resting on top of the buttons while the fingers on your other hand rapidly roll in succession underneath the controller to create ultra-fast button taps. This way, the player exerts far less effort from individual fingers to tap the necessary buttons at lightning speeds, potentially resulting in more than 20 hits per second.
Once mastered, the new rolling technique helped one competitive player by the name of CHEEZ_FISH set new records while competing in a "Tetris" competition. If you're looking to break into the world of competitive "Tetris," it may be time to work on your rolling game.
Although "Tetris" isn't killing it on Twitch like it was when "Tetris 99" first came out, it's a classic game that will probably always have a wide audience. If you manage to master this slick technique, it could be a way to draw more fans to your Twitch channel.
Rolling is still a relatively new method, but it should be interesting to see how it evolves within the gaming community. In the meantime, if you have the Nintendo Switch's NES controllers, you could use rolling to smoke other players during online matches.