This page lists corrections and clarifications for the first printings of How to Start Tetris: The Ultimate Beginner Guide, How to Play Tetris: The Essential Guide, and How to Master Tetris: The Enthusiast Guide (August to Oct 2025 editions).
These errors were caught post-publication, despite three rounds of word-for-word and picture-for-picture checks, as well as AI-assisted fact checking with DeepSeek, ChatGPT, Claude AI, and Qwen AI. They have been documented here for clarity and will be corrected in future editions.
Errors in technical books like mine are very common. The Pragmatic Programmer, 20th Anniversary Edition and Introduction to Algorithms, Third Edition both average 200 to 255 errors each even in their third editions despite being from reputable publishers.
I have addressed certain issues that are not considered errors, instead merely needing clarifications and expanded explanations here:
Severity Levels
Severity 0 – Not an Error
- Not an actual error.
- Likely a clarification issue arising from the limits of the English language.
Severity 1 – Minor/Typographical
- Typos, small wording issues, or punctuation errors.
- Do not affect understanding or gameplay.
- Example: “inexperienced” vs. “experienced” in a descriptive sentence.
Severity 2 – Clarification/Accuracy
- Slightly misleading phrasing or minor technical inaccuracy.
- Understanding is mostly intact, but clarity or precision improves with correction.
- Example: IRS/IHS being described as “off” instead of “on” in modern Guideline games.
Severity 3 – Gameplay/Concept Impact
- Errors that could mislead a player’s strategy or understanding.
- Requires correction to prevent misapplication of techniques.
- Example: Mislabeling a T-spin setup that could cause improper stacking.
Severity 4 – Critical/Functional
- Errors that break the intended learning, gameplay, or mechanics.
- Could lead to serious misplays, confusion, or prevent progression.
- Example: A completely incorrect rule, missing essential instructions, or a diagram that contradicts the text.
Book 1 – How to Start Tetris: The Ultimate Beginner Guide
Chapter 3
Original: “If another O comes, an experienced player may place the second O over the first, resulting in this mound-like pattern. Here, the field becomes divided.”
Correction: “If another O comes, an inexperienced player may place the second O over the first, resulting in this mound-like pattern. Here, the field becomes divided.”
Notes: Correction to description — “inexperienced” is the intended meaning.
Severity level: 1
Chapter 5
Correction: One of the openers on the 6-3 stacking’s second bag placement has the second I placed in the wrong column. Column 7 should be empty. The I should go to the other column to make 6-3 stacking possible.
Severity level: 2
Book 2 – How to Play Tetris: The Essential Guide
Chapter 2
Original: “”A J skims the field, making a single line clear.”
Not an error: More of a verbal ambiguity from double meanings. I meant “a single (one) line clear,” not “a line clear single.”
Severity level: 0 (not an error, just clarifications)
Chapter 6
Correction: One of the openers on the 6-3 stacking’s second bag placement has the second I placed in the wrong column. Column 7 should be empty. The I should go to the other column to make 6-3 stacking possible.
Severity level: 2
Book 3 – How to Master Tetris: The Enthusiast Guide
(No corrections so far.)
How to Tetris 