One of the biggest surprises from last week's Nintendo Direct was undoubtedly the announcement of Tetris 99, a variant of the classic puzzle game that sees 99 players battling against each other in an attempt to be the last one standing. This battle royale inspired take on the 25-year-old game is certain to introduce Tetris to a number of new players, however, veteran puzzlers are also getting in on the act, and they are sharing some tips along the way.

Daniel "Tafokints" Lee is, among other things, a Twitch streamer, a former Super Smash Bros. Melee coach, and a phenomenal Tetris player. In his February 16 stream, Lee won nearly 50% of the Tetris 99 matches that he participated in, and he also took some time to offer advice on how to succeed as the number of players begin to dwindle: "You want to build so that the center is prioritized."

To clarify, Lee is advising that, at the final stages of a match, players focus on keeping their center stacks higher than the stacks on the sides. The reason for this is that players will "need to be able to slide [blocks] to the sides," and this can only be accomplished if their maps are "built with a center bias."

While this advice may seem simple, to watch the streamer offer it while casually achieving victory royale is an impressive sight. Indeed, Lee demonstrates how this strategy can be put to good use, and players that are looking to improve their chances in this new version of Tetris would be wise to heed his words.

Since the free release of Tetris 99, which promptly followed the Nintendo Direct announcement, the old school puzzler has certainly undergone a notable rise in popularity. This can be seen in the impressive increase in Tetris's viewership on Twitch, with popular streamers recently casting the game to more than 10,000 viewers at a time.

It remains to be seen what sort of longevity Tetris 99 will have, but this initial burst of attention certainly suggests that players are interested in seeing battle royale elements implemented in unique ways. While the game may not be on its way to rivaling Fortnite or Apex Legends, this first week has established a solid foundation of players, and Lee's advice offers some food for thought to anyone that is trying to get better.

Tetris 99 is available exclusively on Nintendo Switch.