How to Win at "Final Fantasy IX's" Tetra Master

One of the many trademarks of the Final Fantasy series is the mini-game. Usually the mini-games are included as a diversion and have little to no effect on the progression of the game. A player might be required to play one or two games, but beyond that it usually becomes a nice addition that can take up even more time. Tetra Master is FFIX's mini-game, and while you should keep in mind that no battle against a computer is necessarily a fair one, we're going to look at some strategies that will give you a better chance at winning.

Instructions

1. Select your cards carefully. The right hand can make the difference between winning and losing. The more arrows that are on a card, the more challenges that can be issued to surrounding cards. And the more types of challenges that can be issued, the better your chances are of having a challenge you can win. That also means that the more cards you have with no arrows, the more places you'll be defenseless.

2. Expand your card inventory. Decide at the beginning of playing FFIX that you're going to concentrate on the mini-game.

3. Make sure you play Chocobo Hot and Cold. There's a number of rare--and powerful--cards hidden in the game. There are also a number of rare cards that are dropped by the card masters in Memoria. They can be a challenge to defeat (make sure you save first!), but if you're looking for all the cards, they're a necessity.

4. Learn how to use cards to block. A card can't be challenged without an arrow, so get used to using cards to keep others from being taken.

5. Use the same cards. In the end, you only have 100 spaces for 100 cards in your inventory, so you'll need to discard some. The more battles you win with a particular card, though, the more the stats will go up and the better that card will be.

6. Start by using a weak card with all eight arrows in one of the central squares. This is perfect for setting up a combo, and while you might lose some weak cards or be behind in the beginning, once you get used to the strategy you can use one strong card at the end to win them all back.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have the Namingway card, talk to the guy on the left hand side of the library in Daguerreo. He'll let you change your characters' names.

• There is absolutely no reward for reaching the highest level of collector. Don't say we didn't warn you.

• There is no definite solution that will let you win every time. It's a lot of practice and a lot of luck.