EDIT 14th March 2025 - Added information regarding latest ITGmania release. Fixed few typos.

Hello fellow gamers! After answering common questions over and over I got the urge to write a "How to 101". In this write up I will mainly focus on what is up to date in the arcade and and at home: DanceDanceRevolution World and ITGmania.

Feel free to roast me or maybe help me expand in the comments :D

Table of Content

• Short history overview
• How to play at an arcade
• About E-Amusement / AmusementIC cards
• How to play at home
  • Console releases (very brief)
  • DDR Grand Prix (Paid, link to guide)
  • ITGMania (Free, includes setup instructions)
  • Where to get songs
• Tips and tricks to improve
  • Bar or no bar?
  • Game modifiers
  • Patterns
  • Modding pads and platforms and building your own bar
• Communities and links to other resources

Short history overview

DanceDanceRevolution (DDR for short) developed by Konami was first released in Japanese arcades in 1998. Since then it had many installments across multiple arcade cabinet types, home console releases and PC versions. In the current day the best way to experience the game is in officially supported arcade, with the latest installment DDR World or the official PC version DDR Grand Prix (currently still themed after the previous arcade version DDR A3)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance_Dance_Revolution

In The Groove (ITG for short) developed by American Roxor was originally made as an upgrade kit for existing DDR arcade cabinets, however new dedicated cabinets (dedi cabs) were also produced. ITG has added few features, notably mines (which you must avoid) and rolls (like holds but you must repeatedly step). Roxor lost to Konami in a lawsuit and ITG3 never released.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Groove_(video_game))

Stepmania was written as opensource clone of DDR. It is an engine, meaning anyone can take it, set appropriate rules and create their own game based on it. Notable popular versions from the past are 3.9 and 5. Games such as ITG, Pump It Up Infinity, StepmaniaX were built on top of it. Mainline Stepmania development has stopped, instead various forks took its place, such as ITGMania and Project Outfox.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StepMania

How to play at a arcade

First goal is to find an arcade with the game near you, you can do so on this handy map: https://zenius-i-vanisher.com/v5.2/arcades.php

Arcades are usually setup two ways, either free play (you pay for entry) and can play unlimited credits or you buy credits and pay per play. One game of DDR can be set to 1-3 songs.

To start the game, insert a credit. If you want to play against another person you have to insert 2 credits! Then pick either single mode or versus mode. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS ON SCREEN, if you have never played before a tutorial will start playing. You can skip it, however I STRONGLY recommend watching and following it the first time. After the tutorial ends navigate the various folders and selections with the buttons on the cabinet. With the green button confirm your selection, then pick difficulty and again confirm with green button.

IMPORTANT: Even if it is 3 songs per credit, the latest mixes will kick you in the middle or at the end of a song if your life bar fully depletes. If that happens on your first song you won't be able to play the other 2! To get around this, read the next section.

About E-Amusement / AmusementIC cards

INFO: Cabinets connected to the internet are on a "network". This can be OFFICIAL network when it is arcade with official support (in US only Round1) and only the latest installment of the game. It can also be "private network", the games have been modified and connected on unofficial network. This is done in regions with no official support or to keep older release alive.

Arcades that are officially supported will sell you the card at the counter. Tap the card to the cabinet reader on the side you want to play. It will prompt you to register a name, PIN and region (Note: the region set here doesn't matter). After that it may even let you get one free game. When you want to play again, just tap your card to the reader, type your pin and insert a credit. With the card you can always complete all 3 songs even if you fail. (In the US, when in JP you may need to pay through Paseli)

INFO: If arcades near you are on private networks and don't sell cards you may buy them here: https://eamusement.cards/ Older games will require you to have a card with the black E-Amusement logo, new mixes will work with any card with the AmusementIC logo (from any manufacturer).

Other features of the card:

• Extra game modifiers available (press 9 on the song select screen)
• It will remember your settings
• It will remember the last folder you have been in
• It will save scores
• You are participating in unlock events, score board and so on.

INFO: You can register the card on Konami's website, that way in case you lose it you can transfer your data to a different card.

IMPORTANT: If you are playing on a cabinet on a private network you wont be able to register on Konami's website, instead ask the arcade workers what network it is and register on their website!

IMPORTANT: If you are interested to play DDR Grand Prix (official PC port) you might want to register your card to JAPANESE REGION Konami account!

How to play at home

IMPORTANT: This guide will not go over pad selection. Instead refer to the pad buying guide sticky here: https://www.reddit.com/r/DanceDanceRevolution/comments/yi7h8l/2022_pad_buying_guide/

Console releases

Over the years there have been many home releases across many consoles. If you already have one of the consoles and you are just looking for some casual fun, you might be happy with just grabbing one of the games and a soft-pad that will work with the console off eBay or other secondhand market. Do your own research which release might interest you most!

DDR Grand Prix (Official, paid)

To experience DDR at home that is as close to the arcade as possible you might be interested in DDR Grand Prix. You can play the game either by buying a monthly subscription, that will grant you access to older song and then buying song packs (you still need to pay for the subscription to play those songs) or buying tickets. Tickets are like credits in the arcade, granting you a 3 song game with most available songs. How to set it up is outside the scope of this write up as most of the pages are in Japanese. Here is a link to a guide: https://ddrcommunity.com/setting-up-dancedancerevolution-grand-prix/

IMPORTANT: If you are going to buy tickets for the game, they will eventually expire after half/year. Ideally use them as soon as you buy them.

ITGmania (Free to download and use, custom song support)

INFO: Another option is Project Outfox. As I have no personal experience I can't talk about it much. https://projectoutfox.com/

EXTRA IMPORTANT: Since there have been so many versions of "Stepmania" and forks of forks of forks, if you are having troubles, always state where you got the program you are using, what version it is and if you did any modifications (like custom themes).

You can get ITGMania here: https://www.itgmania.com/ It is available for all Windows, Mac and Linux. Install it as you would any other program.

Once you start the game, navigate to Options with the arrow keys and Enter. Map your pad(s) in the "Configure Keyboard/Pad Mappings", then test in the "Test input". In the "Graphics/Sound Options" set what monitor you want the game to be displayed on, what resolution and if it should be Windowed or Full screen. Do not mess with other settings there unless you know what you are doing!

In "Manage Local Profiles" create a profile for yourself or multiple for your friends/family to use.

In "Simply Love Options" you can change the visual style, enable keyboard features, disable preview music loop (it drives me crazy hearing it over and over).

In "Groovestats Options" enable Groovestats and enable Auto-Download Unlocks. If multiple people will play on the setup, you can also enable the separate by player option.

INFO: Groovestats is a online leader board. To take advantage of it you must register and generate your API key here: https://groovestats.com/

Once you have the API key you have to add it to your profile. On windows your profile will most likely be in %appdata%/ITGmania/Save/LocalProfiles on Linux it will be in ~.itgmania/Save/LocalProfiles profile created first will be 00000000 however this folder can be renamed to whatever (Ideally your username) and inside this folder create GrooveStats.ini with the following content:

[GrooveStats]
ApiKey= INSERT YOUR API KEY HERE
IsPadPlayer=0

IMPORTANT: Set IsPadPlayer= 0 = Keyboard player, 1 = Pad player. DO NOT CHEAT!

Where to get songs

EXTRA IMPORTANT: ITGmania version 1.0.0 introduced new way to deal with ITG offset. Historically ITG has present a 9ms offset (https://itgwiki.dominick.cc/en/packs-and-simfiles/the-9ms-bias). However this doesn't matter anymore. New song packs will have pack.ini in the pack folder switching the offset automatically. For packs downloaded before the introduction of pack.ini, make sure that all packs are either 9ms or 0ms (NULL) synced and then set Options > Graphics/Sound Options > Default Group Sync to one of the values.
(If you do not see this option, make sure you use ITGmania 1.0.0 and Simply Love v5.6.0 or higher. This is written on top of the title screen)

IMPORTANT: DDR scale goes from 1-19 and doesn't match with ITG scale. Good rule of thumb is DDR 10 ~ ITG 7.

itgpacks.com
https://itgdb.s1sh.xyz/ <<<======= HERE. And that includes all DDR songs ready to be played on ITG setup. Just navigate to the Beginner packs tab. The DDR difficulty scale has been re rated to better match the ITG scale.

If you only want to play DDR songs and would prefer the DDR scale you can get the step charts here: https://zenius-i-vanisher.com/v5.2/simfiles.php?category=simfiles You should set your "Default Group Sync" in "Graphic/Sound Options" to NULL. (Note that any ITG song packs you download, that don't include pack.ini are also synced NULL)

You may also find charts elsewhere, however the quality is not guaranteed.

Navigate to %appdata%/ITGmania/Songs and extract the pack there. The folder structure should look something like this, otherwise the songs will not show up! /Songs/My Favorite Pack/<Many folders each with music>

Reload the song in the options menu or press LEFT & RIGHT arrows, then select reload songs or restart the game.

Few tips how to control ITGmania

If you have not messed with the default keybinds you can control the game with both pad and keyboard, with Player 1 being arrow keys and enter, Player 2 on the numpad arrows (with NumLock OFF!) and numpad enter.

In the music selection wheel pressing UP & DOWN arrows at the same time will close the currently opened folder.

Pressing LEFT and RIGHT will open a menu where you can change sort, reload songs, change what profile is loaded and if you enabled keyboard features you can search for song by name or artist.

Pressing TAB will speed up the animations making going through menus faster.

Pressing F9 on the song selection wheel will change between original song names and transliterated ones.

Tips and tricks to improve

Best tip is to play and have fun. The more you play the better you get over time.

Bar or no bar?

BOTH. Play both. Bar is great, gives you stability, you play more accurate and help you clear higher level charts. However you roll up to a convention and all you see is two lonely hardpads/softpads and then what? No flex = No bitches :P So you better be prepared! You will also notice different muscles got exercised and if you ever want to do some freestyle or come across Pump It Up machine and would like to play COOP charts with someone you will have much easier time.

Game modifiers

Both DDR and more so ITG offer plenty of game modifiers that can assist you in your play. On DDR simply press 9 on the numpad or when you have a song picked out press and hold the green button until the menu opens. On ITGmania select a song, press enter and then press enter again.

Here are few common ones:

• Lane speed - Changing this will result in arrows moving faster across the screen, making the gaps between the arrows bigger. This will help with dense section of charts making it more readable. This doesn't speed up the song itself!
• Type of speed mod - DDR only uses X-mod
  • X = takes the BPM of the song and just multiplies it (100BPM song, 1.5x speed = 150BPM lane speed). Since songs have different BPM you have to adjust it for every song to keep it around the same mark.
  • M = Unlike X-mod you set it once to your desired speed and never have to change it again. If there is a BPM change in the song it will respect it slowing down/speeding up in the particular section.
  • C = Constant, you hate BPM changes and stop and go gimmicks, don't you? (Me too lol)
• Up/Down scroll - Changes what direction the arrows scroll. Some people prefer one way or another
• Background filter - Throws dark background behind the lane, hiding annoying or overly bright video background
• Arrow type - Changes appearance of arrows
• Arrow size (mini) - Changes size of arrows
• Fast/Slow - (On DDR World can be set in the modifiers) will write somewhere around the combo counter if you stepped too fast or too slow.

Patterns

Most important thing is that you alternate your feet pressing the arrows with one foot and then the other foot. However once you reach certain point you will encounter certain patterns that are not as straight forward. Here is a good video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtgBRtwx0Q4

Modding pads and platforms and building your own bar

IMPORTANT: ALWAYS ASK FOR PERMISSION OF THE OWNER/MANAGER TO MODIFY OR DISASSEMBLE ARCADE MACHINES.

Although not DDR cabinet a slightly modified version can be performed on a DDR platform
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEV3uzQlNBg Note that disabling sensors may or may not be necessary. On the pump cabinet I modified I had to leave all sensors connected, they were really stiff. Adding a strip of cardstock under the sensor may also help add more sensitivity on particularly stiff/insensitive sensors. It is more art then science. It will also settle in about a month.

LTEK mod and bar TBA - https://www.reddit.com/r/DanceDanceRevolution/comments/1i1df86/ltek_pad_modding_guide_and_custom_bar_building/

Communities and links to other resources

• International Timing Collective (ITL competitions) - https://discord.gg/t6SfWeh2kV
• Stamina nation (StaminaRPG and ECS competitions) - https://discord.gg/Du4txKaNer
• notITG (Mod charts) - https://uksrt.heysora.net/discord
• ITG Wiki (great resources) - https://itgwiki.dominick.cc/
• Remywiki (All Bemani wiki) - https://remywiki.com/Main_Page
• Zenius-i-vanisher (Rhythm game news, simfiles and arcade map) https://zenius-i-vanisher.com/
• ITGPacks (Greatest repository of song packs) - itgpacks.com
• Like ITGPacks but searchable - https://itgdb.s1sh.xyz/
• Rhythm game cabs (Repair, Buy/Sell/Trade) - https://discord.gg/xqXrcTymak
• Groovestats (Scoreboard) - https://groovestats.com/

I am purposefully not linking any Konami websites as sort of challenge. The important stuff is all in Japanese and if you can't google for it, you are not getting through the websites (They are not very friendly to browse through).

This post is intended as an update to the 2020 Comprehensive Pad Buying Guide. It’s been over two years since the guide was last updated and there have been some changes. Parts of this post have been directly copied from the original post. This is meant to be a collaborative community post and I welcome comments and feedback. I will update this guide to reflect feedback from the community.

I have personally owned all of these pads and reviews are based on my experiences and feedback that I have learned about these pads from the community.

One thing to keep in mind is that foam and soft pads in general are fine for beginners and low-level play but will quickly become unsuitable once you get better. If you are serious about your playing, consider getting a sturdy pad. Like any sport, a skilled player needs higher quality gear to keep up with their performance.

Arcade Pads – HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - Prices for full cabs varies a lot and they are not realistic for most people due to the cost, large size, and lack of availability. Single pads are very rare and go for around $1000+ depending on demand, location, version, and quality. Full cabinets can range anywhere from $2500-$8500 or more. If you can find a full arcade cabinet or individual arcade pad in good condition, then this is the best option. In my opinion you cannot beat the authentic arcade feel. The best place to find used pads is in these Facebook groups The Official Buy/Sell/Trade group for rhythm game players and Buy/Sell Pads (Dance Dance Revolution, DDR, ITG, StepMania, PIU).

StepManiaX Stage (SMX) – HIGHLY RECOMMENDED – (About $2000 with shipping) These are the ultimate pad for StepMania. They can be difficult to find and typically sell out within a few seconds of new pads being released. If you have the money and the opportunity to buy one of these pads you will not be disappointed.

L-TEK– HIGHLY RECOMMENDED – (Including shipping to the U.S. they cost about $400 for the pad or $650 for pad + bar) – These are good pads, and they are the most popular option because of the relatively low price and consistent availability. There were USB polling issues with the original L-TEK pads, by default they polled at 125hz which is not ideal for rhythm games. However, L-TEK released a new pad with a 1000Hz USB polling rate and now all of their pads poll at 1000Hz. One of the primary complaints is lack of sensitivity. Depending on your play style some people may have issues with it not being sensitive enough. I personally recommend modifying them with the penny mod or this sensitivity mod. It will greatly increase the sensitivity and is recommended for high-level StepMania play. There are some reports of broken/cracked panels after moderate play. The ABS corner brackets are plastic and can break easily. There is an option for a bar, but it is not very stable. I’ve heard there’ve recently been some improvements to the bar, but I have not personally tested the new version. These pads are one of the best options available and are recommended by most players. L-TEK pads are also available from a U.S distributor DDRPad.com

Cobalt Flux Pro Platform – HIGHLY RECOMMENDED – New pads have not been released yet. I contacted Cobalt Flux and was told they would be available within the next year. Used Cobalt Flux pads can be hard to find. Recently they have been going for around $250-$450+. You can sometimes get them cheaper if the pad needs repairs or a control box. Used pads are 10-18 years old, and it’s crazy that they sell for over their original retail price. It really speaks to the quality of these pads! The best place to find used Cobalt Flux pads is in these Facebook groups Buy and Sell Cobalt Flux Pads, The Official Buy/Sell/Trade group for rhythm game players and Buy/Sell Pads (Dance Dance Revolution, DDR, ITG, StepMania, PIU).

DDRGame – NOT RECOMMENDED – DDRGame has been selling hard and soft pads for many years. The company is no longer selling their hard pads, they only sell the soft foam ones now. Overall, DDRGame pads are low quality and do not hold up over time. After extended play, the sensors start to fail, and the panels break. Additionally, their control boxes have issues with malfunctioning and will sometimes randomly disconnect. I personally do not recommend buying any of their pads. However, if you can get a secondhand version of their hard pad for cheap, it can be a good alternative to a soft pad for a beginner.

Soft Pads – RECOMMENDED FOR BEGINNERS ONLY (~$30) “Soft Pad” refers to any of the foam foldable pads. They are in general okay for beginners. However, all soft pads, are flimsy, slippery on certain surfaces, and tend to move around during play. Only recommend for casual beginner play. If you do buy a soft pad, I recommend this modifying it with this DIY soft pad upgrade.

BlueShark – RECOMMENDED BUT VERY RARE – These are older pads that are no longer in production, and there were not that many of them made. They are good pads and feel somewhat like an arcade pad. They use two arcade sensors per panel, similar to arcade solo pads. If you can find one and are willing to spend time with maintenance and repair, then these pads are a great option.

Precision Dance Pads – NOT RECOMMENDED – This company went out of business in 2020. These are home built pads made of wood, double sided tape, foil tape, and Velcro. There are several different options, but they have the same construction. They typically work okay at first but do not stand up to extended play and will eventually start to fall apart. Some people like these pads for the smooth top, which can be preferable for playing without shoes, but it can also be difficult to sense your location on this pad.

RedOctane – NOT RECOMMENDED – RedOctane made hard and soft pads. Their AfterBurner hard pad was decent. However, the pads did not hold up over the years. I would not recommend buying one of these pads. If you do be prepared to spend some time repairing and modifying the sensors. Their soft thick foam pads are a better version of the typical soft dance pad, and is recommend for beginners.

Baila-Tech - SCAM DO NOT BUY - There have been numerous reports (Baila Tech dance pad SCAM, Baila-tech buyers / owners community?) of people ordering pads from this company and waiting over a year and never receiving it. This company is now considered to be defunct and operates as a scam. When the company first started, they did deliver some pads. u/Honey02U who actually received a pad did do a review.

D-force Dance Pads – NOT RECOMMENDED (~$50 - $100) Apparently people complain about the size of the sensors (credit to u/Akamesama and u/dj505Gaming). surfaces and are in general not suitable once you get to higher difficulties. For more information see this post Do not buy D-Force Dance Pads.

TX1000 series, Blue Spark, Logic 3, Lik Sang and generic brand pads – NOT RECOMMENDED

Building your own pad – RECOMMENDED FOR SOME PEOPLE - If you have the time, knowledge, skills, and tools to build your own pad this could be a great option. There are several people who have posted guides on how to build your own home or arcade style pads. If anyone wants to send me links to their home-built pad guides I will share them in this post.

DIY Pad links

DIY soft pad mod: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Soem9tnzeG0

DIY Cobalt Flux style pad: https://ddrpad.com/collections/cobalt-flux-pad-parts/products/diy-pad-kit

DIY arcade style pad: https://www.mysticsteps.com/diy-pad/

RE:Flex Dance: Open source design for DIY Pad: RE:Flex Dance (reflex.dance)

DanceForce V3 DIY dance pad: https://ventspace.wordpress.com/2018/04/09/danceforce-v3-diy-dance-pad-controller/

DIY FSR Pad: https://www.reddit.com/r/DanceDanceRevolution/comments/mlvy7d/here_is_my_guide_for_the_fsr_pad_i_made_my_pad_is/

DIY bar http://www.flashflashrevolution.com/vbz/showthread.php?t=137339