There are few gamers who haven't stared at a screen and muttered, 'All I need is one straight line. Tetris may well be one of the most beloved video games in the history of the craft, enjoyed by everyone alike. The first of that version's three musical options, a Russian folk song called 'Korobeiniki' (although the game just referred to it as 'Music A'), has become one of the most iconic pieces of video game music of all time. By far, however, the most famous and popular version was released on the Nintendo Game Boy in 1989, bundled with the system upon its release (and becoming its Killer App at the same time, long before Pokémon was created). More on the game's long, weird, complicated history can be found on the Analysis page.įirst released in 1985, Tetris products or other programs implementing the same game rules have appeared on nearly every video game console, computer operating system, graphing calculator, mobile phone, and PDA ever released, as well as the lighting systems for a couple of buildings (its simplicity makes porting it very easy). If they reach the top of the play area, the game is over.Īccording to legend, the game's creator, Alexey Pajitnov, nearly didn't complete the game he was too addicted to playing the prototype. You gain more points for making multiple lines at once - in the standard rules, the maximum number of lines that you can make at once is four, a 'Tetris'.Īs you continue to play, the blocks fall faster and faster. Once you form a line, all blocks in that line vanish, and everything above them falls down one level. Tetriminoes note not a typo The Tetris Company prefers this spelling over the standard 'tetromino' (puzzle pieces made from four square blocks) are falling down the screen, and you must arrange them into lines by moving them around your workspace and rotating them. Their invasion was called Tetris (Russian: 'Тетрис'). Pig with the Face of a Boy, ' A Complete History of the Soviet Union as Told by a Humble Worker, Arranged to the Melody of Tetris 'Ĭontrary to popular belief, the Russians did invade during the Cold War and even won - it just went unnoticed, because they were crafty about it.

Tetris x hello kitty