Tetris [SRAI]

Play free reimagined classic video arcade games of the past from Sonic Radiation

About

Tetris is a puzzle video game created by Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov in the mid-1980s. In the game, players must arrange falling geometric shapes made of four connected blocks, known as tetrominoes, to form complete horizontal lines. Once a line is filled, it clears from the playfield, awarding points and preventing the stack from reaching the top of the screen. This simple yet addictive core gameplay has been adapted into roughly 220 versions across more than 70 platforms, with many later editions introducing new mechanics that have since become standard. Pajitnov originally developed Tetris in his spare time while working at the Dorodnitsyn Computing Center of the Academy of Sciences. He programmed the first version in Pascal for the Elektronika 60 computer in about three weeks, then spent over two months creating an IBM PC version in Turbo Pascal with help from Dmitry Pavlovsky and Vadim Gerasimov. This led to the iconic Game Boy and NES versions, both released in 1989. The Game Boy edition became the best-selling version, with over 35 million copies sold as of June 2024. It played a major role in the handheld’s success and helped popularize Tetris worldwide. In 1995, the rights to the game reverted to Pajitnov, who co-founded The Tetris Company to manage licensing and establish quality standards for official versions. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential games ever created. Its gameplay helped define the puzzle genre and is considered a landmark example of casual gaming.