25 years ago, on June 6, 1984, the US was in the height of the Cold War with Russia and a Russian by the name of Alexey Pajitnov completed the first version of a time-sucking weapon known as Tetris, arguably the most successful puzzle game of all-time, and one of the best video games ever created.
Almost everything that can play games has received a version of Tetris: ranging from common systems like the NES, Game Boy, and Nintendo DS, to more obscure systems such as the Nuon and Virtual Boy. Of course, there are many ports to devices not normally intended for gaming, such as TI-83 calculators (Ztris got me through so many boring study hall sessions in high school) and just about every cell phone ever made (EA's iPhone version of Tetris is one of the best selling games in the Apple App Store).
So, I ask everyone, to spend some time today and celebrate the legacy of Tetris by playing a few rounds. Whether you play it on your
NES,
iPhone, or simply
in your browser, just play it and remember why it's one of the greatest games ever.
Leave some of your memories of Tetris in the comments. Did it suck up your life? Do you remember playing it when it first came out? Do you think it sucks? Let us know!
In closing, here's a little tribute song to Tetris:
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I got Tetris fairly shortly after it was officially released for the NES. Thinking about it, I'm guessing it was February of 1990, for my birthday (I turned 8 that year). I had my pick of any of the Nintendo games for sale at Target. I'm still surprised to this day that I picked it, especially with games like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Tecmo Bowl available at the time.
Some of my fondest memories of childhood involve playing Tetris with my dad. Whether it was on his lunch break during summer break from school, or staying up past my bedtime.
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Got it with my Gameboy for my 9thish bday. It helped many family road trips feel like hours rather than days!
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I love Tetris. I got Tetris DX with my allowance some years back and it helped pass the hours spent at the laundromat with my parents. Too bad I lost it...
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I used to play it in the university arcade back in my student days. There's was this Chinese guy there who always had the top score. Never did manage to beat him. It probably sucked up more of my loose change than any other game.
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Tetris is great, though I always feel bad when I play it cause the guy who made it got nothing. Communism works!
That video was great as well.
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Has it been that long? I realize that I'm not even that age, but I know that I've been playing it all my life, just like most of us. I used to play it all the time on my GameBoy when I was 5. Gotta love Tetris.
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Tetris was and still is the only video game my mom has ever played for more than a second. She used to play it all the time on our old Windows 3.0 machine. My grandma and my old babysitter (who was like a grandmother to me) also loved it, in fact they loved it so much, I ended up giving both of them new NES systems when one got sold and the other broke.
Today I found myself playing Tetris again. My dad's brakes in his truck went out, so while we were waiting for the tow truck and while I waited for my mom to pick me up (stupid tow truck didn't have room for two passengers) I flipped open my cell phone and played 13 levels of Tetris. It's amazing how quickly that game makes time go by.
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Best thing the communists ever did for the world
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