Anyone who grew up gaming in the late eighties and early nineties will have been fed on a solid diet of Tetris. Emerging from behind the iron curtain, this swivelling block puzzler was the perfect blend of strategy, brain training and outright luck. Appearing on arcade games and handheld consoles, it has endured to this day and remains the perfect puzzle game for adults due to its easy mobile optimisation.
The Concept of Tetris
Tetris presents the player with a rectangular playfield. From the top of this canvas drop geometric blocks, known as ‘tetromino’ shapes. They can not be adjusted in shape, but they can be rotated.
As they head towards the bottom and hit the ground, the player must make full lines with no gaps by turning them. If they do so, the filled line disappears, and the field moves down, leaving more space for the game to carry on. If tetrominos stack up to the top and can no longer fit on the field, the game ends.
Clearing these lines gains a player points. It does get progressively harder, however, as the speed at which tetrominos appear increases. If a player manages to get a certain number of points, they go on to the next stage.
There have been many different versions of the game over time. Tetris Slingo is one of the most loved current iterations. Slingo sites stock the game, which is an amalgamation of both bingo and slots. Players must spin reels, which uncover numbers and symbols. By crossing these off the boards, they can create patterns and win prizes. With many different variations, from football to horse racing, the Tetris version provides players with the chance to uncover tetromino shapes that push them further up a prize-winning ladder.
The Soviet History of Tetris
Tetris actually has a fascinating history. Created in the USSR, its inventor was an artificial intelligence researcher known as Alexey Pajitnov. He programmed the game on an Elektronika 60 computer, using spaces and brackets as it had no graphical interface. This later spread through the Moscow computer circle on a floppy disk.
At the time, all intellectual property belonged to the state. Through legal frameworks in Hungary, which allowed software licensing to the UK, it was ported to the Commodore 64. Soon, the cat was out of the bag, and Tetris was a worldwide phenomenon.
Tetris on Gameboy
For many millennials, it is the Game Boy where Tetris was played the most. The first handheld console that had switchable game cartridges, many people got it bundled with the device. Its cultural impact at the time was so big that its iconic Russian-style theme tune was made into a dance record.
It has also been referenced multiple times in academic research. This has been in the psychology of gaming, behaviours, and computer science. In an age of gamification and casual mobile gaming, Tetris was the title that set a benchmark.
Few games have had the impact that Tetris has. This is all the more astounding when you consider that it was essentially squares. No gimmick, no flashy graphics or narrative were present. Even today, it is looked upon as a groundbreaking title.