Tetris

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Tetris (тетрис) is a Russian/Soviet puzzle game that has probably had more ports and clones than any other game ever made. It was created by Russian programmer Alexey Pajitnov. The name Tetris is a variation on the Greek word "Tetra", which means something with 4 pieces. This connects with the game, in that all of the puzzle pieces consist of 4 pieces. However, the in-game term for Tetris means something different; when an entire row has been filled with blocks, that row will disappear. This is called a "line". If the player is skilled enough, they can clear 2 (double) and 3 (rows) of blocks, and if they manage to clear 4 rows simultaneously (only possible with the "I" piece), then the player will achieve a Tetris, which usually results in many points. When the blocks fills the "well" (playing field), the game is over.

Tetris remains one of the most popular video and puzzle games of all time. As a result, there are a wide variety of platforms it was released on, and most platforms even had multiple releases of the game. The game has even been programmed onto calculators and other electronic devices.

The Game Boy version of Tetris is perhaps the best known version of the game, as it was the pack-in title for the Game Boy. In addition, the Game Boy version spawned the famous "Tetris Theme", which is actually an 8-bit arrangement of the Russien folk song Korobeiniki. In Japan, the song Technotris (originally from the BPS versions of the game) is also quite popular among its listeners, in particular, the version heard in Super Tetris 3 (SFC). According to Pajitnov, the Game Boy version of Tetris is his favorite version of the game.

Games

Tetris

These are games that follow the basic formula of Tetris.

Other Games

The following games are related to Tetris.

Tetris 2 + BomBliss

Tetris 2 + Bombliss was released exclusively in Japan, but the NES and Super Famicom versions are completely in English and are easy to pick up and play. It includes three modes of play for Tetris, as well as a 2-player option. The game includes a new game called Bombliss, which would subsequently be released in the USA for the Game Boy under the name Tetris Blast. The goal of Bombliss is to form bombs to blast all blocks off the playing field.

Hatris

Hatris was designed by Pajitnov and Vladimir Pokhilko. The game plays similar to Tetris, but with hats; a pair of two hats will fall from the top and the player must connect 5 of the same hats. All versions share the same soundtrack, except for the arcade version. The series received an official soundtrack CD, Hatris Game Music.

Tetris 2

Tetris 2 was developed by TOSE and Nintendo. It was called Tetris Flash in Japan. The game plays like a cross between Tetris and Dr. Mario; The player arranges Tetris blocks to destroy the flash bombs (similar to the viruses in Dr. Mario). Once all the bombs are cleared, the player goes on to the next level. The game received criticism for not living up to the fun and addiction of the original game. Tetris 2 was also released for the ZX Spectrum, but is a completely different game than the Nintendo versions.

Super Tetris

Super Tetris follows the same format as Tetris, for the most part. The player must clear a certain amount of lines to complete a picture. The more lines that are cleared, the more of the picture will fill in. The player can also receive bomb blocks to clear garbage blocks.

Wordtris

Wordtris was designed by Sergei L. Utkin and Vjacheslav A. Tsoy. Letter blocks fall from a well and the player must arrange them to make words. The longer a word, the more points the player earns.

Though the game received mixed-to-negative criticism, the SNES version was highly praised for its soundtrack by Paul Mogg. The other three versions were composed by famed musician Ed Bogas.

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