Soviet blockbuster computer game Tetris is 30 years old. Tetris (Russian: Те́трис, pronounced [ˈtɛtrʲɪs]) is a Soviet tile-matching puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov. It was released on June 6, 1984. It was the first entertainment software to be exported from the USSR to the US. The versions of Tetris were sold for a range of 1980s home computer platforms, and has later had very many re-incarnations in different forms, including ones mentioned in this blog: MIT huge Tetris hack and JavaScript Tetris in 140 bytes. There are nowadays many version of Tetris on-line to play on web browser.
Happy Birthday Tetris: It’s flipping 30 article and Tetris Wikipedia page give you a good look on the history of this classic computer game.
38 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Complicated History Of ‘Tetris,’ Which Celebrates Its 30th Anniversary Today
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/tetris-history-2014-6#ixzz33wVzjMno
Tomi Engdahl says:
“I never imaged Tetris was going to be this successful,” Alexey Pajitnov says.
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/tetris-turns-30-creator-says-he-still-plays-every-week/1100-6420154/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Free Tetris
http://www.freetetris.org/
Tomi Engdahl says:
You Can Play Tetris on Your T-Shirt Now
http://news.softpedia.com/news/You-Can-Play-Tetris-on-Your-T-Shirt-Now-449303.shtml
Tetris had its 30th anniversary back on June 6, and a video game enthusiast has decided to celebrate the timeless game by creating a T-shirt that plays it. Definitely a step up from the sound-activated LED T-shirts that some people are wearing at parties.
“Here is a project I just finished, just in time for the 30th anniversary of Tetris. a T-Shirt you can play. with an Arduino Uno, 4 AA batteries and 128 LEDs. I always wanted a playable T-shirt, well now I made one myself. Based on the pumpktris instructables,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Here is a funny Tetris inspired animation:
Softbody-Tetris
http://vimeo.com/103050125
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Man Who Made Tetris
http://games.slashdot.org/story/14/11/21/0259215/the-man-who-made-tetris
Life gets pretty chill after creating ‘Tetris’ and escaping the KGB. A quick web search for “Alexey Pajitnov” brings up pages of articles and interviews that fixate only on his seminal creation
The Man Who Made ‘Tetris’
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-man-who-made-tetris
I’m at the wheel of a Tesla with a license plate that reads, simply: TETRIS. Alexey Pajitnov, the creator of that legendary video game, rides shotgun.
“Push the gas, push the gas!” whoops Pajitnov, bearded and jean jacketed. “Faster!”
Tomi Engdahl says:
You Can Now Play Tetris on Facebook Messenger
https://nerdist.com/tetris-facebook-messenger/
CoolGames has launched an in-Messenger version of the classic stacking game—all you have to do is connect your Facebook account, and you’re in.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tetris Joins Minecraft And DOOM In Running A Computer
https://hackaday.com/2023/01/10/tetris-joins-minecraft-and-doom-in-running-a-computer/
There is a select group of computer games whose in-game logic is enough for them to simulate computers in themselves. We’ve seen it in Minecraft and DOOM, and now there’s a new player in town from a surprising quarter: Tetris.
One might wonder how the Russian falling-blocks game could do this, as unlike the previous examples it has a very small playing field. And indeed it’s not quite the Tetris you’re used to playing, but a version played over an infinite board. Then viewed as a continuous progression of the game it can be viewed as somewhat similar to the tape in a Turing machine.
Tetris is Capable of Universal Computation
https://meatfighter.com/tetromino-computer/
This text presents a method for embedding a programmable, general-purpose, digital computer into Tetris. It describes the capabilities and performance of an implementation that runs Tetris on Tetris.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tetris Clone Uses 1000 Lines Of Code, And Nothing Else
https://hackaday.com/2023/09/25/tetris-clone-uses-1000-lines-of-code-and-nothing-else/
If you’re programming on a modern computer, you typically make use of lots of work done by other people. There’s operating systems to abstract away the complexities of modern hardware, standard libraries to implement common tasks, and tons of third-party libraries that prevent you from having to reinvent the wheel all the time: you’re definitely not the first one trying to draw graphics onto a screen or store data in a file.
But if it’s the wheels you’re most interested in, then there’s nothing wrong with inventing new ones now and then. [Michal Zalewski], for instance, has made a beautiful Tetris clone in just 1000 lines of C, without using anyone else’s code.
https://lcamtuf.substack.com/p/mcu-land-part-10-blocks-all-the-way
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2024/06/08/happy-birthday-tetris/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tetris has been crammed into a tiny 60KB PDF, works in any browser
Falling tetriminos find new life in a PDF
https://www.techspot.com/news/106316-tetris-has-crammed-tiny-60kb-pdf-works-any.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2025/01/21/from-retro-to-radiant-3d-tetris-on-a-led-matrix/
jesse168 says:
I like playing Tetris best, Anyone who wants to have a try can play here, [Tetris online](“https://onlinetetris.org”), [HEIC TO PDF](“https://heictopdftools.com/”)
smartgraphmaker says:
https://smartgraphmaker.com is an online graph – making website. It can generate bar charts and column charts. It helps you make nice graphs. Go and have a look!
onlinepiano says:
On https://onlinepiano.cc/ , you can simulate playing the piano. It’s for beginners. You can practice at any time. It’s a great way to start learning the piano. Try it now!
keepscreenawake says:
https://keepscreenawake.org/ is a useful website. It keeps screen on and the timer is helpful. It’s simple to use. You should have a go.
pdftolink says:
This https://pdftolink.io/ can change PDF to links. It’s easy to operate. You can share PDF quickly. It’s really helpful.
wan-animate says:
If you want to make videos quickly, go to wananimate.video. It’s a one – click video generator. Simple to use. Have a try! [Visit the platform](https://wananimate.video/).
imagebyqwen.com says:
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Shinichi says:
Pay homage to the classic Tetris and reflect on its enduring appeal. Creating and refining are like photo editing; Nano Banana Pro can help you easily generate beautiful visuals for your ideas, accelerating your creative process.
diaoling90 says:
Clean Paste
Clean Paste is an AI text cleaner that removes watermarks and delivers human-ready copy for professional teams, ensuring content is natural and undetectable.
nano-bananaai.org says:
Choose Nano Banana to experience the future of AI image editing with simple text prompts.
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Nano Banana Pro says:
Happy Birthday Tetris! I love how classic games like this still inspire creativity today. Speaking of creativity, I recently saw the Nano Banana Pro in action – it creates amazing images so quickly! Perfect for game designers looking for visual inspiration.
Sora2 AI Video says:
Happy birthday Tetris! It’s amazing how this classic puzzle game has evolved over 30 years. Speaking of evolution, I recently tried Sora2 AI Video for creating retro-style video game animations and it worked really well!
Pictro.ai says:
Happy birthday Tetris! It’s amazing how this classic puzzle game has stayed popular for so long. Speaking of classics, I recently used Pictro.ai to restore some old gaming photos – it made them look sharp and detailed with just a few clicks.
ai song maker says:
Happy birthday Tetris! It’s amazing how this classic puzzle game has entertained us for decades. Speaking of creativity, have you tried using an ai song maker to create your own tunes? It’s a fun way to blend old-school gaming vibes with new tech!
Emma Lymon says:
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of Tetris, the minimalist geometric aesthetics of this classic game continue to inspire creativity. I often use Nano Banana, which can quickly generate or enhance these retro pixel-inspired works into modern visual pieces; I recommend you give it a try.
Tom Mia says:
This article commemorating Tetris’s birthday is fantastic! It would be so much fun to create all sorts of retro pixel art or modern Tetris-themed artwork using Seedream 4.0‘s AI image generator; I highly recommend giving it a try!
Lanta AI says:
Happy birthday, Tetris! It’s wild how a game with such simple rules can stay endlessly replayable decades later. I love how it’s one of those rare classics that works for literally everyone—kids, adults, casual players, and hardcore score chasers—and it still feels “modern” because the core loop is just that perfect. Also, the history behind its origins and how it spread globally is always fascinating to revisit.
On a related “creative nostalgia” note, I’ve been having fun turning old screenshots and retro-themed images into short clips using an AI Image to Video tool—surprisingly great for quick social posts. And for more playful experiment-style videos, there’s also an ai french kiss video generator free that people use for lighthearted edits.
Thanks for the nostalgic read!
Seedance 2.0 says:
Tetris is 40 years old today! From its Soviet origins to a global classic, every single one is addictive. Make a 40-year evolution video using Seedance 2.0
, and instantly travel back to your childhood!
Flux 2 says:
I still play Tetris every week; can’t believe it turned 30 in 2014. I want to try the T-shirt version and that 140-byte JavaScript hack to compare with the versions I grew up with.
webharmonium says:
Nice post, thanks for sharing. Really enjoyed this post, you explained the topic clearly and it was easy to follow. webharmonium
TarotAI says:
This post is solid, learned a lot from it. By the way, I’ve been playing around with an AI Tarot platform lately, it can design custom decks and do readings, pretty fun stuff. Check out TarotAI if anyone’s curious. Anyway, good read, keep it up.
VayoVideo says:
No explosions, no story — just falling blocks and that addictive line-clear. Want to animate that satisfying “whoosh” when four lines disappear? VayoVideo could loop it on repeat.
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Wan 2.6 says:
Create a celebratory poster with stacked blocks using Wan 2.6. After seeing it, you’ll want to play it right away.
NanoBanana2 says:
This game is a childhood memory for me.
Image V2 says:
I can’t believe Tetris was already 30 back in 2014! I remember spending countless hours trying to clear lines on my old Game Boy. It’s truly amazing how a game designed by Alexey Pajitnov has remained so timeless and popular across so many platforms.