Tetris (NES video game)

{{see also|Tetris#Gameplay|l1=Gameplay of Tetris}}

This version of Tetris has two modes of play: A-Type and B-Type. In A-Type play, the goal is to achieve the highest score. As lines are cleared, the level advances and increases the speed of the falling blocks. In B-Type play, the board starts with randomized obstacle blocks at the bottom of the field, and the goal is to clear 25 lines. The level remains constant, and players choose the height of the obstacle beforehand.{{cite book |title=Tetris Instruction Booklet |publisher=Nintendo of America |location=USA |year=1989 |url=https://www.gamesdatabase.org/media/system/nintendo_nes/manual/formated/tetris_-_1988_-_tengen_ltd..pdf |access-date=October 3, 2021 }}

File:Tetris NES play.png

During play, the tetrominoes are chosen randomly. This leaves the possibility of extended periods with no long bar pieces, which are essential because Tetrises{{efn|Scoring a tetris refers to the act of clearing four lines at once with a long bar piece.}} are worth more than clearing the equivalent amount of lines in singles, doubles, or triples. The next piece to fall is shown in a preview window next to the playfield. In a side panel, the game tracks how many of each tetromino has appeared in the game so far.

In A-Type, the level advances for every 10 lines cleared. Each successive level increases the points scored by line clears and changes the colors of the game pieces. All levels from 1 to 10 increase the game speed. After level 10, the game speed only increases on levels 13, 16, 19, and 29,{{efn|name=PAL killscreen|This is only the case on the NTSC version of the game. On PAL the last speed change happens at level 19, which is that version's "kill screen".}} at which point the speed no longer increases. On level 29, pieces fall at 1 grid cell every frame, which is too fast for almost all players, and it is thus called the "kill screen".{{Cite web |last=Trew |first=James |date=May 6, 2022 |title=How Gen Z is pushing NES Tetris to its limits |url=https://www.engadget.com/teens-tetris-and-rolling-130002013.html |access-date=2023-04-19 |website=Engadget |language=en-US |archive-date=January 18, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240118231634/https://www.engadget.com/teens-tetris-and-rolling-130002013.html |url-status=live }} The developers of the game never intended anyone to play past the kill screen, as the game does not properly display the level numbers past 29,{{Cite web |last=Good |first=Owen S. |date=2019-04-13 |title=Elite Tetris player takes the NES version where no one has gone before |url=https://www.polygon.com/2019/4/13/18309474/tetris-kill-screen-level-33-record-joseph-saelee |access-date=2023-04-19 |website=Polygon |language=en-US |archive-date=April 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230419002000/https://www.polygon.com/2019/4/13/18309474/tetris-kill-screen-level-33-record-joseph-saelee |url-status=live }} but with modern speed techniques, skilled players can play past level 29.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-revolution-in-classic-tetris |title=The Revolution in Classic Tetris |last=Sweet |first=Jacob |date=March 26, 2021 |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=October 3, 2021 |archive-date=January 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240117033123/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-revolution-in-classic-tetris |url-status=live }}

When starting a game, players can select a starting level from 0 to 9, but if the A button is held on the controller when selecting a level, 10 additional levels are added, raising the starting options to 0 to 19. When starting on a later level, the level is not supposed to advance until as many lines have been cleared as it would have taken to advance from level 0 to the starting level. Due to a bug, the levels will begin advancing earlier than intended when starting on level 10 or higher.

File:Moscow StBasilCathedral d28.jpg appears in the title screen and ending, alluding to the Soviet origin of Tetris.{{cite book |last=Sheff |first=David |author-link=David Sheff |date=1994 |title=Game Over: How Nintendo Conquered The World |location=United Kingdom |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |page= |isbn=978-0307800749}}]]

At the end of an A-Type game, a substantial score yields an animated ending of a rocket launch in front of Saint Basil's Cathedral. The size of the rocket depends on the score, ranging from a bottle rocket to the Buran spaceplane. In the best ending, a UFO appears on the launch pad and the cathedral lifts off.{{cite web |url=https://meatfighter.com/nintendotetrisai |title=Applying Artificial Intelligence to Nintendo Tetris |last=Birken |first=Mike |date=January 28, 2014 |access-date=October 3, 2021 |archive-date=September 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924132553/https://meatfighter.com/nintendotetrisai/ |url-status=live }} After a high-level B-Type game, various Nintendo characters perform in front of the cathedral.{{cite web |url=https://www.oldschoolgamermagazine.com/mario-mania-game-cameos-for-the-fans-complete-collection-tetris-for-nes/ |title=Mario Mania: Game Cameos for the Fan's Complete Collection – Tetris for NES |last=Oxford |first=David |date=July 4, 2019 |work=Old School Gamer Magazine |access-date=October 3, 2021 |archive-date=October 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211003135103/https://www.oldschoolgamermagazine.com/mario-mania-game-cameos-for-the-fans-complete-collection-tetris-for-nes/ |url-status=live }}

The definition of "beating the game" has changed over time with the development of novel controller methods designed for high-level play. After clearing around 1550 lines, the game is at risk of crashing due to inefficient multiplication operations. Crashing the game in this way is popularly considered "beating the game", a feat first achieved on 21 December 2023 by 13-year-old Willis Gibson, known by his online alias "Blue Scuti".{{cite web |url=https://kotaku.com/twitch-youtube-blue-scuti-tetris-kill-screen-nes-1851134043 |title=Three Decades Later, Someone Has Finally Beaten Tetris On NES |last=Winslow |first=Levi |date=January 2, 2024 |work=Kotaku |access-date=January 2, 2024 |archive-date=January 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102191246/https://kotaku.com/twitch-youtube-blue-scuti-tetris-kill-screen-nes-1851134043 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.popsci.com/technology/tetris-beat-kill-screen/ |title=A 13-year-old wunderkind is the first human to 'beat' Tetris |last=Paul |first=Andrew |date=January 2, 2024 |work=Popular Science |access-date=January 2, 2024 |archive-date=January 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102175233/https://www.popsci.com/technology/tetris-beat-kill-screen/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite news|url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-67871775 |title= Tetris: US teenager claims to be first to beat video game |agency= BBC News |date= 3 January 2024 |access-date= 3 January 2024 |last= Ferreira Santos |first= Sofia}}

The score received by each line clear is dependent on the level. Each type of clear, being a single, double, triple, or Tetris, has a base value which is multiplied by the number 1 higher than the current level. For any level $n$, a single will give $40(n+1)$ points, a double will give $100(n+1)$ points, a triple will give $300(n+1)$ points, and a Tetris will give $1200(n+1)$ points. The game also awards points for holding the down key to make pieces fall faster, awarding 1 point for every grid cell that a piece is continuously soft dropped. Unlike line clears, this does not scale by level.

This scoring convention makes scoring Tetrises much more efficient than scoring an equivalent amount of lines through smaller line clears. At level 0, a Tetris awards 300 points per line cleared, a triple awards 100 points per line cleared, a double awards 50 points per line cleared, and a single awards 40 points per line cleared. For example, a single in level 0 is worth 40 points and a Tetris worth 1,200 points. A single in level 9 is worth 400 points and a Tetris worth 12,000 points, and a single in level 29 is worth 1,200 points (same as a Tetris on level 0) and a Tetris on level 29 is worth 36,000 points.

File:Rolling grip.jpg

One of the most limiting factors in NES Tetris is the speed at which a tetromino can be moved left and right. On the NTSC version, when a movement key is pressed, the piece will instantly move one grid cell, stop for 16 frames due to delayed auto-shift, before moving again once every 6 frames, or 10 times per second.{{cite web |date=October 30, 2018 |title=What is DAS and Hyper Tapping in Tetris |url=https://simon.lc/what-is-das-and-hyper-tapping-in-tetris |access-date=2023-04-19 |website=Simon Laroche |language=en |archive-date=April 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230419002001/https://simon.lc/what-is-das-and-hyper-tapping-in-tetris |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://meatfighter.com/nintendotetrisai/#The_Mechanics_of_Nintendo_Tetris |title=The Mechanics of Nintendo Tetris |access-date=June 14, 2024 |archive-date=December 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205023217/https://meatfighter.com/nintendotetrisai/#The_Mechanics_of_Nintendo_Tetris |url-status=live }} At higher levels, waiting for this delay is not feasible because the pieces fall too fast.

{{anchor|Hypertapping}}A technique known as "hypertapping" is used to circumvent this delay. When hypertapping, horizontal tetromino speed is maximized by rapidly tapping the D-pad more than 10 times per second.{{cite web |last=Gach |first=Ethan |date=October 22, 2018 |title=16-Year-Old Dethrones Tetris World Champion With Difficult Hyper-Tap Technique |url=https://kotaku.com/16-year-old-dethrones-tetris-world-champion-with-diffic-1829911215 |access-date=October 4, 2021 |work=Kotaku |archive-date=April 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407094312/https://kotaku.com/16-year-old-dethrones-tetris-world-champion-with-diffic-1829911215 |url-status=live }} The technique involves flexing the biceps until it tremors, so that the high-speed tremor taps the thumb on the D-pad. Thor Aackerlund was the first hypertapper, but the technique was very rare until it was popularized by Joseph Saelee in 2018.{{Cite web |last1=Karnadi |first1=Chris |title=Teens are rewriting what is possible in the world of competitive Tetris |work=Polygon |date=2022-07-21 |url=https://www.polygon.com/23269073/competitive-classic-tetris-ctwc-jonas-neubauer-andy-michael-artiaga |language=en-US |access-date=2022-08-01 |df=mdy-all |archive-date=January 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240115233118/https://www.polygon.com/23269073/competitive-classic-tetris-ctwc-jonas-neubauer-andy-michael-artiaga |url-status=live }} Jacob Sweet of The New Yorker described hypertapping as "turning [the] thumb into a jackhammer."

In 2020, the "rolling" technique was developed by competitive NES Tetris player Chris "Cheez_fish" Martinez.{{Cite web |last=Bankhurst |first=Adam |date=April 29, 2021 |title=NES Tetris Players Are Using a Special Technique Called Rolling to Set New World Records |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/tetris-players-are-using-a-special-technique-called-rolling-to-set-new-world-records |access-date=July 19, 2022 |website=IGN |language=en |archive-date=July 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220719113449/https://www.ign.com/articles/tetris-players-are-using-a-special-technique-called-rolling-to-set-new-world-records |url-status=live }} When rolling, a stationary finger is placed on the D-pad, while the other hand's fingers are drummed across the back of the controller, pushing the buttons up into the stationary hand.{{Cite web |last=Zwiezen |first=Zack |date=April 26, 2021 |title=NES Tetris Players Call It 'Rolling,' And They're Setting New World Records |url=https://kotaku.com/nes-tetris-players-call-it-rolling-and-theyre-setting-1846767518 |access-date=July 19, 2022 |website=Kotaku |language=en-us |archive-date=July 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220719113439/https://kotaku.com/nes-tetris-players-call-it-rolling-and-theyre-setting-1846767518 |url-status=live }} To reduce friction, a glove may be worn on the drumming hand.{{Cite web |last=Marshall |first=Jessica |date=November 16, 2023 |title=Boy Wonder: Stillwater teen places third in Classic Tetris World Championship |url=https://www.stwnewspress.com/news/boy-wonder-stillwater-teen-places-third-in-classic-tetris-world-championship/article_0a390482-83ef-11ee-9d4d-b777b200f759.html |access-date=December 31, 2023 |website=Stillwater News Press |language=en-us |archive-date=January 5, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105085046/https://www.stwnewspress.com/news/boy-wonder-stillwater-teen-places-third-in-classic-tetris-world-championship/article_0a390482-83ef-11ee-9d4d-b777b200f759.html |url-status=live }} This technique is both much faster and less physically straining than hypertapping{{snd}}it allows pieces to be shifted horizontally up to 30 times per second, enabling play far past level 29. Since 2021, numerous world records have been achieved using the rolling technique, and rolling is used in tournaments such as the Classic Tetris World Championship.

File:Hypertapper at Vegas qual.png|A hypertapper

File:Hypertapping and rolling.jpg|A hypertapper (left) competes with a roller (right)

File:SVNestris and Mleczak rolling during CTWC 2023.webm|Video of people rolling

In 2009, Harry Hong became the first independently verified person to achieve 999,999 points on an unmodified cartridge, known as a maxout score. Earlier plausible but unverified max-out scores were claimed by Thor Aackerlund {{circa|1990}} and Jonas Neubauer {{circa|2002}}.

File:NES Tetris falling speed by level.jpg

The game pieces reach their maximum falling speed on level 29 on the NTSC version and 19 on the PAL version, when the speed suddenly doubles. According to The New Yorker, level 29 "seems intentionally impossible—a quick way for developers to end the game." Because of this "soft wall", efficient play was required to accumulate points before level 29 ended the game. In the 2000s, level 29 came to be known as the game's "kill screen"{{snd}}though this label was found to be a misnomer when the level was passed in the 2010s.

Aackerlund, a hypertapper, first demonstrated that level 29 could be beaten in 2011; he is shown reaching level 30 in the documentary film Ecstasy of Order: The Tetris Masters. From level 30, the game's level counter stops working correctly, further suggesting that the developers did not believe level 29 could be surpassed. Level 31 was first reached in 2018 by 15-year-old hypertapper Joseph Saelee who eventually cleared four more consecutive levels until level 35,{{cite web | last=Neumann | first=Sean | website=Vice | date=October 19, 2018 | url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/5988gb/this-bartender-is-secretly-the-greatest-tetris-player-in-the-world | title=This Bartender Is Secretly the Greatest Tetris Player in the World | accessdate=January 4, 2024 | archive-date=February 9, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209090518/https://www.vice.com/en/article/5988gb/this-bartender-is-secretly-the-greatest-tetris-player-in-the-world | url-status=live }} and by 2020 hypertappers had gone as far as level 38.{{cite web |last=Orland |first=Kyle |date=January 2, 2024 |title=34 years later, a 13-year-old hits the NES Tetris 'kill screen' |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2024/01/someone-has-finally-beaten-nes-tetris/ |accessdate=January 4, 2024 |website=Ars Technica |archive-date=January 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240104003422/https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2024/01/someone-has-finally-beaten-nes-tetris/ |url-status=live }} Kyle Orland of Ars Technica explains that because of the rolling technique introduced by Martinez in 2020, "players were getting good enough to effectively play indefinitely on the same 'Level 29' speed that had been considered an effective kill screen just a few years earlier."

The final matchup in the Classic Tetris World Championship in 2022 resulted in competitors Eric Tolt and Justin Yu both reaching two million points in a game and levels 73 and 69, respectively. To prevent extremely prolonged games, beginning in 2023 the CTWC uses a modified version that includes a "super killscreen" at level 39, where pieces reach the bottom of the well in only a sixth of a second - two blocks per frame.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiAb8sqrtDc |title=The Greatest Classic Tetris Game of All Time Just Happened |date=May 20, 2023 |language=en |time=1:57 |access-date=2024-01-16 |via=YouTube}}

File:Tetris NES color glitch.jpged palette of level 146{{efn|The level counter erroneously displays E9 because level 146 is far outside the normal range of levels that were defined by the developers.}} (the "dusk" level) is so low contrast that the blocks appear "nigh-invisible".{{cite web | last=Randall | first=Harvey | website=PC Gamer | date=January 3, 2024 | url=https://www.pcgamer.com/after-34-years-a-13-year-old-prodigy-has-become-the-first-person-to-beat-tetris-by-reaching-the-holy-grail-of-high-level-play-a-true-killscreen/ | title=After 34 years, a 13 year-old prodigy has become the first person to 'beat' Tetris by reaching the holy grail of high-level play: a 'true killscreen' | accessdate=January 4, 2024 | archive-date=January 4, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240104025317/https://www.pcgamer.com/after-34-years-a-13-year-old-prodigy-has-become-the-first-person-to-beat-tetris-by-reaching-the-holy-grail-of-high-level-play-a-true-killscreen/ | url-status=live }} It was not beaten for over a year after it was first reached.]]

In 2014, computer researcher Mike Birken published an analysis of Tetris's game code, including details on unexpected behaviors that occur at very high levels.

An integer overflow bug is first encountered at level 138, where color palettes would be loaded from unrelated areas of memory, creating unusual and unintended game piece colors. In particular, levels 146 and 148, nicknamed "dusk" and "charcoal", feature black game pieces that are extremely difficult to see against the black background, hindering further progression. Additionally, the score-counting code could crash the game after about 1550 lines are cleared, corresponding to level 155.

{{external media

| float = right

| video1 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpEcjdr_YDo&t=0 Explanatory video of the Tetris crash]

}}

In December 2023, 13-year-old roller Willis Gibson from Stillwater, Oklahoma, was the first to complete the "charcoal" level 148.{{Cite news |last=Elmquist |first=Jason |date=January 3, 2024 |title=Wunderkind: Stillwater teen becomes first documented human to 'beat' Tetris |url=https://www.stwnewspress.com/news/wunderkind-stillwater-teen-becomes-first-documented-human-to-beat-tetris/article_17e0519c-aa8e-11ee-8520-938fc6bd229c.html |access-date=January 4, 2024 |work=Stillwater News Press |archive-date=January 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106000641/https://www.stwnewspress.com/news/wunderkind-stillwater-teen-becomes-first-documented-human-to-beat-tetris/article_17e0519c-aa8e-11ee-8520-938fc6bd229c.html |url-status=live }} He continued playing and reached a game crash at level 157.{{cite web |last1=Deb |first1=Sopan |author-link1=Sopan Deb |date=January 3, 2024 |title=Boy, 13, Is Believed to Be the First to 'Beat' Tetris |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/03/arts/tetris-beat-blue-scuti.html |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106000503/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/03/arts/tetris-beat-blue-scuti.html |archive-date=January 6, 2024 |access-date=August 13, 2024 |work=The New York Times}} Because Tetris had been considered unwinnable (due to games necessarily ending with "topping out"), Gibson is credited with being the first person to "beat the game" since its release in 1989.{{Cite news |last=Montgomery |first=Blake |date=2024-01-03 |title=Oklahoma 13-year-old believed to be first person ever to beat Tetris |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/jan/03/oklahoma-teen-beat-tetris-first-person-willis-gibson |access-date=2024-01-05 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=January 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106005134/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/jan/03/oklahoma-teen-beat-tetris-first-person-willis-gibson |url-status=live }}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hVACOeb7OA |title=Oklahoma 13-year-old becomes first person to beat Tetris |date=January 3, 2024 |publisher=The Guardian |access-date=5 Jan 2024 |via=YouTube |archive-date=September 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240913000459/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hVACOeb7OA |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Carroll |first=Rory |date=January 4, 2024 |title=Thirteen-year-old becomes first player to beat Tetris |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/sports/thirteen-year-old-becomes-first-player-beat-tetris-2024-01-04/}} In a statement, Tetris Company CEO Maya Rogers congratulated Gibson for his "feat that defies all preconceived limits" of Tetris.{{cite web | last=Hamilton | first=David | website=Associated Press | date=January 4, 2024 | url=https://apnews.com/article/tetris-win-kill-screen-blue-scuti-willis-gibson-df9325c62d42292e854cadb54d8f4cb3 | title=13-year-old gamer becomes the first to beat the 'unbeatable' Tetris — by breaking it | accessdate=January 4, 2024 | archive-date=January 5, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105160344/https://apnews.com/article/tetris-win-kill-screen-blue-scuti-willis-gibson-df9325c62d42292e854cadb54d8f4cb3 | url-status=live }} Co-founders Alexey Pajitnov and Henk Rogers met Gibson in January 2024, calling his playthrough an "amazing, amazing achievement."{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/13-year-old-meets-tetris-creator-after-beating-original-game-201427525828 |title=13-year-old meets Tetris creator after beating original game |date=January 5, 2024 |last=Castro |first=Valerie |publisher=NBC News |accessdate=January 5, 2024 |archive-date=January 5, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105194730/https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/13-year-old-meets-tetris-creator-after-beating-original-game-201427525828 |url-status=live }}

If one manages to avoid the conditions which crash Tetris, completing level 255 would overflow the level counter back to level 0;{{cite web |last=Bailey |first=Kat |date=January 2, 2024 |title='Impossible' Tetris NES Beaten for the First Time in 34 Years by 13-Year-Old Phenom |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/impossible-tetris-nes-beaten-for-the-first-time-in-34-years-by-13-year-old-phenom |accessdate=January 4, 2024 |website=IGN |archive-date=September 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240913000429/https://www.ign.com/articles/impossible-tetris-nes-beaten-for-the-first-time-in-34-years-by-13-year-old-phenom |url-status=live }} a run that overflows the level counter in this way is called a "rebirth" game.{{cite web |last=Serin |first=Kaan |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/games/puzzle/35-years-after-the-iconic-puzzlers-release-someone-has-finally-beat-nes-tetris-255-levels-and-achieved-rebirth/ |title=35 years after the iconic puzzler's release, someone has finally beat NES Tetris' 255 levels and achieved 'Rebirth' |work=GamesRadar+ |date=October 6, 2024 |access-date=October 7, 2024}} Before this level can be reached, players must contend with another bug first encountered at 2190 lines, where an integer underflow prevents the level counter from increasing. The next level is only reached after clearing an additional 810 lines. On October 6, 2024, Michael Artiaga, using a modified crash-resistant version of the game, became the first to complete level 255 and achieve a rebirth game, after which he cleared enough lines to reach what would be level 347 if the level counter had not reset to zero.{{cite web |last=Orland |first=Kyle |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2024/10/nes-tetris-first-ever-rebirth-loops-past-level-255-and-back-to-zero/ |title=Teen achieves first NES Tetris "rebirth," proves endless play is possible |work=Ars Technica |date=October 7, 2024 |access-date=October 7, 2024}}

File:CTWC 2023.jpg in 2023]]

The 1990 Nintendo World Championships were based on A-Type Tetris, Super Mario Bros., and Rad Racer. In each round, contestants were given a total of six minutes to score as much as possible across all three games. As the Tetris score was multiplied 25 times in the final tally, the prevailing strategy was to rush through the other two games to spend all available time in Tetris.{{cite web |url=https://www.looper.com/296133/the-untold-truth-of-the-nintendo-world-championship/ |title=The Untold Truth Of The Nintendo World Championship |last=McGuire |first=Keegan |date=February 18, 2022 |website=Looper |access-date=April 21, 2022 |archive-date=July 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220716085121/https://www.looper.com/296133/the-untold-truth-of-the-nintendo-world-championship/ |url-status=live }}{{cite magazine |last=Nauert |first=Donn |date=June 1990 |title=The Biggest "Easter Egg" of All |url=https://archive.org/details/video-games-computer-entertainment-june-1990/page/38/mode/2up |magazine=VideoGames & Computer Entertainment |location= |publisher= |access-date=January 10, 2024}}

Since 2010, the NES version of Tetris has been featured in the annual Classic Tetris World Championship (CTWC), which consists of a one-on-one competition to score the most points. Specialized cartridges give both competitors the option to use the same piece sequence.{{cite web|url=http://thectwc.com/rules|title=Official Classic Tetris World Championship Site|access-date=October 22, 2023|archive-date=October 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022175207/https://thectwc.com/rules/|url-status=live}}

Since 2017, the tournament Classic Tetris Monthly (CTM) has run monthly with the same one-on-one format as the CTWC. The CTM rules are more relaxed than those of the CTWC, allowing the usage of emulators and third-party hardware.{{Cite web |last=Bennett-Cohen |first=Justin |date=2021-12-16 |title=The Classic Tetris Monthly Tournament: What Is It and How Do You Compete? |url=https://www.makeuseof.com/classic-tetris-monthly-tournament-explained/ |access-date=2023-04-18 |website=MUO |language=en}} In both the CTWC and CTM, there is a cap at level 39, either by stopping play once level 39 is reached, or by a mod which implements a "Super Killscreen", doubling the drop speed at level 39.{{cite web |title=2023 CTWC – Official Rules |url=https://thectwc.com/rules/ |website=Classic Tetris World Championship |access-date=2024-05-06 |archive-date=May 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200513140457/https://thectwc.com/rules/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Rules |url=https://ctm.gg/rules/ |website=Classic Tetris Monthly |access-date=2024-05-02 |archive-date=April 30, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430230741/https://ctm.gg/rules/ |url-status=live }}

{{see also|Tetris#Creation (1984–1985)|l1=Tetris § Creation (1984–1985)}}

{{see also|Tetris#Legal battles (1988–1989)|l1=Tetris § Legal battles (1988–1989)}}

{{multiple image

| total_width = 230

| image1 = Alexey Pajitnov January 2008 cropped.jpg

| image2 = Henk Rogers face crop.png

| footer = Alexey Pajitnov (left) created the original Tetris in 1985, and Henk Rogers (right) secured the international rights to Tetris for home gaming systems from the ELORG.

}}

By 1989, about six companies claimed rights to create and distribute the Tetris software for home computers, game consoles, and handheld systems.{{cite magazine|title=From Russia with Litigation|magazine=Next Generation |issue=26|date=February 1997|page=42}} ELORG, the Soviet bureau that held the ultimate copyright, claimed that none of the companies were legally entitled to produce an arcade version, and signed those rights over to Atari Games. Non-Japanese console and handheld rights were signed over to Nintendo.

Tetris was shown at the January 1988 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where it was picked up by Dutch-born American games publisher Henk Rogers, then based in Japan. This eventually led to an agreement brokered with Nintendo where Tetris became a launch game for Game Boy and bundled with every system.{{cite web | last=Johnson | first=Bobbie | website=The Guardian | date=June 2, 2009 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2009/jun/02/tetris-25anniversary-alexey-pajitnov | title=How Tetris conquered the world, block by block | access-date=January 11, 2024 | archive-date=March 29, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329135242/http://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2009/jun/02/tetris-25anniversary-alexey-pajitnov | url-status=live }}

Pajitnov is credited for the "original concept, design and program" but was not directly involved in developing this version.{{cite web | last=Cohen | first=Rebecca | website=NBC News | date=January 5, 2024 | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/tetris-creator-surprises-willis-gibson-teen-beat-game-rcna132387 | title=Teen who beat Tetris gets a surprise meeting with game's creator | access-date=January 7, 2024 | archive-date=January 5, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105215301/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/tetris-creator-surprises-willis-gibson-teen-beat-game-rcna132387 | url-status=live }} According to the Video Game History Foundation, the game's color palettes were selected by Howard Phillips.{{Cite tweet |user=ClassicTetris |number=1119009195997712387 |title=Did you know the person that chose the NES Tetris color schemes was former Nintendo spokesperson Howard Phillips? |date=April 18, 2019 |access-date=February 28, 2025}}

The NES does not have hardware support for generating random numbers.{{cite conference |url=https://pcgworkshop.com/papers/2022/pcg2022_full_paper_4435__Entropy_Lost_Nintendos_Not_So_Random_Sequence_Of_32767_Bits.pdf |title=Entropy Lost: Nintendo's Not-So-Random Sequence of 32,767 Bits |last1=Ngo |first1=Trang |author-link1= |last2=Williams |first2=Aaron |author-link2= |date=September 2022 |publisher=FDG '22: Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games |book-title= |at=Article 65, pp. 1-10 |location= |conference= |id= |access-date=January 12, 2024 |archive-date=January 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240112224612/https://pcgworkshop.com/papers/2022/pcg2022_full_paper_4435__Entropy_Lost_Nintendos_Not_So_Random_Sequence_Of_32767_Bits.pdf |url-status=live }} A pseudo-random number generator was implemented with a 16-bit linear-feedback shift register. The algorithm produces a close, but slightly uneven distribution of the seven types of game pieces; for every 224 pieces, there is one fewer long bar piece than would be expected from an even distribution.

The game's code includes an unfinished and inaccessible two-player versus mode, which sends rows of garbage blocks (with one opening) to the bottom of the opponent's board when lines are cleared. This feature may have been scrapped due to a rushed development schedule, or to promote sales of the Game Link Cable which enables a two-player mode in Nintendo's Game Boy Tetris.

The soundtrack was written by Nintendo composer Hirokazu Tanaka, who also scored the Game Boy version. Focusing on Russian classical music, the soundtrack features arrangements of "The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker and the overture from Georges Bizet's opera Carmen. The former replaces the arrangement of "Korobeiniki", present in the Game Boy version, which has become strongly associated with Tetris.

{{Video game reviews

| ASM = 8.2/12{{cite magazine|last=Suck | first=Michael|url=https://archive.org/details/asm_magazine-1989-11/page/n71/mode/2up|title=Konvertierungen auf einen Blick: Tetris|language=de|magazine=Aktueller Software Markt|date=November 1989}}

| Allgame = 4.5/5{{cite web|last=Weiss|first=Brett Alan|title=Tetris|url=http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=1331&tab=review|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100216081022/http://allgame.com/game.php?id=1331&tab=review|archive-date=February 16, 2010|publisher=AllGame |url-status=dead|access-date=June 9, 2014}}

}}

Tetris was marketed extensively for the 1989 Christmas season.{{cite journal |last1=Coffin |first1=Deborah |date=1990 |title=Tetris: A Metaphor for Life |journal=ETC: A Review of General Semantics |volume=47 |issue=1 |pages=72–76 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/42577174 |url-access=subscription |doi= |jstor=42577174 |access-date=January 7, 2024 |archive-date=January 7, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107053447/https://www.jstor.org/stable/42577174 |url-status=live }} Television advertising used the slogan "You've been Tetris-ized!", referring to the Tetris effect.{{cite web |last=Higgins |first=Chris |date=June 6, 2015 |title=This Weekend in Recent History |url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/64756/weekend-recent-history |work=Mental Floss |access-date=January 5, 2024 |archive-date=January 5, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105085921/https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/64756/weekend-recent-history |url-status=live }} The tagline "From Russia with fun!" appears on the game's cover, referencing From Russia, with Love by Ian Fleming.{{cite journal |last1=Gibbons |first1=William |date=2009 |title=Blip, Bloop, Bach? Some Uses of Classical Music on the Nintendo Entertainment System |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/musimoviimag.2.1.0040 |url-access=subscription |journal=Music and the Moving Image |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=40–52 |doi=10.5406/musimoviimag.2.1.0040 |jstor=10.5406/musimoviimag.2.1.0040 |s2cid=246572636 |access-date=January 7, 2024 |archive-date=January 7, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107053446/https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/musimoviimag.2.1.0040 |url-status=live }}{{cite conference |url=https://www.sbgames.org/sbgames2013/proceedings/artedesign/46-dt-paper.pdf |title=Nationalism in an abstract game: How the Tetris soundtrack determines its cultural markedness |last1=Paiva de Oliveira |first1=Raul |last2=Bisoffi |first2=Rafael Augusto Bonin |date=October 16, 2013 |publisher= |book-title= |pages=386–394 |location=São Paulo |conference=Proceedings of SBGames 2013 |id= |issn=2179-2259 |access-date=January 5, 2024 |archive-date=January 5, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105085922/https://www.sbgames.org/sbgames2013/proceedings/artedesign/46-dt-paper.pdf |url-status=live }} Nintendo emphasized its exclusive home console license in marketing directed at retailers, stating "No other company in the world is now, nor has ever been, licensed to market the Tetris home video game title."{{cite web |url=https://gamehistory.org/nintendo-mario-tetris-flyer/ |title=When Mario Broke Through the Iron Curtain |last=Cifaldi |first=Frank |date=December 16, 2023 |publisher=Video Game History Foundation |author-link=Frank Cifaldi |access-date=September 10, 2024 |archive-date=September 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240911004913/https://gamehistory.org/nintendo-mario-tetris-flyer/ |url-status=live }}

In its first six months of release by 1990, Nintendo's NES version of Tetris had sales of {{nowrap|1.5 million}} copies totaling {{US$|{{#expr:1.5*34.95 round 0}} million|long=no}} (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{Inflation|US|52000000|1989|r=0}}|long=no}} in {{Inflation-year|USD}}), surpassing Spectrum HoloByte's versions for personal computers at 150,000 copies for {{US$|{{#expr:0.15*39.95 round 1}} million|long=no}} (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{Inflation|US|6000000|1988|r=0}}|long=no}} in {{Inflation-year|USD}}) in the previous two years since 1988.{{cite news |last1=Dvorchak |first1=Robert |title=Soviet Game Conquers the Free Market : Technology: Tetris, an electronic Rubik's Cube, proves to be addictive. Sales are sizzling. Sequel is coming from East Bloc. |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-06-17-mn-164-story.html |access-date=February 20, 2021 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=June 17, 1990 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200110111330/www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-06-17-mn-164-story.html |archive-date=January 10, 2020}} {{As of|2004}}, {{nowrap|8 million}} copies of the NES version were sold worldwide.{{Cite episode | title = Tetris: From Russia With Love | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0074pz0 | series = BBC Four | credits = Director/Producer: Magnus Temple; Executive Producer: Nick Southgate | network = BBC | station = BBC Four | date = 2004 | time = 51:23 | quote = The real winners were Nintendo. To date, Nintendo dealers across the world have sold 8 million Tetris cartridges on the Nintendo Entertainment system. | access-date = July 12, 2019 | archive-date = January 1, 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160101183339/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0074pz0 | url-status = live }}

In 1991, Tetris was included as a pack-in game with some European NES consoles.{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/ClubNintendo1991German/Club_Nintendo_1991_6/page/n41/mode/2up|title=Der Videospielspaß für die ganze Familie!|magazine=Club Nintendo|pages=40–41|volume=3|issue=5|date=December 1991|access-date=August 13, 2024|language=German}} Unlike the Game Boy version,{{cite news |last1=Vincent |first1=Alice |title=It's game over for Tetris on Nintendo 3DS |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturenews/11318682/game-boy-tetris-removed-from-nintendo-shop.html |access-date=January 6, 2024 |work=The Telegraph |date=December 31, 2014 |archive-date=December 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171207000411/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturenews/11318682/game-boy-tetris-removed-from-nintendo-shop.html |url-status=live }} the NES release was not made available for purchase on Nintendo's Virtual Console.{{cite web|url=https://www.gamezone.com/originals/the-slow-decline-of-the-virtual-console/|title=The Slow Decline of the Virtual Console|website=GameZone|last=|date=May 4, 2012|access-date=January 6, 2024}} In 2024 Tetris was released on the Nintendo Classics service.{{Cite web |last=LetsPlayNintendoITA |first=LetsPlayNintendoITA |date=2024-12-02 |title=A puzzle classic returns! Tetris® for NES comes to Nintendo Switch Online on 12/12! |url=https://x.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1863750001781792782 |access-date=2024-12-02 |language=en-US }}

IGN noted that "almost everyone" regarded Nintendo's Tetris as inferior to Atari's Tetris, which was pulled from shelves due to licensing issues.{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/top-100-nes-games/48.html|title=48. Tetris (Tengen) - Top 100 NES Games|first=Sam|last=Claiborn|access-date=February 14, 2013}} Computer Entertainer recommended Nintendo's Tetris only to consumers who had not played Atari's version, which it says has superior graphics, gameplay and options{{snd}}further calling its removal from stores "unfortunate for players" of puzzle games.{{cite journal |title=The Video Game Update: Tetris |journal=Computer Entertainer |date=November 1989 |volume=8 |issue=8 |page=11 |url=https://archive.org/details/computer-entertainer-8-8/page/n9/mode/2up |access-date=January 10, 2024}} Electronic Gaming Monthly called Atari's version "more playable and in-depth" than Nintendo's.{{cite magazine|last=Harris | first=Steve|url=https://archive.org/details/video-game-magazines/Electronic%20Gaming%20Monthly%20Issue%204%20(November%201989).cbr.rar/page/50/mode/2up|title=Nintendo Ignores 16-bit in '89|magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly|issue=4|pages=50|date=November 1989}} See also p. 22.

The German gaming magazine Aktueller Software Markt considered the game a success, praising the adjustable starting level and music. The review held the graphics to be adequate, noting that they do not overwhelm the senses.

Tetris & Dr. Mario (1994) features an enhanced remake of Tetris.{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/Nintendo_Power_Issue001-Issue127/Nintendo%20Power%20Issue%20070%20March%201995/page/n111/mode/2up?q=%22Tetris++Dr.+Mario%22|title=Now Playing|magazine=Nintendo Power|pages=102–107|volume=70|date=March 1995|access-date=June 30, 2021}} Tetris Effect: Connected (2020) includes a game mode that simulates the rules and visuals of Tetris for the NES.{{cite web |url=https://blog.playstation.com/2021/06/16/tetris-effect-connected-cross-platform-multiplayer-comes-to-ps4-this-july/ |title=Tetris Effect: Connected cross-platform multiplayer comes to PS4 this July |last=Viray |first=Aileen |date=June 16, 2021 |publisher=PlayStation Blog |access-date=May 1, 2022}}{{cite web|last=McWhertor|first=Michael|url=https://www.polygon.com/2020/10/28/21538025/tetris-effect-connected-classic-competitive-score-attack-nes|title=Tetris Effect: Connected pays homage to classic NES version|date=October 28, 2020|access-date=November 10, 2020|website=Polygon|archive-date=November 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110222343/https://www.polygon.com/2020/10/28/21538025/tetris-effect-connected-classic-competitive-score-attack-nes|url-status=live}}

The events that lead to Nintendo acquiring the license to publish a Tetris game for consoles are explained in BBC's TV documentary Tetris: From Russia with Love (2004), as well as a dramatic retelling in Tetris (2023).{{Cite web |last=Pingitore |first=Silvia |date=2023-03-19 |title=Interview with Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov |url=https://the-shortlisted.co.uk/alexey-pajitnov-tetris-interview/ |access-date=2023-07-04 |language=en-GB |archive-date=June 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230626233334/https://the-shortlisted.co.uk/alexey-pajitnov-tetris-interview/ |url-status=live }}

Since 2018, Nintendo's Tetris has experienced a resurgence in popularity with a younger audience. In 2020, more people attained a max-out score than from 1990 to 2019 combined.

In 2018, eleven classic Tetris experts were instructed to play with the next piece preview window disabled ("no next box"). Their average score was found to drop dramatically, from 465,371 in control games to 6,457 with no next box. The author notes that even though one participant went on to become that year's world champion, no player was recorded scoring a Tetris during any of the no next box games.{{cite journal |last1=Berry |first1=Jacquelyn |date=June 2023 |title=No Next Box, No Experts: A Special Case of Epistemic Behavior in Extreme Tetris Expertise |url=https://www.journalofexpertise.org/articles/volume6_issue2/JoE_6_2_Berry.pdf |journal=Journal of Expertise |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=164–175 |access-date=January 11, 2024 |archive-date=January 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111220314/https://www.journalofexpertise.org/articles/volume6_issue2/JoE_6_2_Berry.pdf |url-status=live }}

In a 2023 study, 160 people were recorded playing classic Tetris. The recordings suggested that novice players blink less than usual while playing Tetris, whereas experienced players remained closer to their normal blinking rate. The study concludes that a person's Tetris ability can be assessed by their blink rate during the first minute of play.{{cite journal |last1=Guglielmo |first1=Gianluca |last2=Klincewicz |first2=Michal |last3=Huis in 't Veld |first3=Elisabeth |last4=Spronck |first4=Pieter |date=October 13, 2023 |title=Tracking Early Differences in Tetris Performance using Eye Aspect Ratio Extracted Blinks |url=https://philarchive.org/archive/GUGTED#.pdf |journal=IEEE Transactions on Games |volume= 16|issue= 3|pages= 735–741|doi=10.1109/TG.2023.3324511 |s2cid=264117001 |issn=2475-1502 }} In contrast, seven-time world champion Jonas Neubauer manually suppressed his blink reflex while playing, leading to health concerns and his regular use of eye drops.{{Cite news |url=https://www.dailybreeze.com/2017/11/25/seven-time-south-bay-tetris-world-champion-builds-internet-stardom-brick-by-brick-2/ |title=Seven-time South Bay Tetris world champion builds Internet stardom brick by brick |work=Daily Breeze |date=November 25, 2017 |access-date=May 30, 2024 |last=Green |first=Nick |archive-date=May 30, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240530213246/https://www.dailybreeze.com/2017/11/25/seven-time-south-bay-tetris-world-champion-builds-internet-stardom-brick-by-brick-2/ |url-status=live }}

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Portal bar|1980s|1990s|Video games}}

{{Tetris}}

Category:1989 video games

Category:Esports games

Category:Nintendo Entertainment System games

Category:Nintendo Classics games

Category:Nintendo games

Category:Tetris games

Category:Video games developed in Japan

Category:Single-player video games

Category:Video games scored by Hirokazu Tanaka

Category:Video games set in the Soviet Union