Tetris - The World's MOst Popular Video Game
Tetris, one of the world's most popular games is thirty years old. A Soviet scientist, Alexey Pajitnov, invented it in 1984. A few years later, it made its way to the west where it was played on the legendary Commodore 64, the first Apple computers and the IBM-PC. Within a short time, it became popular around the world. In 1989 it was released to the Gameboy console. Tetris is the best-selling video game of all times, with 150 million copies sold since its first release.
Tetris is very easy to play. The aim is to stack differently coloured and shaped blocks that fall down into a pit. You can rotate them in every direction and you get points when you have created a complete row of blocks, which then disappears. The goal of the game is to make horizontal lines full of blocks without any gaps between them.
Pajitnov created the game as a welcome distraction from everyday work, but Soviet authorities quickly banned the Tetris. Unlike many other software developers, the Tetris did not make the Soviet scientist rich. Private business was banned during the Communist era and Pajitnov had to give up the rights to the government.
Tetris is still popular today, mostly because it takes your mind off other things. You do not have to wait to see results like in other games. Tetris becomes addictive from the minute you start playing it. Even though its educational value is near to zero people still keep coming back to play.
Game developer Ubisoft have announced that it is releasing an ultimate version of Tetris in honour of the game's 30th birthday.
Related Topics
- The Nintendo Wii Video Console
- World Health Organisation Introduces Gaming Disorder
- Gran Turismo 5 - Driving Simulation at its Best
- Journey's End For Microsoft's Flight Simulator
- Pokémon Go Sets Off Worldwide Hype
- Microsoft Starts Minecraft For Schools
Words
- addictive = an activity that you like so much that you do not want to stop
- aim = goal
- announce = to say officially
- authorities = organizations in the government
- ban = forbid
- Communist era = the time when the Communists were in power in the Soviet Union
- complete = full
- developer = here: company that makes software
- disappear = go away
- distraction = something that stops you from paying attention to what you are doing
- even though = while
- gap = opening, space
- government = people who rule a country
- in honour =in order to show that you admire something
- invent = create something new
- legendary = famous
- pit = here: the bottom of the screen
- popular = liked by many people
- release = here: to produce something for a special console
- rights = to be allowed to sell or show something
- rotate = turn into another direction
- scientist = a person who is trained in science and works in a lab
- shape = form
- stack = put objects on top of each other
- ultimate = best, greatest
- unlike = different than
- value = use, importance