ABOUT

System: Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)

Release Date: June 6, 1984

Tetris was the first entertainment software to be exported from the Soviet Union to the United States. Tetris is a popular use of tetrominoes, the four-element special case of polyominoes. Polyominoes have been used in popular puzzles since at least 1907, and the name was given by the mathematician Solomon W. Golomb in 1953.

The game, or one of its many variants, is available for nearly every video game console and computer operating system, as well as on devices such as graphing calculators, mobile phones, portable media players, PDAs, Network music players and as an Easter egg on non-media products like oscilloscopes. It has inspired Tetris serving dishes and been played on the sides of various buildings.

In January 2010, it was announced that the Tetris franchise had sold more than 170 million copies; approximately 70 million physical copies and over 100 million copies for cell phones, making it the best selling paid-downloaded game of all time.

Challenge Tip: Clear four lines at once for big points!