Cheers!

25 years to the greatest game ever.

My feelings aren’t easy to pen down for the most simple and addictive concept that was created way back in June 1984. It was originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov while he was working with the Academy of Science in Moscow. I think it’s one of greatest gifts Russia gave the world of gaming.

The game or one of its various variants is available for nearly every video game console and computer operating system, as well as on devices such as
graphic calculators, mobile phones, media players ad PDAs.

The best part about the game is that it is fairly simple, you position randomly selected blocks to form lines. It’s simple because of the objectivity of the game. At the same time its complex because of the math behind it. Till day, there is no supercomputer on Earth that could accurately predict which block is going to come next. Every single game is different. The goal although, always remains the same.

The scoring formula for the majority of Tetris products is built on the idea that more difficult line clears should be awarded more points. For example, a single line clear in Tetris Zone is worth 100 points, while a back-to-back Tetris is worth 1,200.

Effects of Tetris on the brain - According to intensive research from Dr. Michael Crane and Dr. Richard Haier, et al. prolonged Tetris activity can also lead to more efficient brain activity during play. As Tetris players become more proficient, their brains show a reduced consumption of glucose, indicating more efficient brain activity for this task.

There are 125 million different versions of this game. It still remains simple and the classic version still rules. There are no characters, no shooting, and no complicated story lines. What it brings to you is peace of mind. For me, tetris has been one of the greatest stress busters for over 10 years now. With the peace, it also gets with it concentration and focus. You blink and the block decides not to fit anymore. The concentration and focus levels keep going up as the pace increases.

The long history of Tetris resulted in a Guinness World Record awarding the franchise nine world records in the Gamer's Edition. These records include, "Most Ported Video Game", "Game With the Most Official and Unofficial Variants", and "Longest Prison Sentence for Playing a Video Game", which is held by Faiz Chopdat, who was jailed for four months for playing Tetris on his cell phone while on a flight to Manchester, England. He refused to stop playing after being repeatedly warned by the cabin staff.

I know I could have been fired for playing tetris all day long once. Luckily I didn’t. I wish I could say I got my boss hooked on to it. That wouldn’t be a fact then. The thin line isn’t that easy to cross in a post which is so based on facts and is so close to my heart.

I have been stuck to the classic version and I know I kick ass at it.
I know the history and I know what it means to me.
And if ever there is a tetris tournament, please let me know about it. Feel free to leave comments on what the game means to you. It has helped me calm down and get the focus many a times.

Finally, we’re all still playing tetris and will continue on it. I play it several times a day. I will make my kids play it. I have seen several people getting hooked on to it. It’s one of the greatest icons in history of the gaming world. Every geek and non geek plays it. If you haven’t yet played it:

Tetris 1.6

Hey if you’d excuse me – it’s time for a break…

PS : Thanks to wiki !