# Tetris is 25 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 3, 2009, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetris-is-25/498539 "2009-06-03T02:44:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetris-is-25/498539/1 "2009-06-03T02:44:14Z")
Reuters [reports](http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE5510V020090602?sp=true). as does [the AP](http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hMIGayVULuq7VZIWpu8AbiuSDEMwD98IN4TO1), that Tetris is celebrating its 25th anniversary this week. Tetris was invented by Alexey Pajitnov at a university in Moscow, and the first playable version was made on June 6, 1984. Even after 25 years, the game is still a success- it is the best-selling on the iPhone according to AT&T, and Tetris Holding Company recently introduced a free online version called [Tetris Friends](http://www.tetrisfriends.com). Tetris is probably the most well-known video game of all time. Practically anyone can play it, and it is so simple and addictive that playing it is always a pleasure. Happy birthday, Tetris! ---
**Author:** ![dotchan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@dotchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotchan)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetris-is-25/498539/2 "2009-06-03T05:07:05Z")
Dammit, and I JUST got rid of the Ear Worm that is the main Tetris Theme, too! Thanks a lot! :mad: …just kidding. Happy birthday, Tetris! Here’s to hoping everyone dreams of tetrominoes tonight. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![OneChance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/74df32/32.png) [@OneChance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneChance)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetris-is-25/498539/3 "2009-06-03T05:22:19Z")
The Tetris theme has been in my head since I first played it on the Game Boy in 1989. I swear. I’m not even joking. Just found out the theme song is called _Korobeiniki_ by Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetris-is-25/498539/4 "2009-06-03T05:24:50Z")
I love Tetris! Too bad I suck so badly at it. ☹ Has anyone else **[seen this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwC544Z37qo)**? I love the rhythm of the sounds of the tetiminoes going down so quickly and the “powering up” noise that goes with each level. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetris-is-25/498539/5 "2009-06-03T11:50:52Z")
Wow. I was relatively new into my career when it was catching on in my hometown. It was _quite_ 25 years ago, but it wasn’t much less than that. I’m old… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetris-is-25/498539/6 "2009-06-03T11:57:30Z")
Wow, it’s just about one year younger than me! I still have the original Tetris for GameBoy cartridge. When the credits are coming up, it says “Patents pending”. It still works, I play it with my Game Boy Advance. Ahh, the only reason I have not upgraded to DS… GBA is the last one with backwards compatibility to old games. And I love THAT version, dammit! Nothing too fancy, and dancing cosacks when you did Tybe B Level 9-5. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetris-is-25/498539/7 "2009-06-03T12:05:17Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > it is so simple and addictive that playing it is always a pleasure. Here’s how addictive it is: [amnesia patients remember it.](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11183369) At least after a fashion. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetris-is-25/498539/8 "2009-06-03T13:28:05Z")
I’ve got the “Sugar Plum Fairies” music from the NES version of Tetris in my head now. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetris-is-25/498539/9 "2009-06-03T15:11:52Z")
Closing your eyes at night and hearing the music and seeing the blocks, as you are trying to nod off, ah the good old days. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetris-is-25/498539/10 "2009-06-03T15:17:18Z")
> [@OneChance](#): > > The Tetris theme has been in my head since I first played it on the Game Boy in 1989. I swear. I’m not even joking. > > Just found out the theme song is called _Korobeiniki_ by Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov. The Korobeiniki song is actually a registered trademark of Tetris Company and is required by their licensing agreement to appear in any Tetris game. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetris-is-25/498539/11 "2009-06-03T15:29:32Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > The Korobeiniki song is actually a registered trademark of Tetris Company and is required by their licensing agreement to appear in any Tetris game. Is it in the NES version? Is it music 2 or 3, if so? ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetris-is-25/498539/12 "2009-06-03T16:15:15Z")
It does not appear in the NES version- the trademark/licensing agreement came about after its popularity in the Game Boy version, which made the music synonymous with Tetris (as well as after the fall of the Soviet Union, when the Soviet government no longer owned the rights and Pajitnov started being compensated for his invention). ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetris-is-25/498539/13 "2009-06-03T16:25:41Z")
Where is the love for [Tetris Music C NES](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKjVcQOf7cw)? Most underrated piece of music from any Tetris game. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetris-is-25/498539/14 "2009-06-03T16:45:40Z")
> [@Meeko](#): > > Where is the love for [Tetris Music C NES](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKjVcQOf7cw)? Most underrated piece of music from any Tetris game. I love it. It’s not quite as earwormish as the Sugarplum Fairies Music A, though. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetris-is-25/498539/15 "2009-06-03T20:20:23Z")
> [@dotchan](#): > > Dammit, and I JUST got rid of the Ear Worm that is the main Tetris Theme, too! Thanks a lot! :mad: > > …just kidding. Happy birthday, Tetris! Here’s to hoping everyone dreams of tetrominoes tonight. 😛 I tried to call up that earworm and got Legend of Zelda instead. It’s obviously been too long since I played. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetris-is-25/498539/16 "2009-06-03T21:16:07Z")
> [@Meeko](#): > > Where is the love for [Tetris Music C NES](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKjVcQOf7cw)? Most underrated piece of music from any Tetris game. Music C is my favorite… But I confess that I prefer to play it silent… just listen to the sound effects. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetris-is-25/498539/17 "2009-06-04T12:01:49Z")
I play it almost every day on my phone. Gah! The quarters I spent playing hours and hours of Tetris at the arcade! Happy Birthday! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetris-is-25/498539/18 "2009-06-04T13:33:16Z")
I’ve loved Tetris since a high school friend introduced me to it almost 20 years ago. My wife gave me a handheld Tetris game for my birthday a few years ago, and I play it far too often. Happy birthday, you addictive Russian bastard! ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetris-is-25/498539/19 "2009-06-04T13:46:52Z")
I just came in here to say that I am pretty much the greatest Tetris player of all time. ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetris-is-25/498539/20 "2009-06-04T13:56:32Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > I tried to call up that earworm and got Legend of Zelda instead. It’s obviously been too long since I played. That’s my ringtone 😉 I have Tetris on my cellphone, and play it often. Esp. at stoplights 😉