Tetris is one of the world's most popular arcade and video games. The classic game that involves different shaped blocks is now celebrating its 25th anniversary. Some people can play the game for hours on end. MIT's Technology Review says many people who grew up with the Russian game still play it today. There have been many variants of the game over the years for nearly every game system. There are also countless Tetris derivatives such as Statris. There are also many products inspired by the game like Tetris tiles, ice trays and Tetris-shaped soap.
The Telgraphreports that creator Alexey Pajitnov came up with the idea to distract him from his work.
Mr Pajitnov, speaking in an interview with the Guardian newspaper, described how he came up with the idea to distract him from his work on a large Soviet-built Elektronika 60 computer.
He said: "I started to put together all kinds of mathematical puzzles and diversions that I had loved all my life.
"The program wasn't complicated. There was no scoring, no levels. But I started playing and I couldn't stop.
"I think that most of the classic games written in the 80s or early 90s are dead just because their authors or owners didn't care about them."
You can read a longer story about the origin of Tetris here.
Google designed its logo look like Tetris today, in celebration of the 25th Tetris anniversary. The logo even has a block about to drop into place.
The official Tetris website can be found here. Free online versions of Tetris can be found at tetrisfriends.com. Choose the 1989 version for the authentic original version of the game.