[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Tetris_3186.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Come on, long piece...]]

->''I am the man who arranges the blocks that descend upon me from up above''\\
''They come down and I spin them around, 'til they fit in the ground like hand in glove''\\
''Sometimes it seems that to move blocks is fine, and the lines will be formed as they fall''\\
''Then I see that I have misjudged it! I should not have nudged it after all''\\
''Can I have a long one, please?''\\
''Why must these infernal blocks tease?''
-->-- '''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWTFG3J1CP8 A Complete History of the Soviet Union as Told by a Humble Worker, Arranged to the Melody of Tetris]]'''
---> by Music/PigWithTheFaceOfABoy


Contrary to popular belief, the Russians did invade during the Cold War -- it just went unnoticed, because they were crafty about it. Their invasion was called ''Tetris'' (Russian: "Тетрис").

The concept is exceedingly simple. Tetriminoes[[hottip:*: Not a typo; The Tetris Company prefers this spelling over the standard "tetromino"]] (puzzle pieces made from four square blocks) are falling down the screen, and you must arrange them into lines by moving them around your workspace and rotating them. Once you form a line, all blocks in that line vanish, and everything above them falls down one level. You gain more points for making multiple lines at once -- in the standard rules, the maximum number of lines that you can make at once is four, a "Tetris".

As you continue to play, the blocks fall faster and faster. If they reach the top of the play area, the game is over.

According to legend, the game's creator, Alexey Pajitnov, nearly didn't complete the game; he was too addicted to playing the prototype. More on the game's long, weird, complicated history can be found on the [[Analysis/{{Tetris}} Analysis]] page

First released in 1985, ''Tetris'' products or other programs implementing the same game rules have appeared on nearly every video game console, computer operating system, graphing calculator, mobile phone, and PDA ever released, as well as the lighting systems for a couple of ''buildings'' (its simplicity makes porting it very easy). By far, however, the most famous and popular version was released on the Nintendo GameBoy in 1989, bundled with the system upon its release (and becoming its KillerApp at the same time). The first of that version's three musical options, a Russian folk song called "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korobeiniki Korobeiniki]]" (although the game just referred to it as "Music A"), has become an [[StandardSnippet iconic]] (and [[EarWorm catchy]]) piece of video game music.

''Tetris'' may well be one of the most beloved video games in the history of the craft, enjoyed by hardcore gamers and nongamers alike. There are few gamers who haven't stared at a screen and muttered, "All I need is one straight line... just ''one''..."

Arika's arcade version of ''Tetris'', called ''VideoGame/TetrisTheGrandMaster'', features a few deceptively simple changes that transform ''Tetris'' from a classic action puzzle game into nothing less than the most cognitively strenuous high-speed twitch game ever devised[[hottip:*: Whisper these words to the Google search box: "TGM Shirase"]]. But, due to the creator's frustration with clones of that game, [[ScrewedByTheNetwork its future is bleak]].

As you've probably noticed, Tropers/TheAdvertisementServer is currently promoting a website called [[http://www.tetrisfriends.com/ Tetris Friends Online Games]]. No, this is not one of those cheap cash-in websites it generally displays (what's with [[StarWars Yoda]] wearing makeup, by the way?), it's an actual official Web-based ''Tetris'' game site. [[http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Tetris-Online-Inc-964607.html No fooling!]]

See also: [[http://www.tetrisconcept.net/wiki/ Tetris Wiki]], TheTetrisEffect.

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!!''Tetris'' and its derivatives can contain examples of:

* AllegedlyFreeGame / BribingYourWayToVictory: Has become a staple of official Tetris games since around 2007 or so. ''Tetris Online Japan'', ''Tetris Friends'', and ''Tetris Battle'' are all "free" but hide piece previews (except for ''Tetris Friends'') and cripple your controls (in all three games) to slow you down; to remove these handicaps require either paying real money or ''several hundred hours'' of ForcedLevelGrinding.
* TheBackwardsR: Both Atari arcade and Tengen's {{NES}} version spell the title as TETЯIS.
** The Atari version goes even further by substituting Я for the regular R in-game.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: Most games give each piece its own color; these were standardized across games in the 2000s. See RainbowMotif below.
* ComebackMechanic: One item in ''Tetris Axis'' switches your playing field with that of the opponent. This is most often used to transfer what should be an inevitable loss to your opponent.
* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: Averted. Early players complained that the computer was cheating and refusing to drop the one piece they needed. Pajitnov added the "Statistics" bars at the side of the screen to prove that the game was fair over the long term. In more recent versions, the [[http://harddrop.com/wiki/index.php?title=Random_Generator Random Generator]] deals all pieces seven at a time and is guaranteed to generate an equal number of each piece.
** On the other hand, there's ''[[http://fph.altervista.org/prog/bastet.html Bastet]]'', a "Bastard Tetris" that ''does'' specifically deny you the pieces you want.
** UpToEleven: ''VideoGame/WesleyanTetris'' will give you an absurdly shaped piece, then shuffle the landscape while you're trying to place it. It will lie about the next piece just seldom enough that you can't afford to ignore it. It will place an InvisibleBlock right where you were about to clear a line, and greet your failure with a {{Rimshot}}. Welcome to Tetris PlatformHell.
* DifficultyByAcceleration
* EndlessGame: Many Tetris ports come with several modes, one of which (usually "Type A") is this (the others are aversions requiring you to clear a specific number of lines).
* ExecutiveMeddling: The fates of the Tengen version of NES ''Tetris'' and the [[SegaGenesis Genesis/MegaDrive]] port of Sega's arcade version of ''Tetris''. Recently, the Tetris Guideline has been a notorious example.
* FakeDifficulty: If you're migrating from a newer version to an older version, the latter becomes a retroactive example. Usually, you have no lock delay, let alone infinite spin, and stiffer controls. See also the aforementioned ''Bastet''.
** Also, the video iPod version has notoriously touchy controls. The slightest movement as the piece is about to drop will move it out of place (or rotate it, depending on your game settings).
** Original version was optimized for the {{Elektronika-60}} mini, but these were big and expensive, so mostly it was run on smaller and cheaper DVK [=PCs=]. These were quite a bit slower, though, and with unpatched E60 binaries the controls were notoriously unresponsive.
* FilkSong: BrentalFloss' ''Tetris '''with lyrics!''''' and ''Tetris Suicide''.
* FollowTheLeader: ''Tetris'' has innumerable clones, knockoffs, and imitators.
* {{Intermission}}:
** The Atari arcade game featured a dancer after clearing each level. [[VaudevilleHook This dancer eventually gets the hook]].
** In Tengen's version, several dancers can appear based on the number of Triples and Tetrises cleared during a level. [[TakeABow They take a bow]] after either completing the act or if you wish not to see it.
* KonamiCode: In Tengen's NES version, inputting the code while the game is paused replaces your current piece with a straight piece as seen in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjaRPjgVLU0 this video]]. It only works once per 30-line section.
* MechanicalLifeforms: The Minos in ''Tetris Worlds''.
* MultipleEndings: ''Tetris DX'''s endings feature attempts at launching something into space. If you play well enough a rocket is launched successfully.
* NearVictoryFanfare: ''Tetris DS'' has its Push Mode based on ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong''. As you come closer to victory, the 25m music gains an upbeat drum beat, adds a melody, and then becomes the hammer theme from the same game. The [[SongsInTheKeyOfPanic reverse]] also occurs if you're on the losing side.
** Also, in Marathon Mode of Tetris DS, while the previous 4 levels play a "Hurry Up!" for their melody, the final level (Level 20) changes the music one last time into [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome an awesome remix of the classic Tetris music.]]
* NoPlotNoProblem: Most iterations of the game.
** ExcusePlot: ''[[http://www.gamespot.com/gamecube/puzzle/tetrisworlds/video/2873103/tetris-worlds-intro-movie Tetris Worlds]]''.
*** Tetris Plus involved trying to clear the floor so that a gem-hunting archeologist could get to the exit and treasures at the bottom before the slowly-descending spikes reached his head. That's it.
* NostalgiaFilter + ComplainingAboutPeopleNotLikingTheShow: Some people will look at you funny if you don't think the NES and GameBoy versions are the best ''Tetris'' games of all time.
* PublicDomainSoundtrack: The NES version used {{Tchaikovsky}}'s "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0YLjccRPZg Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy]]", while the GameBoy and most later versions are known for the Russian folk song "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmCCQxVBfyM Korobeiniki]]".
** A specific arrangement of ''Korobeiniki'' is a [[http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=77037539 trademark of The Tetris Company]]. You have been warned!
** Music C in the GameBoy version is an arrangement of {{Johann Sebastian Bach}}'s French Suite No. 3 In B Minor, BWV 814, IV. Menuett – Trio. In the game, the song actually plays in F sharp minor.
* PublicMediumIgnorance: Some people think all versions of ''Tetris'' play exactly the same, and as such cry "Fake!" whenever they see a TGM video.
* RainbowMotif: The current color set up for the Tetriminoes follows this, except with violet replaced with cyan. For the curious, these are red for Z, orange for L, yellow for O, green for S, cyan for I, blue for J, and indigo for T.
* RankInflation: Present in ''Super Tetris 3'', ''Tetris Worlds'', and possibly others.
* {{Sampling}}: ''The New Tetris'' for the {{Nintendo 64}} has an impressive amount of this for a cart-based game. The soundtrack samples everything from vocals, to drum breaks, to chords, and even to melodies.
* SongsInTheKeyOfPanic: In most games, the music speeds up if the stack gets too close to the top of the screen.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: What mathematicians spell "tetromino" the Tetris Guideline spells "tetrimino".
* StalkedByTheBell: Fail to complete an objective in Tetris DS's "Mission" mode, and your playfield gets bumped up by four lines of blocks before your next objective is given.
* StuffBlowingUp: The {{spinoff}} ''[=BomBliss=]''.
* TheTetrisEffect: The TropeNamer.
* UpToEleven: One of the numerous spinoff games out there is called "NotTetris", which ramps things up by adding a PhysicsEngine into the game. Even if you do manage to properly align a Tetrimino, it'll bounce around before it settles.
** I present to you [[http://www.swfme.com/view/1046212 Hell]], which was inspired by the [[http://xkcd.com/724/ xkcd comic of the same name]], and which features a "U" shaped bottom. It is genuinely playable, but enjoy your hell.
*** There's also Ntris, which is a tetris game that can make pieces with any number of squares. It does not seem to be ridiculous until you are faced with six and seven square pieces that just do not quite fit.
** How has [[http://firstpersontetris.com/ First-Person Tetris]] not been mentioned? If you're prone to motion sickness, beware.
* VideoGame3DLeap: ''Welltris'', also created by Alexey Pajitnov. Notable that it did it without PolygonalGraphics.
** The slightly obscure ''Tetrisphere'' also was this, and is a surprisingly good game, though gameplay admittedly matches up little with conventional ''Tetris''.
*** The even more obscure VirtualBoy game ''3D Tetris'', which was also a surprisingly good game. Featured genuinely challenging puzzle modes along with the "normal" play. ''Blockout'' by California Dreams was similar.

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