Tetris News, Tetris Features

Thor Aackerlund is a Tetris master

Like the talented and popular sporty kid you used to hate at school, Thor Aackerlund has been annoying the hell out of Nintendo fans for decades, thanks largely to his superhuman gaming skills — skills which won him the coveted Nintendo World Championship back in 1990. Turns out Aackerlund hasn't allowed his...

Oh medical studies, how we love you

In recent years, particularly with the control and gameplay innovations of the DS / Wii era onwards, we've seen Nintendo systems used for various medical studies and treatments; that's most assuredly a good thing. Often these studies show a refreshing level of creativity along with their obvious scientific merit,...

An important relic of video game history

Tengen Tetris is one of the rarest, if not the rarest, NES cartridges out there. It was released way back in 1989 but after only a month on the shelves, unsold copies of the game were recalled - a shame considering many felt it was the better version of the game due to its improved graphics and two-player...

Blocks walking 'round the block

When you combine video game enthusiasts and that strange time of year, Halloween, there's no limit to what strange costumes may be seen strolling around normally quiet neighbourhoods. It seems that one group of friends forgot that they were trying to scare people, so instead opted to cause puzzlement instead. As you...

Block buster

Everyone loves Tetris, right? Everyone from your grandma to Steve Wozniak, in fact! But for some people, the most famous video game ever to emerge from Russia is much more than just a way to waste a few minutes while waiting for the bus - it's a way of life, a challenge which defines and shapes their existence. Tetris lover Robin...

Publisher explains why

Check the 3DS eShop or DSi Shop and you'll notice that Tetris Party Live is no longer available to buy, either in North America or European regions. We reached out to the publisher, Tetris Online Inc., for an explanation. Casey Pelkey, vice president of marketing, had this to say: I can confirm that Tetris Party Live is no...

Start forming a line now

In exactly one month you European 3DS owners will be able to get Tetris for your 3DS, as Nintendo announces a release date of 21st October 2011. The game is known as Tetris Axis in North America, but in Europe Nintendo is going with the less is more approach to naming. It'll still have the same single player and online multiplayer modes, just in a new name. North Americans,..

Friends not included

With the announcement that Nintendo had picked up publishing duties for Tetris Axis came a fact sheet proclaiming two to six player online play. Great news indeed. Fast forward a few weeks and Nintendo has updated the fact sheet with one minor change: online multiplayer will now support up to eight players for maximum...

Stacking blocks good for you

Anyone who's played Tetris – i.e. everyone ever – can attest to its soothing qualities as they stack block after block aiming to create those lovely lines. Now a new study suggests that playing the game isn't just good for fun, it may help to reduce the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Scientific journal PLoS ONE suggests that playing Tetris can reduce..

It's Jonas Neubauer, and he's good

They came, they saw, they rotated and dropped and rotated again. The first-ever Classic Tetris World Championships took place in Los Angeles over the weekend, and 29-year old Jonas Neubauer walked away with the crown, statue and novelty-sized cheque. Beating over 200 players under the watchful eye of former...

Got it?

With its 90-degree turns and grid-based gameplay, Tetris takes a few liberties with the laws of physics (not to mention why these blocks are dropping and disappear once adjoined.) But what if its physics were a little more fluid; a little more unforgiving? That's what Not Tetris is all about. A free PC download, Not Tetris is all about smooth movements and watching as your blocks hopelessly..

The latest cross-platform puzzler has its release date slotted in

Tetris is one of those franchises that just won't go away, whether you want it to or not. The simplicity of its premise has lead to countless variations in rule-sets, and the latest instalment that's out on the Wii and the DS – Tetris Party Deluxe – has had its European release date confirmed. From 3rd September onwards,..