When computer games first started, one of the very first was Tetris. This is the geometric game where you fill in all the empty spaces with different shaped blocks. This fast-paced game was one of the first games that came out on Nintendo. It has remained popular. There are many online sites where you can go to and play free Tetris online.http://www.tetrislive.com/ These are Flash based programs so there is no download necessary.

In 1984 Tetris was created by Russian scientist Alexey Pajitnov. He made the first version on an Electronica 60. By 1985 Tetris had been adapted into an IBM PC and was gaining popularity. Tetris had reached America by 1987 and in 1989 it won the software award for excellence. By the time it won the awards, Nintendo had published it on gameboy and over thirty five million copies were sold.http://www.tetris.com/about-tetris/awards/index.aspx In 2001 Tetris was # 3 in the Top 100 games of all time 2002 is when Tetris becomes the leader in mobile games.http://www.tetris.com/history/index.aspx In 2006 Tetris for the iPod became Apple's #1 downloaded game. That same year Nintendo released Tetris for the DS and sold over two million copies.http://www.tetris.com/history/index.aspx

Tetris is released for Wii in 2008 and is the number 1 in the WiiWare Downloads. Tetris is nominated for best puzzle game of 2008 by IGN.http://www.tetris.com/history/index.aspx

Even with this long and eventful history, Tetris is now available online at no charge to play. In 2009 'Tetris celebrated its 25th anniversary.

The game play of Tetris is simple and very absorbing. The blocks drop in various shapes and they need to fill the empty area so that each full line will disappear. As they drop, the blocks can be maneuvered with the direction keys so that they lock into each other and form a solid row.http://www.tetris.com/how-to-play-tetris/index.aspx

Once the row is completely filled then it will disappear and points will be given. Each line that is erased will give more points. If you take out 4 rows at a time then you are allotted bonus points.

The object is to keep all the lines erased because if there is a stack they can become blocked in and that will end the game.