Tetris

86 / 100PuzzleArcadeNovember 1, 1989

Tetris is a puzzle video game created by Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov in the mid-1980s. Players arrange falling pieces made of four connected blocks, called tetrominoes, into complete horizontal lines within a rectangular playfield. Completed lines disappear and award points, while the speed of the falling pieces increases over time. The game ends when stacked pieces reach the top of the field. With over 520 million sales across approximately 220 versions and at least 70 platforms, it is the second-best-selling video game series.

Nintendo Entertainment System

TetrisWhite HouseCopyright

White House Tetris Clone "Build the Wall" Pulled After Legal Threat

A Tetris-style game called "Build the Wall," published on the official White House website as part of a so-called "White House Arcade," has been quietly removed less than a week after its launch. The game, which used Tetris-like tile-matching mechanics themed around the Trump administration's border wall policy, disappeared shortly after The Tetris Company issued a pointed public statement distancing itself from the project and warning that it takes "copyright infringement very seriously." Whether the takedown was a direct legal response or a coincidence, the timing left little room for doubt about what prompted the decision.

Sep 9, 2026

TetrisWhite HouseCopyright Infringement

White House Launches Racist Tetris Clone; Tetris Company Fires Back

The Trump administration has launched an online "arcade" on a government website, featuring knockoff versions of classic games including Tetris, Flappy Bird, and Snake. The most prominent of these is a Tetris-style game called "Build the Wall," which critics and gaming outlets have widely condemned as xenophobic and racist in its theming and imagery. The games are laced with pro-Trump propaganda and have drawn immediate backlash across the gaming community and beyond.

Sep 5, 2026