Google's Tetris-like logo leads its search pages today. More special logos: Holiday Logos and Events, Google Logos Collection (unofficial). The photo below, of a Tetris screen at a video arcade in Brooklyn, is by Mark Lennihan of AP.

25 years ago today, June 6, 1984, Alexey Pajitnov launched a puzzle video game called Tetris. Wikipedia:

"He derived its name from the Greek numerical prefix "tetra- (all of the game's pieces, known as Tetrominoes, contain four segments) and tennis, Pajitnov's favorite sport."

It's such a tiny story to tell. Like most good ideas, it just comes. Putting together the pieces of a puzzle is a skill taught early. Jigsaw puzzles let you choose and hold pieces.The puzzle is harder when pieces come randomly dealt, as geometric shapes on a screen or cut-out paper scraps.

Tetris adds tension: Get the falling piece to fall into place.

Time magazine: 25 Years of Tetris: From Russia With Fun!. Scott Olstad reports the facts and context.

Primary sources at gamer mags:
Catching Up Casually: A Chat With Alexey Pajitnov. 2008 interview at Gamasutra.

Q&A: Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov, 2007 interview at GameSpot.

Tetris Story by Vadim Gerasimov, who was 16 when he helped develop the game and now works at Google Australia.

Play Tetris:
A "Play" link at Tetris.com redirects to Tetris Friends, where you can play the original 1989 sepia Tetris, as well as some other versions (some only for two minutes for free).

Play Free Tetris. It's still as frustrating as ever.

The special Google logo is linked to a search for Tetris. It's today's yellow brick road, if that's where you want to go.