Play Tetris online

On UsuArcade, Tetris goes head-to-head online against a friend: each on your own board while watching theirs, from your own phone or PC, in real time. Few cabinets ever drew a crowd quite like Tetris. Atari Games put the Russian puzzle game into arcades in 1988 with a cabinet built for two players side by side, and suddenly everybody was leaning over someone's shoulder yelling about where the next piece should go.

History

Tetris was created in the Soviet Union by Alexey Pajitnov in the mid-80s, and its trip to the West kicked off a famously tangled licensing fight between several companies.

Atari Games released this arcade version in 1988. Don't mix it up with the console versions or later arcade releases: it has its own look, with Russian-themed backdrops between rounds, and lets two people play at the same time on one cabinet.

How to play

Four-block pieces fall into the well, and you move and rotate them before they lock in. Every full row disappears and scores points. Let the stack reach the top and it's game over.

The trick is leaving a slot open for the long piece and clearing several lines at once, which pays way more. Pieces drop faster as you go, so keep your stack low and always check the next piece.

Fun facts

• This arcade version was released by Atari Games in 1988.
• Two players can play at once, each with their own well.
• Clearing four lines at once is the move everyone's chasing.

In the arcade

Just like the arcade, only from your own couch: sit down at the Tetris cabinet, invite your friend once they're in the lobby and each play your own board while watching the other's. Nothing to install: it runs in your browser on phone or PC, gamepad supported, and every game starts with INSERT COIN, free.

Your friend can even jump in after you've already started. Anyone else in the lobby can drop in as a spectator and watch live while chatting, and your scores go up on the arcade's high score board.

FAQ