This Tetris port is unusual because it was designed to end by becoming too fast to play after a certain amount of progress is made.

Although the highest game speed was intended to be unplayably difficult, it was shown to be manageable with novel button-mashing techniques developed in the 2020s.

In B-Type play, the board starts with randomized obstacle blocks at the bottom of the field, and the goal is to clear 25 lines.

This leaves the possibility of extended periods with no long bar pieces, which are essential because Tetrises[a] are worth more than clearing the equivalent amount of lines in singles, doubles, or triples.

Each successive level increases the points scored by line clears and changes the colors of the game pieces.

On level 29, pieces fall at 1 grid cell every frame, which is too fast for almost all players, and it is thus called the "kill screen".

[6][8] The definition of "beating the game" has changed over time with the development of novel controller methods designed for high-level play.

Each type of clear, being a single, double, triple, or Tetris, has a base value which is multiplied by the number 1 higher than the current level.

[18] This technique is both much faster and less physically straining than hypertapping[17] – it allows pieces to be shifted horizontally up to 30 times per second, enabling play far past level 29.

[16] In 2009, Harry Hong became the first independently verified person to achieve 999,999 points on an unmodified cartridge, known as a maxout score.

[5] Earlier plausible but unverified max-out scores were claimed by Thor Aackerlund c. 1990 and Jonas Neubauer c. 2002.

"[20] The final matchup in the Classic Tetris World Championship in 2022 resulted in competitors Eric Tolt and Justin Yu both reaching two million points in a game and levels 73 and 69, respectively.

To prevent extremely prolonged games, beginning in 2023 the CTWC uses a modified version that includes a "super killscreen" at level 39, where pieces reach the bottom of the well in only a sixth of a second - two blocks per frame.

[21][22] In 2014, computer researcher Mike Birken published an analysis of Tetris's game code, including details on unexpected behaviors that occur at very high levels.

[33][34] The 1990 Nintendo World Championships were based on A-Type Tetris, Super Mario Bros., and Rad Racer.

[38][39] By 1989, about six companies claimed rights to create and distribute the Tetris software for home computers, game consoles, and handheld systems.

[40] ELORG, the Soviet bureau that held the ultimate copyright, claimed that none of the companies were legally entitled to produce an arcade version, and signed those rights over to Atari Games.

Tetris was shown at the January 1988 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where it was picked up by Dutch-born American games publisher Henk Rogers, then based in Japan.

[41] Pajitnov is credited for the "original concept, design and program"[2] but was not directly involved in developing this version.

[6] The game's code includes an unfinished and inaccessible two-player versus mode, which sends rows of garbage blocks (with one opening) to the bottom of the opponent's board when lines are cleared.

[6] The soundtrack was written by Nintendo composer Hirokazu Tanaka, who also scored the Game Boy version.

[41] Focusing on Russian classical music,[7] the soundtrack features arrangements of "The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker and the overture from Georges Bizet's opera Carmen.

[53] Unlike the Game Boy version,[54] the NES release was not made available for purchase on Nintendo's Virtual Console.

[56] Michael Suck of Aktueller Software Markt considered the game a success, praising the adjustable starting level and music.

[57] Computer Entertainer recommended Nintendo's Tetris only to consumers who had not played Atari's version, which it says has superior graphics, gameplay and options – further calling its removal from stores "unfortunate for players" of puzzle games.

[64] In 2018, 11 classic Tetris experts were instructed to play with the next piece preview window disabled ("no next box").

The author notes that even though one participant went on to become that year's world champion, no player was recorded scoring a Tetris during any of the no next box games.

The study concludes that a person's Tetris ability can be assessed by their blink rate during the first minute of play.

[66] In contrast, seven-time world champion Jonas Neubauer manually suppressed his blink reflex while playing, leading to health concerns and his regular use of eye drops.