5 of the strangest things people have played Tetris on

“Can it run Doom” is a classic trend where people try to put the classic FPS on as many devices as possible. However, what about the humble Tetris? Everyone knows the famous block-moving game, but people don’t really try to get it running on as many weird and wonderful devices as they do Doom.

Fortunately, despite not being nearly as popular, some people have given the addictive puzzle game a new home on all kinds of mediums. So, let’s explore some of the weirdest things people have played Tetris on.

Somehow easier than getting one signed

Usually, stuff doesn’t really move around in a PDF. However, that hasn’t stopped someone from coding an entire game in the document format. Using some coding wizardry, you can open a PDF in your browser and play Tetris on it, complete with keyboard controls.

The secret sauce lies in how browsers like Chrome and Firefox handle PDFs. Turns out, they create a sandboxed Javascript runtime, and while you can’t do anything you want in it, you still have enough freedom to code Tetris in it.

Related

Quickly save your work with an Arduino-driven retro floppy disk picture frame

If you’re always forgetting to save your work, one day you’ll regret that. This Arduino-driven retro floppy disk will remind you and do it for you.

Apparently you can use the app to make spreadsheets or something

Speaking of getting Tetris working on apps where it really shouldn’t work, why not play some classic puzzle goodness in Excel? Unlike the PDF version, this one has some pretty advanced features to it. For example, it shows you what piece is coming up next, it keeps tabs on your score, and it’ll remember your high score if you set one.

Related

ModRetro Chromatic review: Nostalgia, turned up to 11

Emulating hardware to play original cartridges is my favorite kind of emulation.

3

Getting Tetris running on the side of a building

Now everyone can see how bad you are

The cool thing about Tetris is that you don’t need a lot of pixels to play it. In fact, you could get a game going with just a handful of them. So, what if you treated each individual window in a building as a pixel and used that to play Tetris?

That’s exactly what happened at MIT in 2012. They achieved it by wiring up lighting modules on the windowsill of each window and then turning the main lights off. This allowed the player to distinctly see each shape by its color. It even had a scrolling “Tetris” word that started off the game.

While it’s no longer possible to play Tetris on the side of an MIT building, there are videos online showing other people playing the game in a big way. Just don’t worry too much about how well they’re playing.

Related

Anbernic RG35XXSP review: A nostalgic design for an excellent retro handheld

The Anbernic RG35XXSP is the latest gaming handheld from Anbernic, and it’s a fantastic retro gaming handheld that you can pick up for cheap.

2

Playing Tetris on an HP 54602B Oscilloscope

“Hold on, I’ll get your results when I next lose.”

Who said engineers don’t have a sense of humor? If you have an HP 54602B Oscilloscope lying around (maybe check the attic), you can activate an Easter egg by pressing the Print/Utility button, and then pressing the second and third buttons underneath the screen at the same time. That boring oscilloscope screen will go away and will be replaced with a game of Tetris, complete with instructions on how to move the pieces and tweak the game via the buttons below.

Related

Retroid Pocket 4 Pro review: The Nintendo Switch-style retro Android handheld to get

Retroid’s Pocket 4 Pro is a tiny but capable Android handheld that is perfect for mobile gaming and retro emulation

1

Playing Tetris using incredibly small beads under a microscope

Nobody sneeze

Finally, we have this game of Tetris played on microscopic beads using special equipment. This was performed in 2002 at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, presumably during a slow Friday afternoon. As mentioned on the Vrije Universiteit website:

To accomplish microTetris, we use the technique of optical trapping (explained elsewhere on our group’s webpage) to hold the glass beads in place. In short, an optical trap is a laser beam which is focused to a very tiny spot (1 micrometer = about 1/1000th of a millimeter) by a strong lens, usually a microscope’s objective lens. This focus appears to act as an attractor point, in which small particles like our 1-micrometer glass beads (but also cells or bacteria) can be sucked and from which they cannot escape. This tool, also more figuratively referred to as ‘optical tweezers’ is nowadays indispensable in biophysical research.

Using an acoustic-optic deflector, the researchers could hold the beads in place and use them to play Tetris. And for a little while, anyone could give the game a go, albeit they’d need to look under the microscope to actually see their game.

Related

Miyoo Mini+ review: One of the best retro handhelds you can buy today

If you want an affordable retro gaming handheld, then the Miyoo Mini+ is up there as one of the best.

Doom is great, but Tetris deserves more love

As much as it’s amazing to see Doom run on anything under the sun, I still think more people should put Tetris on things. It’s a classic game, and even people who have never played it can get its catchy theme song stuck in their heads from time to time. Who knows what other weird ways people will find to play Tetris in the future?