Email Novel Suspects Logo
Hachette provides comprehensive global distribution services in the following territories:
United States flag Switch to United States region United Kingdom flag Switch to United Kingdom region Australia flag Switch to Australia region India flag Switch to India region

Hachette Book Group menu

  • Home
  • Publishers
  • Customers
  • Sustainability
  • Retailer Portal
  • Location
  • Our Culture
  • Our Careers
Go to Hachette Book Group home

Hachette Book Group menu

  • Home
  • Publishers
  • Customers
  • Sustainability
  • Retailer Portal
  • Location
  • Our Culture
  • Our Careers

By clicking “Accept,” you agree to the use of cookies and similar technologies on your device as set forth in our Cookie Policy and our Privacy Policy. Please note that certain cookies are essential for this website to function properly and do not require user consent to be deployed.

The Tetris Effect

The Game that Hypnotized the World

The Tetris Effect Open the full-size image

Loading

Contributors

By Dan Ackerman

Formats and Prices

On Sale
Sep 6, 2016
Page Count
272 pages
Publisher
PublicAffairs
ISBN-13
9781610396110

Price

$25.99

Price

$33.99 CAD

Format

  1. ebook

Format:

  1. Hardcover $25.99 $33.99 CAD
  2. ebook $15.99 $20.99 CAD

Buy from Other Retailers:

  • Amazon
  • Barnes & Noble
  • Books-A-Million
  • Bookshop
  • Target
  • Walmart

The definitive story of a game so great, even the Cold War couldn’t stop it

Tetris is perhaps the most instantly recognizable, popular video game ever made. But how did an obscure Soviet programmer, working on frail, antiquated computers, create a product which has now earned nearly 1 billion in sales? How did a makeshift game turn into a worldwide sensation, which has been displayed at the Museum of Modern Art, inspired a big-budget sci-fi movie, and been played in outer space?

A quiet but brilliant young man, Alexey Pajitnov had long nurtured a love for the obscure puzzle game pentominoes, and became obsessed with turning it into a computer game. Little did he know that the project that he labored on alone, hour after hour, would soon become the most addictive game ever made.

In this fast-paced business story, reporter Dan Ackerman reveals how Tetris became one of the world’s first viral hits, passed from player to player, eventually breaking through the Iron Curtain into the West. British, American, and Japanese moguls waged a bitter fight over the rights, sending their fixers racing around the globe to secure backroom deals, while a secretive Soviet organization named ELORG chased down the game’s growing global profits.

The Tetris Effect is an homage to both creator and creation, and a must-read for anyone who’s ever played the game-which is to say everyone.

Genre:

  • Nonfiction
  • Games & Activities
  • Video & Electronic
  • Video & Mobile

New York native Dan Ackerman is currently a section editor at the leading technology news site CNET, where he oversees a team running CNET's New York gadget testing lab, reviews laptops and tablets, hosts videos, and writes about hot-button consumer technology topics.

He's a well-known TV talking head, seen on CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, Fox News, BBC News, ABC, CBS, and NBC News, and other outlets, and he regularly appears as an in-house technology expert on CBS This Morning. As a writer and columnist, Ackerman has contributed regularly to magazines, including Men's Journal, Maxim, Blender, and Sync, and he's previously served as a monthly technology columnist for both SPIN and WWE Magazine. As an industry expert, he's been interviewed by or quoted in the New York Times, USA Today, the Atlantic, Mother Jones, Fast Company, and many other publications.

  • “The definitive telling of one of the most fascinating stories in videogame history.” —WIRED

    “Ackerman's account of the rise of Tetris is as captivating as watching the game's multi-colored, four-squared objects (known as “tetrominoes”) vanish before your eyes with the right move.” —Fortune Online
  • "Half-origin story, half-cultural commentary, Ackerman leaves no block unturned, fitting the pieces together with effortless precision."
    Steven Petite, Yahoo! Finance

You May Also Like

Press Reset
Press Reset $19.99 $25.99 CAD
Little Book of Video Games
Little Book of Video Games $15.00 $20.00 CAD
Young Guns
Young Guns $17.99 $22.99 CAD
League of Legends: Realms of Runeterra (Official Companion)
League of Legends: Realms of Runeterra (Official Companion) $30.00 $38.00 CAD
Bit by Bit
Bit by Bit $37.00 $47.00 CAD

Newsletter Signup

Get recommended reads, deals, and more from Hachette

By clicking ‘Sign Up,’ I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Hachette Book Group’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use

Dan Ackerman

About the Author

New York native Dan Ackerman is currently a section editor at the leading technology news site CNET, where he oversees a team running CNET’s New York gadget testing lab, reviews laptops and tablets, hosts videos, and writes about hot-button consumer technology topics.

He’s a well-known TV talking head, seen on CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, Fox News, BBC News, ABC, CBS, and NBC News, and other outlets, and he regularly appears as an in-house technology expert on CBS This Morning. As a writer and columnist, Ackerman has contributed regularly to magazines, including Men’s Journal, Maxim, Blender, and Sync, and he’s previously served as a monthly technology columnist for both SPIN and WWE Magazine. As an industry expert, he’s been interviewed by or quoted in the New York Times, USA Today, the Atlantic, Mother Jones, Fast Company, and many other publications.

Learn more about this author

Social Media

  • Facebook (opens in a new tab)
  • Twitter (opens in a new tab)
  • Website (opens in a new tab)
  • Instagram (opens in a new tab)
  • Email (opens in a new tab)
▲
HBG Distribution logo
  • FAQ
  • Vendors
  • Cookie Policy
  • Report Piracy
  • Fraud Alert
  • CPSIA
  • GPSR
© 2025 Hachette Book Group | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | Do Not Sell My Personal Information