Tetris: The Bestselling Game of All Time

Math isn't the only universal language. Apparently, so is Tetris.

EA Mobile and the company it licenses the game from, Blue Planet Software, released to the Associated press on Wednesday that Tetris is the best selling game ever, having sold over 100 million paid cell phone downloads.

Tetris was created in 1984 by Russian born mathematician, Alexey Pajitnov, who came up with the name by combining the Greek numerical prefix, "tetra" with "tennis," his favorite sport.

Through the years after it’s conception, the game worked its way in nearly every video game console and computer operating system but really took off in popularity in 1989 with its launch on the hand held Game Boy.  In the 25 years the game has been around, it has sold over 125 million units, boosting again in popularity after it became available on mobile in 2001.

''It is appealing to all demographics, all cultures,'' said Pajitnov — which makes sense. Nothing gets lost in translation. Nothing can be misinterpreted. It's just a simple, yet challenging game of puzzle solving.

In fact, some studies have shown that prolonged Tetris activity can also lead to more efficient brain activity during play. The study even concluded that playing half-an-hour a day for three months boosts general cognitive functions and increases cerebral cortex thickness. So don’t feel too guilty about the office time spent putting puzzle pieces in place … it’s just helping office productivity! Tetris is available in 60 countries on about 64,000 different handsets.I speak Tetris … do you?

Photo courtesy of totalAldo via Flickr.