Obviously, we know the game makes it out of Russia and into consoles across the world, so we’re comfortable going on the ride knowing the outcome - but that doesn’t make the ride any less fun. Unexpectedly, the film lands pretty firmly in thriller territory, which turns a typical biopic into an entertaining nailbiter.

Nikita Yefremov’s Alexey Pajitnov is the creator of Tetris, which becomes the center of an espionage scheme. From there, he becomes dead set on securing the rights for video game consoles, maybe even arcade rights as well - but what he doesn’t realize is that means he will have to volley for a business deal with Gorbechov’s Russian government from inside Moscow amid the Cold War. Screenwriter Noah Pink’s film follows Henk Rogers, a Dutch-American video game designer and entrepreneur who discovers the enigmatic and addictive Tetris at a game conference. For those of us who have a soft spot for the 8-bit gem, Tetris is a welcome homage to the story we may not have ever known about a game we have the fondest memories of. Baird’s fourth film that chronicles the rise of an iconic game beloved the world over. Naturally, nostalgia guided me into the path of Tetris, director John S. I watched as the quadrant blocks fell from the top of the screen, waiting to be slotted just so into their geometric brethren below. I remember it like it was yesterday, the first time I slotted my Tetris cartridge into my transparent, neon green Game Boy Pocket.

War game center