We all know what Tetris is: an unassuming puzzle game involving the manipulation of falling blocks; yet within this mild-mannered game is there encoded undertones of communist political thought? Could Tetris be a covert ploy fomented by the former USSR to distribute Communist propaganda throughout the western world? Is Tetris truly what it would appear to be or is it in fact the most successful subterfuge of the twentieth century?

I seek to prove that Tetris is in fact a simulated microcosm of the philosophy of Marx and Engels, a clever encryption of the penultimate revolution to be held by the proletariat at the expense of the bourgeoisie.

To begin I must typify who the players of this Marxist melodrama are. The player serves as a member of the bourgeoisie, perhaps a wealthy factory owner or a land baron, and the falling blocks which litter the screen are representations of the proletariat. Nameless and faceless, the anonymous members of the proletariat are sacrificed at the altar of capitalist greed by the bourgeoisie player whose only goal is to convert his proletariat pawns into capital, as represented by the player’s score. Now this score is truly meaningless, an ethereal measurement of wealth accrued at the expense of others for no other purpose than to elevate the player’s ego and to serve as a means of comparing how well one member of the bourgeoisie does in relation to another. This is capitalist one-upsmanship at its finest. “Damn the expense so long as I have more than anyone else,” what a comforting philosophy to be fostering among today’s youth.

However, the player cannot gain wealth perpetually. Just as in Marxist doctrine the revolution of the proletariat is inevitable; eventually the player will make a mistake in his or her manipulation of the proletariat and the player will pay for it, dearly. The proletariat will rise up. Uniting as one the working-class blocks build ever higher, ascending to the bourgeoisie throne and casting down the player, the proletariat seizes the means of production and the reigns of government. Game over.

This end is inevitable, the Revolution cannot be stopped; it can only be postponed. No matter how skilled the bourgeoisie is no amount of cajoling, bribery, or intimidation will save them. The player will lose, always. The only comfort to the disenfranchised player is the hard-lost score, a miniscule, meaningless number, the only testament to their struggle and a taunting reminder of their former glory.

We all know what Tetris is: an unassuming puzzle game involving the manipulation of falling blocks; yet within this mild-mannered game is there encoded undertones of communist political thought? Could Tetris be a covert ploy fomented by the former USSR to distribute Communist propaganda throughout the western world? Is Tetris truly what it would appear to be or is it in fact the most successful subterfuge of the twentieth century? I seek to prove that Tetris is in fact a simulated microcosm of the philosophy of Marx and Engels, a clever encryption of the penultimate revolution to be held by the proletariat at the expense of the bourgeoisie. To begin I must typify who the players of this Marxist melodrama are. The player serves as a member of the bourgeoisie, perhaps a wealthy factory owner or a land baron, and the falling blocks which litter the screen are representations of the proletariat. Nameless and faceless, the anonymous members of the proletariat are sacrificed at the altar of capitalist greed by the bourgeoisie player whose only goal is to convert his proletariat pawns into capital, as represented by the player’s score. Now this score is truly meaningless, an ethereal measurement of wealth accrued at the expense of others for no other purpose than to elevate the player’s ego and to serve as a means of comparing how well one member of the bourgeoisie does in relation to another. This is capitalist one-upsmanship at its finest. “Damn the expense so long as I have more than anyone else,” what a comforting philosophy to be fostering among today’s youth. However, the player cannot gain wealth perpetually. Just as in Marxist doctrine the revolution of the proletariat is inevitable; eventually the player will make a mistake in his or her manipulation of the proletariat and the player will pay for it, dearly. The proletariat will rise up. Uniting as one the working-class blocks build ever higher, ascending to the bourgeoisie throne and casting down the player, the proletariat seizes the means of production and the reigns of government. Game over. This end is inevitable, the Revolution cannot be stopped; it can only be postponed. No matter how skilled the bourgeoisie is no amount of cajoling, bribery, or intimidation will save them. The player will lose, always. The only comfort to the disenfranchised player is the hard-lost score, a miniscule, meaningless number, the only testament to their struggle and a taunting reminder of their former glory.