Rachel Hoyer

Tetris -- possibly the most popular casual computer game of all time -- celebrates its 25th anniversary on June 6th. Its creator, Alexey Pajitnov, looked back at the phenomenon he created at this week's E3 Expo in Los Angeles.

Practically everyone has heard of it and anyone can play it, even those with little or no gaming experience. The concept and interface are so simple that gameplay is intuitive. Perhaps it is the very simplicity of the game that makes it so addictive. In Tetris, you rotate falling geometric shapes on a rectangular playfield; completing horizontal rows of blocks makes them disappear and gives you points. It's a format that has been relentlessly duplicated and evolved over the years.

With more than just a bit of sadistic glee, I am certain, Nintendo planned its E3 press conference for 9:00 AM PT on Tuesday morning, knowing full well that many journalists who hadn't slept much the night before would be lining up early to get a good seat. I was there at 7:15 and by 8:00 AM the auditorium was packed with about 1,500 press members, representing the full gamut of media. I'd just barely awakened, so it felt surreal to be subjected to the "nightclub" atmosphere of the event.

Coming inside from early morning Los Angeles sunshine, the press was greeted by a darkened auditorium with flashing strobes and blue lasers, several large screens onstage featuring Nintendo trivia, along with blaring upbeat music. I had the niggling sensation that I had been out all night and was now attending some sort of gaming-related afterparty. An afterparty where I sat and watched Nintendo play Quizzo for an hour and a half with 1,499 strangers.