Episode 702: Tetris: Piracy, Profits, and Murder

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we take a look at one of the more bizarre stories in video games—The Tale of Tetris. It is a story of mass piracy, Soviet Secrecy, and murder! Everyone knows this brick stacking game, and most of us have been addicted to it at some point or another. But the story of its spread and development is wild. It was created by Alexey Pajitnov for a group run by the Soviet Union. A colleague named Vladimir Pokhilko first recognized its addictive quality and was brought in. After most of the world was playing it (illegally), Pajitnoz and Pokhilko used its success to move to the US and work on new software, but Pohkilko and his family died to hammer assaults and knife attacks. Maybe a murder-suicide, maybe a Russian mafia hit job? You decide. Listen, laugh, learn.

Visit Our Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetris

https://murderpedia.org/male.P/p/pokhilko-vladimir.htm

https://www.dailydot.com/parsec/tetris-game-facts/

https://decider.com/2022/12/05/the-tetris-murders-discovery-plus-review/

https://www.livescience.com/56473-7-weird-facts-about-tetris.html

https://tetris.fandom.com/wiki/Tetris_Wiki

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Pokhilko

https://www.forbes.com/sites/risasarachan/2022/12/05/the-tetris-murders-docuseries-explores-mysterious-death-of-tetris-co-developer-and-his-family/?sh=616d76657301

https://nypost.com/2022/12/05/was-the-tetris-co-creator-the-victim-of-a-russian-mob-hit/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetris_effect