Henrogers Reflects on the Ideal Game: Acquiring Tetris and Outsmarting the KGB

when game designer and entrepreneur Henk Rogers first encountered Tetris at the 1988 Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show, he immediately recognized its uniqueness. “It was just the perfect game,” he reflects. “It appeared very simple yet was fundamentally captivating, making me want to play it repeatedly. There had never been a demo for a game I hadn’t experienced before.”

Rogers is now a co-owner of the Tetris Company, which oversees and licenses the Tetris brand. Over three decades, he has gained fame equivalent to that of the game itself. The intrigue surrounding his acquisition of distribution rights from the Russian agency Elektronorgtechnica (Elorg) has been transformed into a dramatic Apple TV+ film featuring Taron Egerton. “I suggested that either Johnny Depp or Keanu Reeves should portray me, but it seems they were too old,” says Rogers.

Upon reading the script, casting was only one of his concerns. “It was appalling. I was clueless about how the script would translate into a film. It felt like a disaster… a car chase?”

However, during his pivotal journey to Russia in 1988, nothing could be more daunting than the KGB interrogation awaiting Rogers. Tetris has since become one of the most successful video games in history, selling over 520 million copies, although it was originally conceived by Alexei Pajitnov. This collection of mind-bending tetrominos was on the verge of being kept behind the Iron Curtain, confined to the Soviet regime.

Fortunately, a complex web of international rights agreements among multiple companies, including Robert Maxwell’s Mirrorsoft, ultimately led the Dutch Rogers, residing in Japan, to forge deals for handhelds. On his arrival in Moscow with a tourist visa, the KGB scrutinized Rogers closely. He managed to enter the state-owned enterprise Elorg, which held a monopoly on all Soviet-produced computer software. Upon meeting the mysterious coder behind this mesmerizing game, Rogers quickly realized he had been misled. The rights to Tetris had been “sold” without Russia’s knowledge, much to the displeasure of the Soviets.

“I was in a room with seven individuals, some of whom were KGB operatives, subjected to intense questioning for hours, like, ‘Who is entering the Soviet Union?'” recounts Rogers. It was there he first crossed paths with Pajitnov. “Alexei was initially skeptical of me because he had encountered other individuals seeking Tetris’ rights before. He perceived them all as slimy capitalists wanting to make a quick buck.” The film’s portrayal of this encounter stays true to reality, complete with tense interrogation scenes and KGB surveillance matching Rogers’ account.

“Once he learned I was a game designer, Alexei’s demeanor shifted entirely,” remembers Rogers. “Alexei had never met a game designer before… in the Soviet Union, there was no gaming industry, so game design was merely a side project amidst other work.”

Curious about another enthusiast, Alexei discreetly requested that Rogers find him post-meeting. The KGB monitored their every move, sensing the potential worth of the deal, and Rogers was acutely aware of the risks involved. “As a foreigner, I had to tread carefully. So, I waited by the door downstairs, took him to my room in the dead of night, and quietly showcased my version of Tetris.”

Rogers and Pajitnov have remained friends ever since, establishing the Tetris Company in 1996 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the sale of Elorg’s shares. Until that moment, Pajitnov had not seen any financial reward from the game.

The 2023 film did take some creative liberties (“I was perturbed about events that didn’t transpire in the film, like not witnessing my daughter sing at her recital. It premiered in theaters, and although the audience was particularly discerning, they cheered when they first glimpsed the boy in the game. Together, we received the most enthusiastic standing ovation from the crowd).

However, keen to share the deeper narratives of his journey, Rogers has just published a book titled Perfect Game: Tetris, Love from Russia. This work offers an introspective look at the events that brought Pajitnov’s creation to the world, frequently accompanied by mild corrections to errors, infused with fond memories from Pajitnov.

The film underscores Rogers’ undeniable charisma and business acumen while somewhat underplaying his significance as a game developer. While living in Japan in 1983, he founded Bullet-Proof Software and created the impactful role-playing game The Black Onyx, which introduced an iconic health bar and introduced the RPG genre to Japanese audiences. The game’s manual was authored by Kenyō Suzuki, who later became the president of Squaresoft, the creators of the Final Fantasy series. The influence of Black Onyx extended even to the legendary Nintendo designer Miyamoto, who remarked that it inspired him to create Zelda.

Is it peculiar that Rogers’ narrative sometimes eclipses that of Pajitnov, the original creator of Tetris? “Alexei and I serve very different roles,” responds Rogers. “In narrating my part of the story, he wouldn’t undertake the same role. He is more introverted. If given the platform, he’d prefer to sit in a room and delve into mathematical discussions.”

New iterations of Tetris emerge every few years, with the 2019 psychedelic Tetris effect being a notable recent highlight, developed by Mizuguchi Tatsuya, the creator of the Dreamcast classic Rez. “Gucci — that’s what we call him — is a good friend,” Rogers shares. “We attended Burning Man together, where we redefined the Tetris effect in the desert, creating Tetris in VR and built that product.”

While Rogers still revels in the game (“Minecraft has truly done something innovative”), his priorities have shifted after experiencing a fatal heart attack in 2005. “I’ve wrapped up publishing the game,” he states. “I fully understand the labor involved, the finances required, and how much my heart needs to be committed. Now, my focus is combating climate change.”

Residing in Hawaii, Rogers has spent the last 20 years advocating for the island nation to commit to clean energy by 2030 through his Blue Planet Foundation. If anyone can save our planet, it’s the man who outsmarted Maxwell, evaded the KGB, and brought first the iconic blocks to life.