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The Life Story Behind Tetris: Henk Rogers on The Perfect Game

Henk Rogers’s The Perfect Game is a participant’s memoir about Tetris, the film that prompted him to tell his version, and the life he built beyond games.
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Henk Rogers says he wrote The Perfect Game: Tetris, From Russia With Love after reading the script for the 2023 Tetris film and finding scenes he did not recognize. He and Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov tried to correct details, he recalls, but the film had already been shot by the time Rogers finished writing. His 2025 book is therefore a participant’s memoir and account of his life—not a neutral, independently adjudicated history of Tetris.

Why Rogers wrote his version after the film

In an interview published by GamesBeat on April 1, 2025, and updated June 18, Rogers describes reading the movie script as the prompt to tell his account of how Tetris reached a worldwide audience. Some scenes did not match his memory, he says, and he and Pajitnov attempted to correct the script. By the time Rogers completed his own writing, however, the film had already been made.

His response to the finished film was not simply that it was wrong. Rogers says it moved him emotionally, even though some scenes that affected him did not happen as depicted. That distinction matters: a dramatized film and a memoir make different claims. The interview records Rogers’s recollections and reactions; it does not establish that every point of dispute has been resolved. Read the GamesBeat interview.

From spotting a game to negotiating its rights

Rogers connects Tetris’s journey with his earlier experience as a game designer and business owner. He recalls discovering the game at the 1988 Consumer Electronics Show and seeing its potential for a console. The next part of his story is a trip to Moscow and negotiations over rights to Pajitnov’s game. These are Rogers’s recollections, rather than a comprehensive or independently verified account of the rights history.

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The interview also reaches back to The Black Onyx, a role-playing game Rogers says he created and describes as Japan’s first RPG. He uses his experience in games to make a broader point about treating designers fairly. Those descriptions and judgments are his perspective, not independently established industry findings.

Why consistency became a design problem

Rogers says that after taking over Tetris in 1996, he wanted players to encounter a consistent game across different versions. He recalls addressing differences between Nintendo and Sega rotation systems by combining aspects of each, so that the behavior of a rotating piece would make sense to people familiar with either version.

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This part of the memoir’s story is not only about obtaining rights. It is also about the choices involved in making a game feel familiar across platforms. The interview offers Rogers’s explanation of the design goal and solution; it does not independently verify the technical implementation.

What the title The Perfect Game means

Rogers cautions against reading the title as a claim that Tetris is objectively perfect: “I’m not saying Tetris is the perfect game, but the book is The Perfect Game.” He says the title also refers to his own search for a perfect game. One possible measure, as he describes it, is whether people keep playing a game even after its creator has lost interest.

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That idea makes the title as much about a lasting relationship between a game and its players as about a particular design. It is Rogers’s definition and reflection, rather than a universal test for what makes a game perfect.

A story that continues beyond video games

The interview follows Rogers beyond his game career, including his account of experiencing a heart attack and later feeling a renewed sense of mission. He discusses work connected to coral reefs and renewable energy. These are elements of his personal story and the causes he describes; the interview alone does not establish medical claims or climate predictions as independent evidence.

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The publisher likewise frames the memoir as a life story extending beyond video games. Readers looking for a full history of Tetris should distinguish that broad historical question from what Rogers’s book offers: one participant’s experience, from game design and business negotiations to later work and purpose.

Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Support on Ko-Fi

About Rogers’s book

The publisher lists the book as The Perfect Game: Tetris, From Russia With Love by Henk B. Rogers, released April 1, 2025, ISBN 978-1-962603-20-1. The listing includes print and digital reading formats, including Kindle or another device, and describes a limited first edition with a raised holographic cover through DAP. Check the publisher’s listing for current format and availability details: The Perfect Game at DAP Books.

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Best Value
Tetris (Renewed)
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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