I fell in love with video games at a young age. I can remember playing the original Mario Bros. game on the Nintendo Entertainment System at a friend’s house before I even learned how to ride a bike. The classic video games were the ones that got me hooked on the medium. This was before high-end graphics and online playability were industry staples. The concepts were easy to understand, and the visuals were simple and fun.
No game was simpler than Tetris. It was an addictive little puzzle game that people could spend hours playing. When I was handed the Delsonic Tetris game watch, I was immediately taken back to that time in my childhood. The game plays largely the same as it did when it was first released on the Commodore 64 back in 1984. And thanks to the game’s very basic design, it can still be fully enjoyed on the watch’s one-inch display. I found myself immediately getting caught up in the game, trying to beat my own high score each time around.
When the game starts up, the watch plays a brief melody. A two-tone jingle plays when your pieces land, and varying three-tone jingles play when you rotate your pieces and when a line of blocks is removed. Four buttons on the bottom of the case control the gameplay. The left and right buttons move your current Tetris piece from side to side, while the upper button rotates the piece, and the lower button drops it into place.
The watch features six buttons in total. Two larger buttons on the left and right sides of the case control different functions. Holding down the left-side button allows you to set the clock display, and pressing the left and right smaller buttons adjusts the hours and minutes, respectively. The right-side button toggles the actual game function, at which point you must press the smaller right button to play the game with sound, or the left button to play without. After 20 “levels,” the game resets itself and records your score.
The crystal display has an easy-to-read design. The gameplay takes up about half of the screen, while the other half is dedicated to showing your current level. The screen is framed by a red border that features stylized, ornate Russian towers reminiscent of Red Square, paying homage to the game’s country of origin. The band is stamped with the Nintendo logo and fits comfortably on the wrist.
The official Tetris website shows a wide array of all things Tetris. With everything from live Tetris competitions and multiplayer game variants, to Tetris shirts and Tetris-shaped chicken nugget recipes, there are countless ways to scratch your nostalgia itch, straight from the Tetris company itself.
To see more vintage and novelty game watches, visit gamewatchguys.com
