Henk Rogers talks about the importance of Tetris and his new book

You may not be familiar with the name Henk Rogers, but he achieved one of the most important milestones in the gaming world in the late 1980s. He is known as the man who brought Tetris out of the Soviet Union, allowing it to become an international hit.

During our coverage at gamescom latam 2025 we had the opportunity to speak with him and learn more about his relationship with this iconic video game.

Rogers, Tetris, and the real story

Henk Rogers was present at gamescom latam for several reasons, one of which was to promote his recent book, The Perfect Game: Tetris: From Russia with Love. In the book, he recounts how he came into contact with the game, a story many are familiar with from the 2023 film Tetris. However, he told us that the original script for the film did not meet his expectations. In an attempt to improve it, he ended up writing a book that tells the whole true story.

“During the pandemic, they sent us the script for the film,” says Rogers. Alexey Pakhitnov and I read it and thought, ‘There’s a lot of crap in here.’ I quickly started writing down what really happened and gave it to the screenwriter. But by the time I was done, it was too late; the movie was already in production. Someone else read it and said, ‘It’s like a book, but very short’.” This led him to work with two editors, cutting and rewriting parts until he shaped his book. “I’m very happy with it,” he concludes.

Regarding the film, Rogers admits that the final product differed greatly from the initial script. “I cried several times over things that never happened. It was a great movie.”

The Real Tetris Effect

We asked Rogers about the important legacy Tetris has had over the years. Beyond its commercial success and impact on copyrights in the video game industry, he is surprised by the game’s ability to aid in trauma treatment.

“Tetris has an effect on trauma,” Rogers commented. “They did this study where people watched traumatic videos. Half of them played Tetris, while the other half did not. The people who played Tetris had half as many flashbacks. They found two things. First, if you get people to play Tetris after the trauma, it reduces PTSD. Second, because trauma involves memories moving from long-term to short-term memory, playing Tetris interferes with the trauma returning when it’s in short-term memory. You can erase an old trauma, not just a new one.”

Just as the goal of Tetris is to build and reshape the playing field to win, Henk Rogers’s book The Perfect Game demonstrates that the game itself has been transformed. Tetris — From Russia with Love demonstrates that the game itself, as well as the concept and use of one of Russia’s greatest gifts to the world, have been transformed.

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