is a senior reporter who’s been covering and reviewing the latest gadgets and tech since 2006, but has loved all things electronic since he was a kid.
The Tetris: My Play Watch may look like an Apple Watch, but it eschews most of the functionality you’ll typically find on a smartwatch to focus on two things: playing Tetris and celebrating the game through a UI that’s thoroughly Tetris-themed. It’s very good at making you want to play Alexey Pajitnov’s iconic tetromino-stacking puzzler, just not on the watch because of frustrating touchscreen controls that require more focus than the game itself.
The included straps are colorfully Tetris-themed (you can swap them with standard watch straps if you want to tone it down), as is the collection of nine different faces. There are both digital and analog options with different themes and colors that display a mix of various metrics, including battery life and fitness stats. They all manage to work tetromino pieces and the Tetris logo into their designs, but there’s no customizability.
The Tetris theming is carried forward to swappable bands, but you can attach a standard strap for a subtler look. Photo by Andrew Liszewski / The Verge
The watch’s interface is navigated using its touchscreen and a side crown dial that’s pressed or rotated to make selections or to scroll lists. There aren’t any other buttons, but you wouldn’t need them since the watch’s functionality is so limited.
From the main menu, you can play Tetris or use other features that include a stopwatch, timer, calendar, calculator, fitness tracker, and alarm. They’re all very basic. You can set multiple alarms, for example, but you can’t customize when they repeat or choose anything other than the main Tetris theme with gentle vibrations to alert you. Even the Game Boy version of Tetris that launched 36 years ago had alternate themes to choose from.
There are nine different Tetris-themed watch faces to choose from, but aside from various metrics that update, the faces are all static. Photo by Andrew Liszewski / The Verge
There’s a heart rate sensor that matched readings from my Apple Watch Series 9, but the other fitness tracking metrics are limited. There’s step counting with an adjustable daily goal and stride length options to improve accuracy, and an estimation of the calories you’ve burned that resets every night. There’s no history, no proactive health warnings, and no notifications at all because the watch lacks Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and doesn’t connect to your smartphone.
If you want the look of an Apple Watch without any of the distractions or advanced health tracking, the Tetris watch is a close facsimile. Photo by Andrew Liszewski / The Verge
It’s an upgrade over a traditional digital watch and could be an option for someone who wants the look of a smartwatch without notifications. But anyone considering spending $79.99 on it is buying it to play Tetris. Unfortunately, it’s not a great implementation.
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