Almost everyone has played Tetris, but the story of Vladimir Pokhilko, the psychologist who helped Alexey Pajitnov turn it into a global phenomenon, ended in a tragedy that remains a mystery 25 years later.

In 1998, the Pokhilko family was found dead in their Palo Alto home. Although the official version cited a psychotic episode and a murder-suicide, the physical evidence tells a very different story: suicide notes written in broken English, weapons placed in impossible positions, and a deathly silence from the FBI.

Was Vladimir Pokhilko a victim of the Russian mafia? What role did the Tetris rights and the company Animatek play in this outcome? In this episode of The Dark Chronicle, we delve into Sandra Brown's investigation and the pieces of a puzzle that, no matter how hard they try, just don't fit together.

Discover in this episode the tragedy that forever changed the history of Tetris: the most famous and successful video game in the world.

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🌐 Sources Consulted
The Tetris Murders. Documentary [HBO]
https://www.infobae.com/historias/202...
https://foro.spinecard.com/t/el-tragi...
https://computerhoy.20minutos.es/noti...
https://www.elmundo.es/loc/famosos/20...
https://www.3djuegos.com/juegos/tetri...
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/p...
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👁️ Chapters:
00:00 The Tragedy Behind Tetris
00:58 Introduction: This is The Dark Chronicle
01:57 Vladimir Pokhilko and Alexey Pajitnov: Soulmates
04:36 The Origin of Tetris: A Digital Narcotic?

06:28 The Theft of Rights: ELORG, Nintendo, and Henk Rogers
08:45 Silicon Valley's Broken Dream: The Animatek Crisis
12:48 September 22, 1998: The Crime on Ferne Street
16:03 Doubts about the Official Version: Was it Really a Murder-Suicide?

25:08 The FBI's Entry and Suspicions of the Russian Mafia
28:48 The Robert Maxwell Precedent: Another Death Related to Tetris? 30:17 The Pokhilko Funeral and the Official Closure of the Case
31:56 The FBI's Secret Investigation: The Anonymous Witness
34:11 The Destruction of Evidence and Dr. Michael Arnall's Report
38:20 Vladimir Pokhilko: Erased from Tetris History
39:02 Doubts Remain: The Connection to the Deaths of Russian Oligarchs
40:14 Final Reflection: The Pieces That Never Fit