The White House website on Thursday unveiled Arcade, a collection of five low-resolution video games that promote different aspects of President Donald Trump’s agenda.
“Build the Wall” is a “Tetris” knockoff that transforms the classic game into an effort to “Protect the border from the coming horde.” In “Rio Run,” which resembles the mobile favorite “Snake,” an icon resembling Trump runs around gathering potential border crossers.
In “Supply Line,” which looks like a condensed version of the arcade game “Tapper,” food moves along an assembly line and you must reject items that don’t meet “Make America Healthy Again” standards.
Two of the games take place over the skies of the nation’s capital. In “Flappy Bill,” an eagle carries a bill across the National Mall. In “Trump Savings Tycoon,” your goal is to collect money flying through the air to “Fill your kids’ Trump Accounts,” the administration savings plan that offers $1,000 to every child born during Trump’s term.
In a statement Friday, The Tetris Company said it “was not involved in the creation of ‘Build the Wall’ and did not authorize or license the Tetris brand or intellectual property for the game.”
Pointing out that the object of the original game is to avoid building a wall, the company said, “For more than 40 years, Tetris has brought people together across generations and cultures through play and joy.” It added, “We are currently reviewing the matter.”
The White House announced Arcade on social media with a series of animations parodying Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo loading screens. In one such post, the Sega logo turns into “MAGA,” as in Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.
