Oklahoma teen beats Tetris: First human to reach level 157
A 13-year-old boy from Oklahoma has achieved what many thought was nearly impossible: he reached level 157 of the classic video game Tetris. Willis Gibson is believed to be the first human player to accomplish this feat almost 40 years after the game’s release.
Gibson’s viral video, posted under his username “Blue Scuti,” shows the 38-minute game that caused the game to crash. “I’m going to pass out, I can’t feel my fingers,” Gibson said in the video after the game crashed. In the description of the video, he wrote, “When I started playing this game, I never expected the game to crash or crash.”
Tetris, created by a Soviet engineer in 1984 and popularized on the Nintendo Entertainment System, remains a popular and addictive game. More than 200 official Tetris variants have been released on at least 70 systems. The mobile version developed by Electronic Arts and released in 2006 has been sold 100 million times, making it the third best-selling video game of all time, according to a Hewlett Packard report last year.
The game’s staying power comes from its simplicity and difficulty. Until 2011, players believed that level 29 was the highest possible because that level featured the fastest speed in the game. However, Tetris experts and players have continued to discover new feats and challenges to overcome, keeping the game relevant over the years.
While the game’s simplicity has kept it popular for decades, the way it’s played has evolved. Players now use techniques such as “hypertapping” and “rolling” to reach higher and higher levels, as seen in tournaments like the Classic Tetris World Championship.
Gibson, who finished third at the 2023 world championship, made history by being the first human player to reach level 157. However, a Tetris-playing AI reached level 236 in 2021 by manipulating the game’s parameters.
Even in an age where video games have advanced to include intricate plots, hundreds of characters, and cinematic visuals, Tetris remains popular due to its simplicity and accessibility. “Sometimes simpler is better and the best games really stand the test of time,” said video game expert and consultant Scott Steinberg.