A 13-year-old American has accomplished what was previously thought impossible – beating the classic Nintendo video game Tetris.
Willis “Blue Scuti” Gibson forced Tetris into the infamous “kill screen“, freezing the cascading blocks in their tracks after reaching a record-breaking level of 157.
So how did this gaming prodigy manage to conquer a game that has thwarted top players for over 30 years?
Learning Advanced Techniques
Gibson employs an advanced “rolling” technique that allows rapid manipulation of the directional controller, moving blocks over 20 times per second.
This builds on innovations like 2011’s “hypertapping“, a rhythmic finger-vibrating approach, and 2020’s “rolling,” combining multifinger techniques.
Blue Scuti combined these state-of-the-art skills with deep knowledge of the game’s quirks.
13 year old Willis Gibson aka Blue Scuti became the first recorded person to beat Tetris causing the game to freeze after reaching level 157 pic.twitter.com/uRt3KOasTh
— Jake Lucky (@JakeSucky) January 4, 2024
Overcoming Tricky Obstacles
From level 138 onwards, Tetris throws randomly generated colors at the player – including tricky combos like near-invisible “Dusk” blocks.
These made progress difficult even for AI like StackRabbit.
But Blue Scuti wasn’t fazed, using clever block positioning to push past the chaos.
Playing at top speeds, Gibson kept his cool as marathon sessions stretched towards 40 minutes.
Maintaining intense concentration for so long is a remarkable achievement – especially for a 13-year-old.
The Wider Significance
By topping out at the Tetris “kill screen”, Blue Scuti beat the all-time records for score, level reached, and lines cleared.
Experts like Vince Clemente never expected any human to make it this far, believing the game’s limits protected.
But Gibson has broken through that barrier, proving no game is unbeatable.
Vince Clemente, the CEO of Classic Tetris World Championship, expressed his disbelief at this remarkable achievement. “Developers didn’t think anyone would ever make it that far, and now the game has officially been beaten by a human being.”
Tetris: A Timeless Icon
Tetris, born in 1984 during the Cold War era, has transcended generations, standing as the best-selling video game of all time with a staggering 520 million copies sold, according to The Tetris Company.
Created by Alexey Pajitnov and nurtured by gaming entrepreneur Henk Rogers, Tetris remains an enduring testament to the indomitable spirit of gaming.
