“So, I’m done with Tetris.” You’ve probably never heard anyone say this before. The popular computer game, which many people will have experienced on the Game Boy, can accompany you throughout your life – although that doesn’t mean that you couldn’t theoretically play it. TECHBOOK has become clever.
Anyone who grew up in the 1990s most likely played with a Game Boy – and certainly also Tetris. The computer game developed by the Russian Alexei Paschitnow, in which differently shaped blocks have to be stacked on top of each other and inside each other, is now cult. Newer games certainly appear much more modern, both in terms of content and aesthetics. Nevertheless: Whether still on the Game Boy, any other console or the smartphone, Tetris will continue to be played. Does this only apply in a figurative sense, i.e. whether the puzzle game theoretically comes to an end at some point? TECHBOOK goes into more detail.
Tetris is said to be “addictive”
The fact that Tetris has achieved such enormous popularity is – admittedly – not just due to the game itself. After all, for a while it was included when you bought a Game Boy. But that doesn’t change the fact that Tetris can be extremely captivating. With around 100 million copies sold, it’s loud Statista To date, it remains the third most popular video game of all time.
Tech journalist Dan Ackerman has collected possible reasons for this in his book “The Tetris Effect: The game that hypnotized the world”. On the one hand, Tetris is impressive because it is highly intuitive – basically anyone can get started with it straight away without the need for instructions. On the other hand, that doesn’t make it overly easy. After all, according to Ackerman, the game requires strategic thinking as well as quick reactions. Finally, playing Tetris is said to trigger chemical processes in the body that can even become addictive in the long run. Specifically, glucose processing is accelerated, with the result that you can get “high” to a certain extent.
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Does Tetris have an end?
Part of the charm of the game is probably that you can’t easily reach the end, so you can keep trying the tricky levels. Ambition is awakened and you can pursue it. But the question remains whether you can theoretically play Tetris. So whether it would be possible in principle, for example because you are good enough.
In order to answer the question, one must also briefly explain that there are now numerous modifications and extensions to Tetris. Likewise, the original Tetris has at least two game modes, including the less popular “Infinity Mode”.
Classic Tetris mode
This article is about the classic mode, which was previously preferred to be played on the Game Boy. The way it works is that differently shaped blocks run from top to bottom across the screen and then land on the floor – unless you can form a line without gaps. In this case the entire series dissolves. If you don’t manage it, the blocks stack on top of each other and more and more are added on top. The blocks move faster and faster across the picture. If the block tower reaches the top, the level is lost.
To the levels. Tetris fans believe there are 29 levels in total. But probably only very few have made it this far. Harry Hong is one of them. He was the first to officially reach 999,999 points in the game in 2009. The video game database and social media platform confirmed this to him at the time Twin galaxies and also gave him an entry in the Guinness Book of Records. Hong filmed his success at the time and uploaded the video to YouTube, you can watch it here.
Tetris master – or just a bug?
999,999 points – you can’t get more than that in Tetris. But apparently not because the thing was played through, but because of a bug, so to speak. When Hong beats the 29th level, the console simply stops counting points and freezes the level he has reached. Theoretically the 30th level could come now – but it doesn’t. Over the years, someone has occasionally come forward claiming to have reached the legendary level 30, but so far always without proof.
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You CANNOT play through Tetris, but…
In fact, neither Hong nor the other players who have followed suit in recent years have been able to complete Tetris. Because: Tetris has no programmed ending. And yet – if you reach level 30, the next level is no longer playable. There is therefore an agreement in the community that the corresponding players have finally reached an end.
In summary, the most accurate answer to the question of whether you can play Tetris is yes. And as already mentioned, this is about the classic “old school” Tetris, which is similar in principle to the more recent adaptations on various consoles or platforms, but in the end it is primarily decided by them. This means you can compete against each other online in Tetris, which contradicts the basic idea of solo play a little more vehemently.
By the way, with the various modern versions, it doesn’t seem to be much of a challenge to finish. “In game mode B,” for example, where gamers “only have to clear 25 rows” – it’s “quite easy even at speed 9.” This comment comes from a gamer from a small town Community chat, who himself claims to have come this far several times. Also in “Gutefrage.netUsers report a kind of winning statue, an “oriental-inspired background image with onion domes”. You can get this far with a lot of commitment, or “if you cheat”; otherwise a certain key combination will also take you there.
You notice: everything is not true. On the other hand, anyone who makes it to level 29 on the Game Boy or the Nintendo version, or even beyond, can, in our opinion, happily say: I have played through Tetris.