How Tetris changed the game and your brain

Screenshot of Tetris gameplay, played on the website tetr.io (Sophia Hughes, The Puma Prensa)

By Kevin Wei, video editor and Heyman Luong, opinion editor

It is the focus of countless psychological research papers. It is scientifically linked to reductions in depression and anxiety. It is related to groundbreaking studies on human learning, cognitive function, and trauma. No—it’s not a pill. And no, it’s not a fireside couch session with your local therapist. It’s a video game, and you’ve probably heard of it before. It’s called Tetris.

In 1984, in a cold Moscow government research center, a young software engineer sat behind his Soviet computer and decided to have some fun. His name was Alexey Pajitnov, and within three weeks, he created Tetris. He was instantly addicted to his own game, exclaiming, “I couldn't finish the prototype! I started to play and never had time to finish the code. People kept playing, playing, playing.” It would only take a few years for Pajitnov’s small leisure project to capture the limelight on the world stage and become one of the most iconic games in human history.

A unique aspect of Tetris is the extent to which the game is universally loved. In 1988, the game broke global borders, becoming the first software invented in the Soviet Union to be sold in America. It was a fundamental first step in calming relations between the two hostile superpowers during the Cold War. 

Furthermore, unlike many games, Tetris appealed to a wide audience, from children to teenagers to adults. Henk Rogers was a Dutch game designer who was pivotal in securing the rights to Tetris for the Nintendo Game Boy. He told Minoru Arakawa, founder of Nintendo of America, “If you want little boys to play Game Boy, pack in Mario—but if you want everyone to play Game Boy, pack in Tetris.” Arakawa reluctantly agreed to sell the Nintendo Game Boy bundled with Tetris instead of Mario, and it was one of the best decisions of his life. Tetris defined the Game Boy’s success by selling over 35 million copies.

Nowadays, you would have to look far and wide to find someone who has never heard of Tetris; the game’s iconically colorful falling blocks can be found in over 235 countries, and the game has been translated into over 50 languages. According to The Tetris Company, the different versions of Tetris have collectively sold 520 million copies, making it the number one best-selling game of all time. Tetris is a game that transcends borders. It is a staple of human culture that you just can’t stop playing.

In fact, the addictive properties of Tetris have been well-documented—Pajitnov described his game as “some song which you sing and sing inside yourself and can’t stop.” Pajitnov may have hinted at the first instance of a special feeling that many Tetris veterans have experienced. Sometimes, after playing hours of Tetris, the game continues in the player’s imagination. They close their eyes and vividly envision Tetris pieces floating down and locking in place. According to Practical Psychology, they are experiencing the “Tetris effect,” a phenomenon where “something we focus on for extended periods starts appearing in our thoughts, perceptions, and dreams.” Descriptions of the Tetris effect have been recorded in other activities, from speedcubing to mathematics to daily chores. 

But beyond becoming the eponym of a common psychological sensation, Tetris has become the focus of pages upon pages of scientific research. 

For example, a study from the University of California Irvine found a counterintuitive truth: It is less mentally taxing to play Tetris skillfully than to play Tetris poorly. In 1991, Richard Haier measured brain energy consumption across Tetris players and noticed that first-time users exhibited extremely elevated brain energy usage, while adept players had normal energy usage even though they performed seven times better, on average. Haier suggests that the brain physically becomes more efficient through practicing the game. He used Tetris to prove a fundamental theory of neuroplasticity (the ability of the brain to change) and his study was later featured in the World Science Festival because of its breakthroughs in the science of learning.

Additionally, a 2009 study demonstrated that Tetris makes your brain bigger. Researchers from the Mind Research Network in Albuquerque used brain imaging to test if Tetris practice can improve brain efficiency. They took MRIs of two groups of adolescent girls, tasking one group to play Tetris for 30 minutes a day over three months and the other group to avoid Tetris entirely. They found that the girls who played Tetris had more efficient brains and thicker cortices. An especially interesting fact was that the thicker cortex was measured in areas of the brain that are associated with coordination, critical thinking, reasoning, and language and processing. In other words, a small daily dose of Tetris can expand both your intellect and your mind. Literally.  

Along with its benefits to cognition, Tetris can also be beneficial for mental health. For example, playing Tetris has been proven to reduce symptoms of PTSD, such as traumatic flashbacks. A study published in the PLOS One research journal tasked participants to watch a violent trauma film that would cause viewers to have traumatic flashbacks to its content. After viewing, half the participants were randomly assigned to play Tetris, and all participants were to record how often they experienced flashbacks for a week after the treatment. They discovered that playing Tetris resulted in a significant reduction in PTSD symptoms: Tetris players displayed less than half as many traumatic flashbacks compared to the control group. What was even more intriguing was the fact that the Tetris group only played the game for ten minutes.

Moreover, a 2017 U.K. study found that Tetris can soften the blow of intrusive trauma-related memories. The study used 71 real patients in an emergency room who had recently gone through a car accident. Some of the patients were randomly assigned to play Tetris for twenty minutes. Similarly to the trauma film study, the Tetris players were found to have 62 percent fewer intrusive memories in the week after their accident than patients who did not play Tetris. The simple puzzle game from 1984 provided significant help with complex trauma cases in 2017. 

Both the PLOS One and the U.K. studies revealed that less than a snack break’s worth of Tetris gameplay could cut trauma symptoms in half. As demonstrated in countless other studies, Tetris can help with thinking, reasoning, coordination, and mental efficiency. 

In light of the amazing benefits of Tetris—from cognitive development to mental health support—it is easy to forget that the game was a humble hobby project invented 40 years ago by a young programmer from Moscow. But it is unsurprising why, after hitting the world scene, Tetris quickly became a timeless classic. The game’s perennial appeal can be summed up by the words of Pajitnov himself: “We all have a natural desire to create order out of chaos. The game of Tetris satisfies that desire on a very basic level.” 

So the next time you’re having a rough time, need to calm down, or simply want to level up your brain, try booting up a game of Tetris—it might just make everything fall into place.