The 13 Year Old Tetris Star

Motivation from The Boy Who Beat Tetris

Last week, a thirteen year old Boy named Willis Gibson became the first human to beat the game of Tetris by reaching the game’s “kill screen.” Previously, this had only been achieved by an AI bot. Humans have been playing the game of Tetris for close to forty years, ever since it was created by a Russian Engineer in 1985, and last week was the first time that it was beaten by a human.

Willis, who goes by the handle Blue Scuti, posted his historic game to YouTube last week.

How can Willis inspire our Rundown community?

1. Just because something hasn’t been done, doesn’t make it impossible. Humans will always be accomplishing new feats. No human had beaten Tetris before Willis. Whether or not Willis believed beating the game to be impossible or not, he played to win and leveraged a new technique called “rolling,” in which he holds the controller in such a manner that he can press the D-pad up to 20 times a second (previously, players favored a “hyper-tapping” method). Before chalking something up as impossible, reconsider if it’s truly impossible, or just something that hasn’t been done before.

2. Cherish celebrating with yourself. Those we love aren’t always there when we accomplish great things. In Willis’s case, he was alone when he beat Tetris. His mom was at work and no one else was around when he made history. Whether you set a new PR, pushed through a new workout, are finishing a run by yourself, or a take a minute to celebrate. The moment of accomplishment tends to offer a thrill that’s worth enjoying, even if it’s only with ourselves.

3. Forget about age - it is often used as an excuse. We are all guilty of thinking, “I’m too old for this” or “I’m too young to be able to do that.” Sometimes this is true. Our bodies age and our minds mature. But often this is not as true as we believe. In Willis’s case, he didn’t just give up playing Tetris and think, “I’m only a 13 year old.” He continued playing with has new rolling technique and found a way to win. If you catch yourself saying ‘I’m too old for this’ or ‘I’m too young for that’ - take a second to reconsider if this is actually the case or are simply using your age as an excuse.

What else will we achieve in 2024 that hasn’t been done before?

Thanks for inspiring us Willis!

Le