What Tetris taught us!
- Jay Dunkle
- Nov 23, 2025
- 2 min read
whoa, whoa…slow it down there!
Many years prior to smartphones occupying much of our spare time, and since spare time has always existed - there must have been something else. Well, in my estimation that would have been Tetris, a geometric puzzle game of skill where you had to stack vertically falling blocks to create a solid wall. The version we had was AA battery-powered, handheld, and mobile. There is a new version by ModRetro gaining some traction that looks pretty cool!
Besides learning how long one could play before thumb-paralysis set in, what else might this simple game teach us?
Sharing: When I was growing up there were few families that had more than one of most major or novel things: one car, one television, one turn table, one cassette deck, etc. Our little Tetris game was no different. We had one. I think the unique thing about Tetris was that it appealed to a multi-generational audience, so not only did siblings want a turn but so did parents, cousins, uncles, and everyone. If you donned that little piece of electronics during a family get-together, you better have been ready to share and hopefully you remembered a couple extra batteries!
Efficiency and personal limitation: In the game of Tetris you had a couple of ways to quicken the speed: either set the difficulty level higher or hold the ‘down button’ for the geometric shape to whirl down the screen. Like everyone else, I tested myself to see how high I could set the difficulty level and still keep up. I can’t honestly recall exactly where my personal limit was but I can tell you I had one. You learned where that delicate balance of efficiency was between you wasting your time and the shapes moving too fast and quickly losing that round!
Don’t underestimate others: During those family events where the game was shared amongst the group you quickly realized that your personal efficiency and limits might be drastically different than that of others. On the ride home you are looking through scores and realized your Aunt Mary dominated and scored 50,000 points higher than you. You didn’t even know Mary had a turn let alone could outperform everyone so devastatingly! Your younger cousin beat you by a couple points and you beat your older sister by a long shot (that is exciting)!
As Sunday fades into Thanksgiving week and you are hopefully able to join friends and family you haven’t seen for a while - please keep in mind what we learned. Bring something to share with the group, maybe cookies or a new book! Celebrate some of your recent successes and laugh about some of your failures. And lastly, look for something you can learn from others. Maybe it’s your old auntie or younger brother - view everyone as a treasure-trove of experience and knowledge who can contribute great wealth to your life and be truly thankful for the lives, knowledge, and experiences shared. I hope everyone has a great Sunday and Thanksgiving! Go forth and live your Default Life!
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