A 13-year-old from Oklahoma appears to have finally done the nearly impossible: He beat Tetris.
Willis Gibson is believed to be the first human gamer to reach level 157 of the classic video game nearly 40 years after its release.
"I’m going to pass out, I can’t feel my fingers," Gibson said after his feat caused the game to crash in a video posted to YouTube Tuesday.
“When I started playing this game I never expected to ever crash the game, or beat it,” Gibson wrote in the video’s description.
The viral video of Gibson’s 38-minute game, posted under his "Blue Scuti" screen name, is the latest spike in nostalgia for the addictive and enduring game created by a Soviet engineer in 1984 and popularized on the Nintendo Entertainment System.
To date, over 200 official variants of Tetris has been released on at least 70 systems, a world record according to Guinness World Records. The Electronic Arts developed mobile version released in 2006 has been sold 100 million times, making it the third best-selling video game of all time, according to a Hewlett Packard report last year.
The creator himself has said he was instantly hooked after creating the game.
"I couldn’t stop myself from playing this prototype version, because it was very addictive to put the shapes together," Alexey Pajitnov told CNN in 2019.
After its creation, Tetris quickly spread and has staying power, so enduring that the story of the its Cold War-era inception was turned into a movie for Apple TV+ in March.
“It hooked with us in almost like a primitive state,” said Victor Lucas, a gaming expert behind television series Electric Playground. “It transcends video games, quite frankly, like checkers or chess. It’s just one of these Juggernaut play experiences that any human being can understand immediately and be consumed by eternally.”
The game is simple: Manipulate and fit together falling blocks of varying shapes to create solid rows. As the level goes up, the blocks fall faster.
While other video games today offer plot lines, hundreds of characters, cinematic-like visuals and even live Travis Scott concerts, some experts say the simplicity of Tetris is what has kept it popular for decades.
Although Tetris has remained the same throughout the decades, the way it is played has evolved. Until 2011, players believed level 29 was the highest possible because that level featured the fastest speed for the game.
“It’s so well designed and so captivating for so many generations of gamers that people are literally discovering new feats to accomplish and scores to beat and challenges to overcome,” video game expert and consultant Scott Steinberg told CNN. “It constantly presents a host of new challenges that even masters find difficult to tackle.”
Tetris’s staying power derives from the game’s simplicity as well as it’s difficulty.
Once that level 29 barrier was broken, players started reaching higher and higher levels in tournaments like the Classic Tetris World Championship with techniques including “hypertapping” and “rolling.”
Gibson finished third in the 2023 world championships. And while Gibson is a record-breaking human gamer, a Tetris playing-AI got to level 236 in 2021 by manipulating the game parameters.
Even during a time when some video games “cost as much to make and look as good as many movies coming out of Hollywood, there’s still something to be said for a game that’s simple, elegant, incredibly approachable and enjoyable by players of any age or background,” Scott Steinberg told CNN. “Sometimes simpler is better, and the greatest games really do stand the test of time.”
About 85 per cent of Canadians have a smartphone and once you have one they’re hard to live without. The latest smartphones can cost as much as $2,000, so if you’re trying to save money, make sure you don’t get caught in a fake smartphone scam.
A presidential campaign marked by upheaval and rancor approached its finale on Election Day as Americans decided whether to send Donald Trump back to the White House or elevate Kamala Harris to the Oval Office.
Homeowners in France have discovered a skeleton in the attic of an outbuilding while undertaking renovation work.
The federal finance minister has been taking every opportunity to remind frustrated Canadians that after a bumpy pandemic recovery, the nation's economy is actually doing a lot better.
The US$1 million-a-day voter sweepstakes that Elon Musk's political action committee is hosting in swing states can continue through Tuesday's presidential election, a Pennsylvania judge ruled Monday.
Restaurant Brands missed estimates for quarterly revenue on Tuesday due to weak demand across key businesses such as Tim Hortons, Burger King and international markets including China and the Middle East.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and former U.S. president Donald Trump have tied with three votes each in the tiny New Hampshire township of Dixville Notch, kicking off Election Day in one of the first places in the country to report its presidential preference.
A frustrated Taylor Swift fan is speaking out after being pushed from a short-term rental she booked for the upcoming Vancouver leg of the superstar’s Eras Tour.
Dreaming of a beach vacation? My guess is you’re picturing a palm tree. Fantasizing about life on a remote island? You’re probably envisioning a walk among birds of paradise, cannas and bananas. Nothing conjures up the feeling of the tropics like giant, lush-leaved plants, and if you live in the tropics or subtropics, you get to enjoy them year-round.
One of Canada's most vital trade arteries is cut off as employers at most of British Columbia's ports lock out their workers in a dispute involving about 700 unionized foremen.
As Americans head to the polls for a presidential election Tuesday, their compatriots and Canadian neighbours north of the border will be watching the results with hope and anxiety.
About 85 per cent of Canadians have a smartphone and once you have one they’re hard to live without. The latest smartphones can cost as much as $2,000, so if you’re trying to save money, make sure you don’t get caught in a fake smartphone scam.
A British Columbia senior who drove his pickup truck into a march for Indigenous residential school survivors will avoid jail time after he was sentenced Monday to nine months of house arrest.
Former fashion mogul Peter Nygard is asking an Ontario court to review a decision to deny him bail as he appeals his sexual assault convictions and sentence.
A B.C. man who raped a teenage girl, shared photos of her, and boasted to his friends about his crimes in a group chat, lost his bid to have the case tossed over delays and has been sentenced.
A presidential campaign marked by upheaval and rancor approached its finale on Election Day as Americans decided whether to send Donald Trump back to the White House or elevate Kamala Harris to the Oval Office.
Australia's foreign minister said Tuesday she raised allegations with her Indian counterpart that India has targeted Sikh activists in Canada.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and former U.S. president Donald Trump have tied with three votes each in the tiny New Hampshire township of Dixville Notch, kicking off Election Day in one of the first places in the country to report its presidential preference.
Police arrested a 23-year-old man Tuesday on suspicion of involvement in a botched art heist at a gallery in the southern Netherlands targeting four valuable Andy Warhol screenprints.
North Korea on Tuesday fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern sea, the South Korean military said, as the country continued its weapons demonstrations hours before the U.S. presidential election.
Homeowners in France have discovered a skeleton in the attic of an outbuilding while undertaking renovation work.
As Americans prepare to elect their next president on Tuesday, new data from the Angus Reid Institute suggests Canadians hold differing views as to which federal party leaders would be best suited to deal with either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris.
Some Lebanese-Canadians are pressuring the federal government to implement emergency measures that would allow Lebanese nationals' family members a less restrictive gateway to Canada, citing more 'flexible' policies for Ukrainians.
Murray Sinclair, who was born when Indigenous people did not yet have the right to vote, grew up to become one of the most decorated and influential people to work in Indigenous justice and advocacy.
A measles outbreak declared in New Brunswick’s Zone 3 last week, which includes Fredericton and the upper Saint John River Valley, has more than doubled since last week.
New research from the University of Oregon finds the annual practice of ‘springing forward’ into daylight time affects productivity more than previously thought.
A year ago, Lorraine O'Quinn was coping with stress, chronic illness and Type 2 diabetes. Then she discovered a health program that she says changed her life.
Elon Musk’s X has been modified so that accounts you’ve blocked on the social media platform can still see your public posts.
Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Monday after a six-month stay on the Tiangong space station, part of China's effort to be a global leader in space exploration.
Talented though they may be, monkeys will never type out the complete works of William Shakespeare, or even a short book, a new study suggests.
A frustrated Taylor Swift fan is speaking out after being pushed from a short-term rental she booked for the upcoming Vancouver leg of the superstar’s Eras Tour.
Hundreds of Oasis fans are looking back in anger after falling victim to a 'landslide' of ticket selling scams.
After decades in romantic comedies, Hugh Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career.
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) did not buy back any of its own shares in the third quarter, ending a six-year-long streak of stock buybacks, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
One of Canada's most vital trade arteries is cut off as employers at most of British Columbia's ports lock out their workers in a dispute involving about 700 unionized foremen.
The federal finance minister has been taking every opportunity to remind frustrated Canadians that after a bumpy pandemic recovery, the nation's economy is actually doing a lot better.
Dreaming of a beach vacation? My guess is you’re picturing a palm tree. Fantasizing about life on a remote island? You’re probably envisioning a walk among birds of paradise, cannas and bananas. Nothing conjures up the feeling of the tropics like giant, lush-leaved plants, and if you live in the tropics or subtropics, you get to enjoy them year-round.
For tourists returning from vacation, a camera roll full of photos and a suitcase bursting with souvenirs are usually the closest they can come to bringing a piece of their holiday destination home with them.
A man who took in an orphaned squirrel and made it a social media star vowed Saturday that New York state's decision to seize and euthanize the animal 'won't go unheard.'
After going without a shutout for just the second time in his career last season, Jake Allen already has two for the New Jersey Devils in just five starts this year.
Retired Eagles center Jason Kelce apologized during ESPN's pregame show Monday night after grabbing the phone of an unruly fan and spiking it to the ground before the Ohio State-Penn State game last weekend.
The International Ice Hockey Federation is preparing a proposal to add 3-on-3 hockey to the Winter Olympics as soon as 2030 in the French Alps, following the same expansion that basketball has had over the past two Summer Games.
Toronto police say 59 suspects are facing a total of 300 charges in connection with an auto theft and re-vinning probe.
Several Ford vehicles have been recalled in Canada due to issues with braking systems, steering and child car seat tethers.
Ten-thousand hand-knit poppies were taken from the Sanctuary Arts Centre and displayed on the fence surrounding the Dartmouth Cenotaph on Monday.
A Vancouver man is saying goodbye to his nine-to-five and embarking on a road trip from the Canadian Arctic to Antarctica.
A Windsor teen’s social media post showing off a distinctive Windsor pizza topping has gone viral, drawing millions of views worldwide and sparking new curiosity about Windsor-style pizza.
Auston Matthews has come face to face with his look-alike. On Thursday, the Maple Leafs star met seven-year-old Grayson Joseph, who went viral for dressing up as an Auston Matthews hockey card.
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Epcor says it has removed more than 20,000 goldfish from an Edmonton stormwater pond.
Witches and warlocks have been flocking to New Brunswick waterways this month, as a new Halloween tradition ripples across the province.
One of Canada's most vital trade arteries is cut off as employers at most of British Columbia's ports lock out their workers in a dispute involving about 700 unionized foremen.
British Columbia's election agency says it has discovered that a ballot box containing 861 votes wasn't counted in the recent provincial election, as well as other mistakes, including 14 votes going unreported in a crucial riding narrowly won by the NDP.
A presidential campaign marked by upheaval and rancor approached its finale on Election Day as Americans decided whether to send Donald Trump back to the White House or elevate Kamala Harris to the Oval Office.
About 85 per cent of Canadians have a smartphone and once you have one they’re hard to live without. The latest smartphones can cost as much as $2,000, so if you’re trying to save money, make sure you don’t get caught in a fake smartphone scam.
Two people have been transported to hospital, including one with life-threatening injuries, after a three-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Vaughan late Monday night.
On U.S. election day, CTVNews.ca will feature live results on an interactive map and a live blog that will be updated throughout the evening starting at 5 p.m. ET by CTV News journalists and Washington political analyst Eric Ham.
Calgary police say they've arrested two people in connection with a series of carjackings on Monday.
As expected a moisture-laden low pressure system entered Alberta late Monday bringing first rain, then snow as the temperature fell.
On U.S. election day, CTVNews.ca will feature live results on an interactive map and a live blog that will be updated throughout the evening starting at 5 p.m. ET by CTV News journalists and Washington political analyst Eric Ham.
Ottawa firefighters were called in the early hours of the morning to a fire that caused serious damage to three single-family homes in Orléans.
On Tuesday, several pubs and bars across Ottawa will be offering a place to gather and watch the much-anticipated results of the U.S. election that will see either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris be elected president.
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Hydro-Québec announced the launch of the first phase of development and reinforcement work on its power transmission network – the high-voltage lines that carry large quantities of electricity from where it is generated to the substations that redistribute it to clients.
On U.S. election day, CTVNews.ca will feature live results on an interactive map and a live blog that will be updated throughout the evening starting at 5 p.m. ET by CTV News journalists and Washington political analyst Eric Ham.
A child around 10-years-old was severely injured after being struck by a truck in Montreal's Plateau-Mont-Royal borough.
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The Alberta government has introduced legislation that will, if passed, enable provincially regulated banks to offer halal home financing products.
A research team has confirmed a pair of tornadoes touched down in central New Brunswick last week.
The RCMP says it is investigating the sudden deaths of two people in Cole Harbour, N.S.
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Natalie Anderson remembers the last time she saw nine-month old Xavia Butler in person.
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Millions of Americans are heading to the polls Tuesday as a chaotic presidential campaign reaches its peak in a deeply divided United States, where voters in only a handful of battleground states will choose the country’s path forward.
New details of a 2023 fatal stabbing — where the victim walked into Boston Pizza to get help — emerged at Saskatoon Provincial Court, during a sentencing hearing on Monday.
Residents of an apartment in downtown Saskatoon were left without water this weekend.
Saskatoon Transit wants riders to know about a fraudulent social media account selling fake fare passes.
Police are looking for a man who is currently serving time for manslaughter for a fatal stabbing in Thunder Bay and is now accused of breaching his statutory release.
About 85 per cent of Canadians have a smartphone and once you have one they’re hard to live without. The latest smartphones can cost as much as $2,000, so if you’re trying to save money, make sure you don’t get caught in a fake smartphone scam.
A year ago, Lorraine O'Quinn was coping with stress, chronic illness and Type 2 diabetes. Then she discovered a health program that she says changed her life.
There is no word yet on how the crash happened, how many vehicles were involved, or if any charges will be laid. An updated is expected some time on Tuesday.
In handing down the sentences for two London parents, Justice Thomas Heeney told the court, "The facts of this case were the most egregious that I have encountered during my 26 years on the bench."
On U.S. election day, CTVNews.ca will feature live results on an interactive map and a live blog that will be updated throughout the evening starting at 5 p.m. ET by CTV News journalists and Washington political analyst Eric Ham.
Police have closed Hwy 400 northbound and southbound ramps after a pedestrian was struck by a train nearby.
A mother who was struck by a pickup truck while crossing the street in south Barrie last week is lucky to be alive and thankful to those who came to her aid.
Police are asking for the public's help in identifying a woman they believe may have perpetrated a fraud.
They City of Windsor is taking legal action against the federal government.
On U.S. election day, CTVNews.ca will feature live results on an interactive map and a live blog that will be updated throughout the evening starting at 5 p.m. ET by CTV News journalists and Washington political analyst Eric Ham.
Windsor-Essex health care partners are working together in anticipation of increased hospital volumes heading into the winter.
One of Canada's most vital trade arteries is cut off as employers at most of British Columbia's ports lock out their workers in a dispute involving about 700 unionized foremen.
British Columbia's election agency says it has discovered that a ballot box containing 861 votes wasn't counted in the recent provincial election, as well as other mistakes, including 14 votes going unreported in a crucial riding narrowly won by the NDP.
Across the choppy sea from Victoria Monday, the end of a turbulent U.S. election campaign was mere hours away and many British Columbians were watching intently to see who becomes the next president.
Police in Kamloops, B.C., are reminding parents and guardians to check their children's Halloween candy after receiving a report of a mother finding a razor blade in one of her daughter's treats.
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Dave Lindsey began growing giant pumpkins to bring a bit of magic to his grandkids' Halloween.
The calendar may have just flipped to November, but Christmas is already on many people's minds.
Crowsnest Pass Mayor Blair Painter said a vote later this month is looking to hear from residents to determine if they want to see the coal industry come back to the region.
The Hurricanes weathered an early storm Saturday but eventually fell, losing 5-4 to the Rebels in a game played in Red Deer.
A fraud investigation involving the cashing of cheques in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., that began in August 2021, has resulted in the arrest of a 63-year-old woman at the border.
Police are looking for a man who is currently serving time for manslaughter for a fatal stabbing in Thunder Bay and is now accused of breaching his statutory release.
The mayors of Ontario's largest cities are asking the province to consider using the notwithstanding clause in the constitution to ensure measures to combat homelessness are implemented in a timely and effective way.
School staff are being struck more often, students are fighting more frequently, and police are increasingly being called to school grounds, according to data compiled and released this week by the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Association.
Newfoundland and Labrador's auditor general has issued a warning about the province's financial position as the government announced it would finish the 2024-25 fiscal year with a higher-than-expected deficit.
Police in Newfoundland and Labrador have charged an off-duty RCMP officer for allegedly driving while impaired, following a crash on Sunday.
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