For over 30 years, Tetris has frustrated gamers worldwide with its simple concept: placing falling shapes to clear lines while avoiding a stack-up. But on December 21, 2023, 13-year-old Oklahoma gamer Willis Gibson, known online as “Blue Scuti”, achieved the supposedly impossible. He beat Tetris.

Gibson reached a “kill screen” at level 157, a glitch caused by an overflow in the original version’s coding. His screen had frozen, and his Tetris score read “999999.” This technicality may seem like a cheap victory, but the journey to level 29 was anything but. It took Gibson months of practice to keep up with the game’s increasing speed.

Gibson’s achievement has also sparked renewed interest in Tetris, a game that continued to  challenge players, such as SBHS Junior Santiago Gomez.

“My games on Tetris never really lasted long. I’ve always thought the game was impossible to beat,” said Gomez. “It’s pretty impressive seeing someone younger than me manage to finally complete it.”

News of Gibson’s accomplishment spread like wildfire across the gaming community. Social media erupted with admiration, with many referring to him as a Tetris legend. This managed to catch the attention of both the creator of Tetris, Alexey Pajitnov, and founder of the company, Henk Rogers. Gibson then gained the opportunity to meet them in a Zoom interview with NBC News.

“This monumental achievement not only breaks new ground in the realm of Tetris but also ignites our anticipation for its future,” said Rogers.