Last Updated on January 7, 2024 by Gamesver Team and JC Franco
Tetris is a wonderful game that imparts skills that can be applied in nearly every facet of life. Tetris can be a mighty tool in your journey to self-discovery. Some might even claim it to be a guide to coping with hardships in life. Due to its simplicity and impact, it has been subject to different studies. Additionally, an average player might have a moment of clarity while playing and discover some solutions for themselves.
Tetris is one of the few timeless video games that you can say has helped you build life skills. It turns you into an even better person by making you more mindful and productive. Today, we’ll share some valuable lessons you can take away from hours of stacking blocks. The following 16 items show you that Tetris is giving you hints on how to live more fully.
Here are 16 times Tetris connected with you on a deeper level:
1. Ignore distractions
Have you noticed that as you start stacking pieces in Tetris, the music speeds up? When you pay too much attention to the music, you might get distracted and lose concentration. As with Tetris, we also bump into obstacles that get us distracted from our goals, making us lose sight of where we’re trying to go. As you start eliminating these obstacles, you start winning.
2. Don’t hesitate
Tetris is a game you can’t afford to hesitate. If you do, you might take a wrong turn. When you spend too much time figuring out where your pieces will go, you end up not being able to do anything at all. Tetris teaches us that, in life, if we overthink our choices, we might miss out on opportunities that could be very beneficial.
3. Focus on your goals
Tetris champions are so successful because they eliminate distractions and focus only on not losing (remember, Tetris isn’t about winning, it’s about not losing). You can follow their example and dedicate yourself to achieving your goals. No matter how challenging times get, if you maintain your focus on what you are striving for, you will find the strength to persevere.
4. You don’t always get what you want
Tetris will never tell you what the next piece will be until the previous one falls into place. Sometimes you have the perfect setting, only for the wrong piece to drop into place and ruin your game. There’s no way to take something back; you are compelled to just work with it. Life can be unpredictable, too. We have good times and bad times. We wish for many things, but sometimes life takes a different turn. Often, we have no choice but to accept the situation we are in and try to work with it.
5. Be happy with what you get
Celebrating when you clear one or two lines in Tetris is similar to celebrating the small victories in life. Instead of putting yourself down and giving up when you don’t have a perfect game, be grateful for how far you’ve already gone and keep striving to do better. When you build with what you have, many doors will open with new opportunities for success.
6. Be patient and faithful
Playing Tetris teaches you a great deal about patience and believing in things you can’t see. The first few levels of Tetris are unbearable, with the Tetriminos taking a long time to clear, and you just want to keep moving up and getting the perfect pieces as soon as possible. Nevertheless, these first levels are decisive for laying the groundwork. The same goes for mastering a skill or achieving something. Success takes time, perseverance, and sometimes frustration. But know that good things are coming your way.
7. Get out of your comfort zone
You already know different movements you can make to flip your Tetrimino aside from right or left — extra spins that can settle your piece in challenging places. Tetris players come up with different spins all the time. Trying new ways of doing things can help you deal with problems that have always seemed hard. Being innovative is an essential part of a more efficient life.
8. You can’t predict the future
Tetris lets you peek at which piece is coming up next, but there’s no way to plan your strategy beforehand. Even though you might have a few ideas for your life, you never know whether they’ll work out the way you want them to — even though you hope nothing goes wrong. It’s impossible to predict the future, so the best you can do is take better control of your present. Enjoy the now!
9. Sometimes, you have to make mistakes to progress
How many times have you put a piece in the wrong spot when playing Tetris? If you dwell on your minor error, you lose your focus.
Likewise, if you’re unable to make the best of your mistakes, you may sabotage your progress. A mistake is a mistake. You can’t change it. Instead of beating yourself up for it, take advantage of them. Learn from them. Use the opportunity to make better decisions in the future. As you continue to progress, the fewer mistakes you will make. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect.
10. Life gets faster, not harder
Tetris is the same game through and through. You get seven different shapes at random that you arrange into a way that clears lines and gives you points. It doesn’t change, even after hours of playing. The game is only getting faster. Some say it’s the same in real life. Your ultimate objective doesn’t change — everyone’s purpose is to stay alive — you just have a shorter time to accomplish the task. Getting older means having more things to deal with. You get so caught up in doing it all that you don’t realize years have gone by.
11. Taking risks is worth the consequences
Knowing Tetris better, you realize that you can get up your game and get more points. To get more points, you have to make moves that are not always easy. If you succeed, you rank higher. Apply this lesson to your life if you feel things are getting monotonous. You can shake things up a bit by getting out of your comfort zone and doing something unusual. If something has more advantages than downsides, it might be worth taking a shot. Just make sure it’s not going to put your life at risk or cost you all of your savings.
12. Sometimes, the answer is right around the corner
Tetris is made out of only seven different blocks. Even though they are distributed randomly, you can be sure that the piece you are expecting will come at some point. The same goes for real life. Don’t worry; help is on the way. You don’t end the game just because your most wished piece hasn’t dropped yet. You also can’t give up just because that one thing you need it’s taking a while.
13. Don’t give up when things get harder
On Tetris, the highest scores are achieved when you reach higher levels. If you stop playing at the very beginning, you are destined to be at the bottom of the ranks. The best rewards in life are earned when you aim high and work hard to achieve them. Even when things seem impossible, do not give up.
14. Stop wasting your time
In Tetris, managing your time is one of the most important tasks you have in the game. If you waste your time thinking about where you will place your piece or distract yourself with something else, you will eventually reach game over. Occasionally, life requires us to think fast and not waste even a second thinking about things. There are opportunities that we may miss if we put things off and end up regretting them.
15. Keep your options open
If you have a good game, Tetris allows you to have some freedom in stacking your blocks. Many board structures can set you up for a big win. Keeping your options open and being flexible will allow you to collect wins, even in real life. This is the key to success.
16. Live in the moment
We have listed many, but if you take only one life lesson from Tetris, make it this one. Playing this puzzle game keeps you in the present. Once you’ve set your board, there’s no way back. Tetris teaches you that there’s no point dwelling on the past nor to try and change the future. Taking advantage of present opportunities is what makes life interesting. So don’t worry about the future; it’s too uncertain. Learn from your mistakes and make the best out of today!
Last Word
Next time you play Tetris, look for ways to use your game strategies to your benefit. By following these recommendations, you will not only earn higher scores but succeed in life in general. Learning how you deal with losing, winning, trying, and failing is helpful in many areas of your life.
This article was co-authored by our team of in-house and freelance writers, and reviewed by our editors, who enjoy sharing their knowledge about their favorite games with others!
JC Franco
JC Franco serves as a New York-based editor for Gamesver. His interest for board games centers around chess, a pursuit he began in elementary school at the age of 9. Holding a Bachelor’s degree in Business from Mercyhurst University, JC brings a blend of business acumen and creative insight to his role. Beyond his editorial endeavors, he is a certified USPTA professional, imparting his knowledge in tennis to enthusiasts across the New York City Metropolitan area.