Packed in with theNintendoGame Boy in 1989 , Alexey Pajitnov’sTetrisremains one of the ultimate digital addictions . But it ’s a game basically without end : actor typically persist until the falling piece of music ( dubbedTetriminos ) descend too quickly to maneuver . “ Beating ” it is an ethereal concept .

Until now .

Popular Sciencereports that a 13 - twelvemonth - onetime named Willis Gibson is believed to be the first gamer to ever convey the 1988 NES pickup version of the game to a conclusion , essentially forcing the software to stop when he reached the 157th stratum .

‘Tetris’ has met its match.

PlayingTetrisis hard at best beyond level 29 , when the plot becomes too sped - up for players to respond . While AI could push the game to its limits , man could not . In recent yr , though , some professional gamers developed a controller technique that allowed them to keep up .

“ There ’s a little D - inking pad on the controller that you could push down , and it will go left or right , ” GibsontoldtheStillwater News Press . “ Instead of manually just tap each piece every single clip , what you do is you brood your finger over the clit just scarcely so it does n’t cause an input go forth or veracious , and then you roll your fingers on the back of the controller . So each fingerbreadth causes an input . ”

Because the software was n’t written to fit participant who could plow level off 29 speed , Tetrisbeginsto display anomalies as the levels work up . The colouring pallet can dim , prepare the man hard to see .

Gibson was evidently undismayed . Using the speedrunning controller approach , Gibson attain story 157 in December 2023 , forcing a coding error that essentially crashes the game . In other word , Tetrisgave up before Gibson did .

Gibson , who is from Stillwater , Oklahoma , pick upTetristwo years ago . In October , he placed third in the Classic Tetris World Championship , pocketing $ 1500 . That contest was points - based .

Now that gaming ’s version of the 4 - minute geographical mile has been broken , there will likely be otherTetrisachievements to come . Tetrisexperts believe the game can theoretically be play to level 255 , at which detail it bring back to level 0 .