Teen becomes first Tetris player to loop back around to beginning, achieving record score

Why it matters: The world of competitive Tetris has been around for decades, but in recent years, the professional play has seen a significant acceleration in evolution. Just nine months after a 13-year-old achieved a groundbreaking milestone in the game, Tetris champions are now discovering new ways to push the game to its limits and achieve remarkable feats that were once considered impossible.

A recent example of this progress is the achievement of a two-time Tetris world champion who, without any machine assistance, managed to activate endless play by reaching level 255 in the NES version of the game. This feat has raised the theoretical limits for top scores in Tetris significantly.

This remarkable accomplishment was made by 16-year-old Michael “dogplayingtetris” Artiaga, who spent around an hour and 40 minutes clearing 3,300 lines to reach level 255. After setting a new record score of 29.4 million points, Artiaga continued his gameplay for another 40 minutes until his run ended at level 91.

35 years after its release, @dogplayingtris just became the first person to get the NES Tetris rebirth. He made it all the way to level 255, then the game wrapped around and restarted from level 0. pic.twitter.com/Igwa2fIrmJ

– SummoningSalt (@summoningsalt) October 6, 2024

Artiaga’s achievement signifies not just a gameplay milestone but also the culmination of years of research and innovation by dedicated Tetris enthusiasts.

One notable aspect of Artiaga’s achievement is the shift in the understanding of the game’s mechanics. For years, it was believed that clearing level 29 in the NES version was impossible due to limitations in the controller’s speed. However, new techniques and strategies have allowed players to surpass level 100, revealing previously unseen aspects of the game’s design.

As players ventured beyond level 138, they encountered glitched color schemes and increased game instability, with the game becoming highly prone to crashes after level 155. With the assistance of AI tools, Willis “Blue Scuti” Gibson reached a “killscreen” crash in January, marking a significant milestone in Tetris gameplay.

Despite using a patched version of the game that is more crash-resistant, Artiaga faced additional challenges as the game’s levels became longer. The discrepancy in line counts after level 219 led to a unique gameplay experience, with Artiaga spending considerable time clearing nearly invisible blocks on level 235.

The recent developments in high-score contests suggest a new era for professional Tetris players, with the possibility of playing patched versions indefinitely. However, the quest to achieve “rebirth” on an unmodified version of the game remains a challenge that some players are eager to explore.