Today on the train ride home from work I sat next to a man with greying hair, a stern frown and perfectly trimmed cuticles. I looked up as he sat next to me and then shoved my head back into my book as I always do when strangers sit next to me/try talk to me/ generally encroach on my personal space.
I didn't notice what he was doing for the first couple of minutes. I heard him shuffle around in his briefcase, saw him flip open his laptop out from the corner of my eye and listened to him clear his throat in that official way which suggests that there's some serious work to be done.
Next thing I know and he's huffing angrily, legs are twitching and his elbows are jerking around like crazytown. I sneak a sly peek out of the corner of my eye to see what could possibly invoke such a physical reaction.
Tetris.
And he was losing.
Badly.
I watched as the lines of blocks full of gaping holes crept higher and higher until there was nowhere else for the pieces to go.
Goner.
He tsked with contempt and slammed his laptop shut before stomping up the stairs and getting off.
I'll be honest, I could feel his pain- there's nothing more annoying than losing tetris, this deceptively simple concept of stacking blocks teases and taunts, the clown music makes us lose focus, the pieces come down faster and faster. If our reflexes are honed, we win. But a lapse in concentration and we've failed to execute the simplest task of tessellation.
This year Tetris celebrates its 25th Birthday.
(http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2009/06/happy-birthday-to-the-greatest-game-ever-tetris-turns-25/) and the fact remains that it's not always about the snazziest, fanciest, trickiest. It's just about addictive, easy fun.
Check out Guillaume Reymond's homage to tetris, in his creation: "The Original Human Tetris":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0LtUX_6IXY
And here's Man from Mars' tribute to this all around magnificent game:
I didn't notice what he was doing for the first couple of minutes. I heard him shuffle around in his briefcase, saw him flip open his laptop out from the corner of my eye and listened to him clear his throat in that official way which suggests that there's some serious work to be done.
Next thing I know and he's huffing angrily, legs are twitching and his elbows are jerking around like crazytown. I sneak a sly peek out of the corner of my eye to see what could possibly invoke such a physical reaction.
Tetris.
And he was losing.
Badly.
I watched as the lines of blocks full of gaping holes crept higher and higher until there was nowhere else for the pieces to go.
Goner.
He tsked with contempt and slammed his laptop shut before stomping up the stairs and getting off.
I'll be honest, I could feel his pain- there's nothing more annoying than losing tetris, this deceptively simple concept of stacking blocks teases and taunts, the clown music makes us lose focus, the pieces come down faster and faster. If our reflexes are honed, we win. But a lapse in concentration and we've failed to execute the simplest task of tessellation.
This year Tetris celebrates its 25th Birthday.
(http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2009/06/happy-birthday-to-the-greatest-game-ever-tetris-turns-25/) and the fact remains that it's not always about the snazziest, fanciest, trickiest. It's just about addictive, easy fun.
Check out Guillaume Reymond's homage to tetris, in his creation: "The Original Human Tetris":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0LtUX_6IXY
And here's Man from Mars' tribute to this all around magnificent game:
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