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For about 15 years I've been trying to figure out how to articulate a `Tetris is life` essay. "Things are going good, you're given an S piece that doesnt fit an

For about 15 years I've been trying to figure out how to articulate a `Tetris is life` essay. "Things are going good, you're given an S piece that doesnt fit anywhere. You have to decide where you'll put that blocking piece so that you can hopefully clear it later. This might be an unexpected car repair bill or a death that you aren't emotionally capable of addressing ... You're in control, you have a good job, a great partner, and yall are saving to buy a house -- basically waiting for an l piece to complete your `Tetris`..." Anyway, this game of (ha)Tetris is a lot like a lot of people's lives, just roadblock after roadblock. While the normal version where you start from zero on level one is probably an upper middle class life. And Id say that the majority of people in the world start on level 6 with the board halfway filled with a bunch of gaps and the pieces move at a speed that is barely controllable (im thinking of the classic gameboy version when I imagine these boards) Hatetris is cool. I couldn't get one line and I consider myself a damn good tetris player. It kept giving me S pieces and threw a Z in there and then an l

js8 5y ago
> Anyway, this game of (ha)Tetris is a lot like a lot of people's lives, just roadblock after roadblock. They should make a multiplayer version where you could pass the pieces you don't like to other players!
- hprotagonist 5y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetris_99 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetris_99
  - codetrotter 5y ago
    Relevant parts of the Wikipedia article linked to by parent: > Tetris 99 is a multiplayer puzzle game in which 99 players play against each other at the same time, with the aim to be the last player remaining. [...] As with normal Tetris rules, players have the option to store a tetromino piece to swap out at any time. By clearing multiple lines or performing continuous line clears in a row, players can send "garbage" to other players, which will appear on their board unless they can quickly clear lines in response. More garbage can be sent by completing combination moves in succession of making a "tetris" (matching 4 lines at once) or performing a "T-spin" (squeezing the T-shaped tetromino into a position it would otherwise not fall into by rapidly rotating it).
- nrdvana 5y ago
  Tetrinet. I haven’t played it in 20 years or have any idea if the code is maintained, but that’s what you’re looking for.
edent 5y ago
There is an essay like that - https://medium.com/the-mission/your-life-is-tetris-stop-playing-it-like-chess-4baac6b2750d https://medium.com/the-mission/your-life-is-tetris-stop-play... And here's my rebuttal to it - https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2016/01/for-some-people-life-is-harder-than-chess/ https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2016/01/for-some-people-life-is-har...
- qsort 5y ago
  I'd suggest that life is neither Chess nor Tetris, it's Magic the Gathering: - You have to learn to relentlessly blame yourself for the mistakes you make, but also to accept that you can't change everything, and sometimes you WILL lose to random luck, no matter what you do. - Actually understanding probability goes a long way. - Regrettably, a large chunk of the game depends on your initial hand.
  - I-M-S 5y ago
    Which is probably why my favourite card game is now Dominion - everybody has the exact same starting position and access to resources. Too bad it doesn't extrapolate to the life analogy.
  - dec0dedab0de 5y ago
    ... and sometimes your opponent can just afford a better deck than you.
    - jerrre 5y ago
      This is perhaps why Magic the Gathering is a better metaphore for life than Poker, which also has the elements above, but not this one. Although with poker you have the house that always wins...
  - YeGoblynQueenne 5y ago
    - Wizzards of the coast will take all your lunch money. No, wait. But actually true.
- 5y ago
david422 5y ago
Got 3 lines. Moral of the story - S pieces are the worst possible pieces.
neffy 5y ago
Well here is the soundtrack... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWTFG3J1CP8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWTFG3J1CP8 Compete History of the Soviet Union, arranged to the music of Tetris. Pigwiththefaceofaboy.
SamBam 5y ago
I got three lines. I realized half-way through that I had to get into a totally-different mindset than normal Tetris. Normally, if the game gives you the wrong piece, you can put it where it will do the least damage for your current plans, and wait patiently for a better piece. What you have to realize in this one is that the game will never give you the piece you want, if it has any option of giving you a worse one. And so you have to play this like a Chess puzzle: how can I checkmate the game so that any piece it gives me will finish a line? How can I force it to either give me a piece that can fit in a 1x1 hole in the middle, or just give me 2x2 squares and I can complete the row with those. It's quite different and fun when you think like that.
- teachingassist 5y ago
  I also noticed the same thing - when I was making progress and got a particularly bad piece, the Tetris part of my brain thinks "I'll just put this out of the way for now". Hatetris then gives me the same piece again. I think again: "I'll just put this out of the way for now" I found it impossible to overcome this habit before running out of space.
  - curiousllama 5y ago
    > I found it impossible to overcome this habit before running out of space. There's some "tetris is life" wisdom in there.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- 8note 5y ago
  I remember on the old RRRR one somebody got 99, but most people couldn't get one line
- kjrose 5y ago
  Same here. You can absolutely fill up the board in a way where there's almost no problematic sections, and then suddenly it's like. ok, well, no lines for you. I got like 5 lines I think.
asdfasgasdgasdg 5y ago
Here's a replay with four: ॠڅܕଘळطЫݎ௧ڠແझ३ටիઉ౬ѲໃҲɷඤwঅஓڠເ੪ϢඞПݹਹɈຽঅதڗІށ௨౾Іނ௨୮າএƐඉƊݲడقঀஈஜɜາঌ௧ปบदਹؼƟԿЬඦƊݹݦਮȜƏஓڄຯࡑ୦ΟරݞԪػଅޅޛٮഫɞϯغȣßಣϷМѠ౫7 You have to try to sacrifice some lines in order to get guaranteed lines.
- kreeben 5y ago
  That was a fun watch. You're really good at this! Absolutely love the playback feature.
- kbenson 5y ago
  Here's one with 6: РڠໃמୡඤVŦலڄໃݲథɊІށ௨ಘQɕ௫ҨໃυɷඞМǶ௨ళɱݹ୦Οຯ൫௩ƦഫJமϺຽߢ௧uܘܭЬ௨൧ݹಈඤʆٻҳචHݹಏටฅکҿࡄแחजலາƷ௧οາঐ௧চІͷ௨ౚໃŧԥఠܕɕϢ෯ƚݢƐٮඍԣரಀԀສߜƣƬѣݫΝթֆଔ I suspect that there's some pathological behavior in the game you can exploit to possibly get a line or more while giving up a line (not that I searched and identified one, I think I just got lucky on my second game because I don't play tetris much so didn't have much of a strategy to unlearn). It would be interesting if there a few of these behaviors that lead into each other, which could lead to a stable state of infinite lines. Not being random means there might be more to exploit.
  - salmonellaeater 5y ago
    Yeah you can game it to fill in upper levels because it seems to greedily avoid letting you complete the next 1 row. Here's a game with 7: ԫقຽࡨதقลƻஸปໃɡЩටʈम౻ටիঅஶΟໃࡦѻ೯ܘݪ௨൜ІݚɪؾÐݪߜගІסञඉȣݣ౫ඞУݸԫؼПݒ౺sܪݚஶsԀŦਛfΔݹटɈເљࠑಜÐݶɺටळ൪ԪؾЂɚலڌෆࡨࢸదQॡభඝଘݒಈలНމࢲඖИܭޜϻϨॷభĐ
    - barkingcat 5y ago
      this one is pretty brilliant
    - b3orn 5y ago
      8: ౚටරଳ௨ಗҾђञఢІŦଛقࠂɜ௨ఢVʣƃڠࠃʦذਓງஈ௧vഫݹযуಮɜटطϼƷ౻ඝЈஈ௩ΣܘŦ૧ට๒ݹଢඈฆŧذࡄɱݸϢరμŦௐؼVϳ௧৩ะݹ௨૫ຣ૨ரڴТߣ௧ڒІŒɷഗƖԤݛஶՀݮ൙൶ຯݷ౧Փຯబ௩ʡWђƓעXݪݖضɑЈԎϺثॿƖ੪СجƕןÞڍ۰Ռ
OGWhales 5y ago
I got so many S pieces in a row that I was beginning to think it was just a joke and that was the only possible piece
- boringg 5y ago
  Same thing until it pulled the old switcheroo - real annoying! Second time I got a 4 line game in. I appreciate the total change in thinking required to do well in the game.
- kensai 5y ago
  And the very moment I was about to go aha and score a line, a reverse S came! >_<
danbolt 5y ago
Are you familiar with Twinbeard's Futiltris? You'll need Flash to play it these days, but I always found it really entertaining. [0] http://twinbeard.com/140_futilitris http://twinbeard.com/140_futilitris [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab62aohgpKI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab62aohgpKI
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
junga 5y ago
Wow, like every time I grab the old gameboy and play some rounds of tetris I just think the very same thing: tetris is a wonderful anology for life. And of course I did not expect someone else to think the same. Thank you! :)
Lammy 5y ago
> It kept giving me S pieces and threw a Z in there and then an l "Line piece. Line piece. Line piece. LINE PIECE!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Alw5hs0chj0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Alw5hs0chj0
- Baeocystin 5y ago
  Still one of my favorite videos ten years on. Always fun to see a fresh posting of it in the wild. :D
- hansoolo 5y ago
  I have to verify my age for that... Duh!
  - dkersten 5y ago
    Same. I refuse to give google my credit card details or ID for this. I've been on Youtube for about 13 years with this account, I'd have to have been 5 or less to not be old enough to view whatever I want now... What garbage.
    - seriousquestion 5y ago
      They don't accept your birthdate without a credit card or ID? Wow.
      - dkersten 5y ago
        Those are the only two options they presented me with...
      - glenneroo 5y ago
        Seems to be a new "feature". I'm also getting this as of an hour ago! Pretty stupid if you ask me, since my account is linked to all my Android devices, where I have Google Play installed and have purchased apps with a CC, so verifying my CC again seems to be lazy or greedy on their part. Alternately submitting a photo ID says it may take up to 3 days to verify. We really need a YouTube competitor sooner than later.
YeGoblynQueenne 5y ago
I just came here to ask how does it know it's giving you the worst possible piece. And I find this. :shakes head:
- bitshiftfaced 5y ago
  I believe that it may analyze the board for all possible piece placements for all pieces and then choose the piece that provides the least good solution.
  - YeGoblynQueenne 5y ago
    Thanks. It's actually explained in the link on the github page after all. I just missed it the first time. It's what you say basically: The method by which the AI selects the worst possible piece is extremely simple to describe (test all possible locations of all possible pieces, see which of the pieces' best-case scenarios is the worst, then spawn that worst piece), but quite time-consuming to execute, so please forgive me if your browser chugs a little after locking each piece. If you can figure out a way to accelerate the algorithm without diminishing its hate-filled efficiency, do let me know. The algorithm for "weighing" possibilities is to simply maximise the highest point of the "tower" after the piece is landed. The author says that the algorithm couldn't be changed without invalidating the replays so I'm guessing that means it's a deterministic algorithm. Judging from the comment about "weighing" possibilities (which I interpret as evaluating boards) I'm further guessing it's an ad-hoc implementation of Best-First Search. In that case, I suspect its performance could be improved quite a bit by replacing it with a Monte Carlo search. But as the author fears, that would definitely invalidate replays (you'd get slightly different results each time). Another optimisation is some kind of prunning heuristic- some kind of intuition about which pieces P don't need to be considered once a certain piece S has been rejected as the worst possible, because those other pieces P can only yield better boards then S (better for the player). No idea what that heuristic would look like, but the result would stay the same so the replays could still run as before.
    - bitshiftfaced 5y ago
akvadrako 5y ago
I have a quote for you: If Tetris has taught me anything it's that errors pile up and accomplishments disappear.
systemvoltage 5y ago
Your analogy suggests that life is 100% luck. Not everything in life is handed to you through luck like Tetris pieces falling from the sky. Your medical degree is largely dependent on you studying, working hard and finally clearing the requirements. Definitely a few shitty pieces to deal with though. It keeps things interesting. Most people revel in building their own blocks and not relying on stuff that falls from the sky.
- rscho 5y ago
  Your medical degree is largely dependent on your family's wealth, whether you have family in the medical field and also, working hard. Trust me, I'm a doctor.
  - systemvoltage 5y ago
    Absolutely not true. I've know at least a dozen people that have gotten medical degrees, albeit on student loans. Working hard is the baseline, having a wealthy family helps with the financing aspects but not necessary. You could have tons of wealth, but still unable to attain medical degree if you don't work hard. It's just an analogy. The main point is that most pieces are built by people, they don't just fall off the sky.
    - rscho 5y ago
      We somewhat agree. But working hard is much easier when you have strong support. And many pieces do fall off from the sky for a lot of people.
    - saltyfamiliar 5y ago
      Your ability to work hard is dependent on things like your nutrition, genetic temperament, and general outlook on life as developed by your parents, friends, mentors and life experiences. It's not just a magical innate ability that exists if you believe hard enough. This type of thinking becomes a problem when you begin associating "working hard" with having a superior moral character that deserves to be rewarded while other less good individuals can suck eggs. It really is all luck.
l0c0b0x 5y ago
For about the same amount of years, I have thought of my life as playing multiple Tetris games at the same time. Some games moving at different speeds, depending on what's happening at the time on each. I'd focus my priority on the fastest moving games, without discarding the other (slower) games, since accumulation is non-stop. ...and yes, in my spare time (at times), I play multiple tetris games, but since I haven't found one that runs multiple games, I have to run many different windows--so I don't do it very often. Anybody know of a Tetris game that allows you to add multiple games at the same time? That'd be awesome!
JohnHammersley 5y ago
Best I could do is five lines, and even that felt like it was because the game was optimized to prevent "any line now" rather than "any lines in future". Method: If you lay the "s" pieces on their tip, next to each other horizontally, starting from one side, when you get to having a gap of two left on the other side, it changes to giving you line pieces. You can then lay these line pieces horizontally on top of the s pieces to create a full "wall" eight blocks wide all the way to the top. Then start filling in the two-wide column to start making lines. Best this seems to give is five. Has anyone made it to six? Is it possible? Edit: after reading more of the comments here, I see the high score is 31!!! Wow, didn't expect that -- it is neat to watch it through: ௨ഖƌݯߜࠏІWƑsໃa௨೯ܘݷಳජଈیԪؼʥݺԥඞܘݲࠐڄໂঅமةໃݹ௧ړІٽ௨൞ໃZ௨ಘІܥࠐΣІZߜටȜখذජНݹߛeʛݹߤปເѧ௩ԚໂՉࢸටuа௨સȣݷłقෆঅਏeܘԔצقషݸɢڠຜঀಧҸມѧஐට༪൩ԊಅഫܡथsถԡԦԚໃɥஸقࡈɕɠɈไݸצقషݰਵϺФঅஓػݐɓԞуຯɕझࡈ๐ݞझࢶІݞमปദஈƉؿଭݪஸҩЂ൸ԛمϦGƁҨVھԥචЅշࡂ෮लݷƘණ໘ࠅƘಧНקࢻҨฆӘದԋϝପࠑ੧ͳݲடփරݞਵΚϼɢԒԺٳѦԤࠌξGಘسਯܥஶҋϮτथlϼʔ
- jkingsbery 5y ago
  Got to 6! హइໃџИටଛڭ௧پಭݪбඩಸݞహࡄȤເ௨ඤʈঅஜѸໃѣۑචʈஆಏ੬ܯཧ૭ටໞݹਓsະࠇஶƣฅяడقແߛ௨ೱٱݸಳ൞ະࢭ௨ඞНݷహइЖݪ௧چະঀ౻ටПݸԫ૫ଠݹ౻ಅໄ൰ళҸཟࢭলฃฅॾవඩಸܭСࡏVپƏοSྌਔ
  - jkingsbery 5y ago
    And here's 7 ฆࡄາໃݣඪජݹಏ૫ຊरಗق༨൪صඨʐএЩටลڝ௨෨ଈݚЩචƙɕࢳ৩ฅڥࢲටະࠇ௨ٴໃɛ௨ٴແߛ௨൞ໃק௧ڠງƷஶكɑݹத෮ແࢭ௧ຂຽஈਢචƚܥ௨ۼถݷಏقܧɒԩঘญகϡࡆϿߟƑؾϿॻ౦ʜວॿޠظܪܦ౻ॸࠋ
    - JohnHammersley 5y ago
      That's awesome (and props to the creator for including such a convenient replay system) :)
    - romwell 5y ago
      This shows that 8 is possible :) Ɣঔໃݹஐټຯپ௧এІK௨ಗາɢƏࡈາɕƔןІJ௧ڠຽঅসඞݕݹமΒІυݸටຯວ௨ටȣƫ௨ඖІܥ௨ౚഫݹđҨSঅரեໃƫ௨൝ධݛࠑಧషҪࡐԊໂƷஓҸգǶߜඖڪڤ௨డลГଚ౾κʥࢳॴ༱uझٯฦܥƑȺیюಳϾຯஞ௧ڈ๓ଖಱலะCஐشڛઝѻਯϝລ
jdonaldson 5y ago
This is a great analogy, I might have to steal it.
graup 5y ago
There are a few "Tetris is life" essays out there. One I enjoyed: https://zachsnyderproductions.medium.com/8-life-lessons-ive-learned-playing-tetris-57990fc967c1 https://zachsnyderproductions.medium.com/8-life-lessons-ive-...

js8 5y ago

> Anyway, this game of (ha)Tetris is a lot like a lot of people's lives, just roadblock after roadblock. They should make a multiplayer version where you could pass the pieces you don't like to other players!

hprotagonist 5y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetris_99 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetris_99
- codetrotter 5y ago
  Relevant parts of the Wikipedia article linked to by parent: > Tetris 99 is a multiplayer puzzle game in which 99 players play against each other at the same time, with the aim to be the last player remaining. [...] As with normal Tetris rules, players have the option to store a tetromino piece to swap out at any time. By clearing multiple lines or performing continuous line clears in a row, players can send "garbage" to other players, which will appear on their board unless they can quickly clear lines in response. More garbage can be sent by completing combination moves in succession of making a "tetris" (matching 4 lines at once) or performing a "T-spin" (squeezing the T-shaped tetromino into a position it would otherwise not fall into by rapidly rotating it).
nrdvana 5y ago
Tetrinet. I haven’t played it in 20 years or have any idea if the code is maintained, but that’s what you’re looking for.

edent 5y ago

There is an essay like that - https://medium.com/the-mission/your-life-is-tetris-stop-playing-it-like-chess-4baac6b2750d https://medium.com/the-mission/your-life-is-tetris-stop-play... And here's my rebuttal to it - https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2016/01/for-some-people-life-is-harder-than-chess/ https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2016/01/for-some-people-life-is-har...

qsort 5y ago
I'd suggest that life is neither Chess nor Tetris, it's Magic the Gathering: - You have to learn to relentlessly blame yourself for the mistakes you make, but also to accept that you can't change everything, and sometimes you WILL lose to random luck, no matter what you do. - Actually understanding probability goes a long way. - Regrettably, a large chunk of the game depends on your initial hand.
- I-M-S 5y ago
  Which is probably why my favourite card game is now Dominion - everybody has the exact same starting position and access to resources. Too bad it doesn't extrapolate to the life analogy.
- dec0dedab0de 5y ago
  ... and sometimes your opponent can just afford a better deck than you.
  - jerrre 5y ago
    This is perhaps why Magic the Gathering is a better metaphore for life than Poker, which also has the elements above, but not this one. Although with poker you have the house that always wins...
- YeGoblynQueenne 5y ago
  - Wizzards of the coast will take all your lunch money. No, wait. But actually true.
5y ago

david422 5y ago

Got 3 lines. Moral of the story - S pieces are the worst possible pieces.

neffy 5y ago

Well here is the soundtrack... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWTFG3J1CP8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWTFG3J1CP8 Compete History of the Soviet Union, arranged to the music of Tetris. Pigwiththefaceofaboy.

SamBam 5y ago

I got three lines. I realized half-way through that I had to get into a totally-different mindset than normal Tetris. Normally, if the game gives you the wrong piece, you can put it where it will do the least damage for your current plans, and wait patiently for a better piece. What you have to realize in this one is that the game will never give you the piece you want, if it has any option of giving you a worse one. And so you have to play this like a Chess puzzle: how can I checkmate the game so that any piece it gives me will finish a line? How can I force it to either give me a piece that can fit in a 1x1 hole in the middle, or just give me 2x2 squares and I can complete the row with those. It's quite different and fun when you think like that.

teachingassist 5y ago
I also noticed the same thing - when I was making progress and got a particularly bad piece, the Tetris part of my brain thinks "I'll just put this out of the way for now". Hatetris then gives me the same piece again. I think again: "I'll just put this out of the way for now" I found it impossible to overcome this habit before running out of space.
- curiousllama 5y ago
  > I found it impossible to overcome this habit before running out of space. There's some "tetris is life" wisdom in there.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
8note 5y ago
I remember on the old RRRR one somebody got 99, but most people couldn't get one line
kjrose 5y ago
Same here. You can absolutely fill up the board in a way where there's almost no problematic sections, and then suddenly it's like. ok, well, no lines for you. I got like 5 lines I think.

asdfasgasdgasdg 5y ago

Here's a replay with four: ॠڅܕଘळطЫݎ௧ڠແझ३ටիઉ౬ѲໃҲɷඤwঅஓڠເ੪ϢඞПݹਹɈຽঅதڗІށ௨౾Іނ௨୮າএƐඉƊݲడقঀஈஜɜາঌ௧ปบदਹؼƟԿЬඦƊݹݦਮȜƏஓڄຯࡑ୦ΟරݞԪػଅޅޛٮഫɞϯغȣßಣϷМѠ౫7 You have to try to sacrifice some lines in order to get guaranteed lines.

kreeben 5y ago
That was a fun watch. You're really good at this! Absolutely love the playback feature.
kbenson 5y ago
Here's one with 6: РڠໃמୡඤVŦலڄໃݲథɊІށ௨ಘQɕ௫ҨໃυɷඞМǶ௨ళɱݹ୦Οຯ൫௩ƦഫJமϺຽߢ௧uܘܭЬ௨൧ݹಈඤʆٻҳචHݹಏටฅکҿࡄแחजலາƷ௧οາঐ௧চІͷ௨ౚໃŧԥఠܕɕϢ෯ƚݢƐٮඍԣரಀԀສߜƣƬѣݫΝթֆଔ I suspect that there's some pathological behavior in the game you can exploit to possibly get a line or more while giving up a line (not that I searched and identified one, I think I just got lucky on my second game because I don't play tetris much so didn't have much of a strategy to unlearn). It would be interesting if there a few of these behaviors that lead into each other, which could lead to a stable state of infinite lines. Not being random means there might be more to exploit.
- salmonellaeater 5y ago
  Yeah you can game it to fill in upper levels because it seems to greedily avoid letting you complete the next 1 row. Here's a game with 7: ԫقຽࡨதقลƻஸปໃɡЩටʈम౻ටիঅஶΟໃࡦѻ೯ܘݪ௨൜ІݚɪؾÐݪߜගІסञඉȣݣ౫ඞУݸԫؼПݒ౺sܪݚஶsԀŦਛfΔݹटɈເљࠑಜÐݶɺටळ൪ԪؾЂɚலڌෆࡨࢸదQॡభඝଘݒಈలНމࢲඖИܭޜϻϨॷభĐ
  - barkingcat 5y ago
    this one is pretty brilliant
  - b3orn 5y ago
    8: ౚටරଳ௨ಗҾђञఢІŦଛقࠂɜ௨ఢVʣƃڠࠃʦذਓງஈ௧vഫݹযуಮɜटطϼƷ౻ඝЈஈ௩ΣܘŦ૧ට๒ݹଢඈฆŧذࡄɱݸϢరμŦௐؼVϳ௧৩ะݹ௨૫ຣ૨ரڴТߣ௧ڒІŒɷഗƖԤݛஶՀݮ൙൶ຯݷ౧Փຯబ௩ʡWђƓעXݪݖضɑЈԎϺثॿƖ੪СجƕןÞڍ۰Ռ

OGWhales 5y ago

I got so many S pieces in a row that I was beginning to think it was just a joke and that was the only possible piece

boringg 5y ago
Same thing until it pulled the old switcheroo - real annoying! Second time I got a 4 line game in. I appreciate the total change in thinking required to do well in the game.
kensai 5y ago
And the very moment I was about to go aha and score a line, a reverse S came! >_<

danbolt 5y ago

Are you familiar with Twinbeard's Futiltris? You'll need Flash to play it these days, but I always found it really entertaining. [0] http://twinbeard.com/140_futilitris http://twinbeard.com/140_futilitris [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab62aohgpKI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab62aohgpKI

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

junga 5y ago

Wow, like every time I grab the old gameboy and play some rounds of tetris I just think the very same thing: tetris is a wonderful anology for life. And of course I did not expect someone else to think the same. Thank you! :)

Lammy 5y ago

> It kept giving me S pieces and threw a Z in there and then an l "Line piece. Line piece. Line piece. LINE PIECE!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Alw5hs0chj0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Alw5hs0chj0

Baeocystin 5y ago
Still one of my favorite videos ten years on. Always fun to see a fresh posting of it in the wild. :D
hansoolo 5y ago
I have to verify my age for that... Duh!
- dkersten 5y ago
  Same. I refuse to give google my credit card details or ID for this. I've been on Youtube for about 13 years with this account, I'd have to have been 5 or less to not be old enough to view whatever I want now... What garbage.
  - seriousquestion 5y ago
    They don't accept your birthdate without a credit card or ID? Wow.
    - dkersten 5y ago
      Those are the only two options they presented me with...
    - glenneroo 5y ago
      Seems to be a new "feature". I'm also getting this as of an hour ago! Pretty stupid if you ask me, since my account is linked to all my Android devices, where I have Google Play installed and have purchased apps with a CC, so verifying my CC again seems to be lazy or greedy on their part. Alternately submitting a photo ID says it may take up to 3 days to verify. We really need a YouTube competitor sooner than later.

YeGoblynQueenne 5y ago

I just came here to ask how does it know it's giving you the worst possible piece. And I find this. :shakes head:

bitshiftfaced 5y ago
I believe that it may analyze the board for all possible piece placements for all pieces and then choose the piece that provides the least good solution.
- YeGoblynQueenne 5y ago
  Thanks. It's actually explained in the link on the github page after all. I just missed it the first time. It's what you say basically: The method by which the AI selects the worst possible piece is extremely simple to describe (test all possible locations of all possible pieces, see which of the pieces' best-case scenarios is the worst, then spawn that worst piece), but quite time-consuming to execute, so please forgive me if your browser chugs a little after locking each piece. If you can figure out a way to accelerate the algorithm without diminishing its hate-filled efficiency, do let me know. The algorithm for "weighing" possibilities is to simply maximise the highest point of the "tower" after the piece is landed. The author says that the algorithm couldn't be changed without invalidating the replays so I'm guessing that means it's a deterministic algorithm. Judging from the comment about "weighing" possibilities (which I interpret as evaluating boards) I'm further guessing it's an ad-hoc implementation of Best-First Search. In that case, I suspect its performance could be improved quite a bit by replacing it with a Monte Carlo search. But as the author fears, that would definitely invalidate replays (you'd get slightly different results each time). Another optimisation is some kind of prunning heuristic- some kind of intuition about which pieces P don't need to be considered once a certain piece S has been rejected as the worst possible, because those other pieces P can only yield better boards then S (better for the player). No idea what that heuristic would look like, but the result would stay the same so the replays could still run as before.
  - bitshiftfaced 5y ago

akvadrako 5y ago

I have a quote for you: If Tetris has taught me anything it's that errors pile up and accomplishments disappear.

systemvoltage 5y ago

Your analogy suggests that life is 100% luck. Not everything in life is handed to you through luck like Tetris pieces falling from the sky. Your medical degree is largely dependent on you studying, working hard and finally clearing the requirements. Definitely a few shitty pieces to deal with though. It keeps things interesting. Most people revel in building their own blocks and not relying on stuff that falls from the sky.

rscho 5y ago
Your medical degree is largely dependent on your family's wealth, whether you have family in the medical field and also, working hard. Trust me, I'm a doctor.
- systemvoltage 5y ago
  Absolutely not true. I've know at least a dozen people that have gotten medical degrees, albeit on student loans. Working hard is the baseline, having a wealthy family helps with the financing aspects but not necessary. You could have tons of wealth, but still unable to attain medical degree if you don't work hard. It's just an analogy. The main point is that most pieces are built by people, they don't just fall off the sky.
  - rscho 5y ago
    We somewhat agree. But working hard is much easier when you have strong support. And many pieces do fall off from the sky for a lot of people.
  - saltyfamiliar 5y ago
    Your ability to work hard is dependent on things like your nutrition, genetic temperament, and general outlook on life as developed by your parents, friends, mentors and life experiences. It's not just a magical innate ability that exists if you believe hard enough. This type of thinking becomes a problem when you begin associating "working hard" with having a superior moral character that deserves to be rewarded while other less good individuals can suck eggs. It really is all luck.

l0c0b0x 5y ago

For about the same amount of years, I have thought of my life as playing multiple Tetris games at the same time. Some games moving at different speeds, depending on what's happening at the time on each. I'd focus my priority on the fastest moving games, without discarding the other (slower) games, since accumulation is non-stop. ...and yes, in my spare time (at times), I play multiple tetris games, but since I haven't found one that runs multiple games, I have to run many different windows--so I don't do it very often. Anybody know of a Tetris game that allows you to add multiple games at the same time? That'd be awesome!

JohnHammersley 5y ago

Best I could do is five lines, and even that felt like it was because the game was optimized to prevent "any line now" rather than "any lines in future". Method: If you lay the "s" pieces on their tip, next to each other horizontally, starting from one side, when you get to having a gap of two left on the other side, it changes to giving you line pieces. You can then lay these line pieces horizontally on top of the s pieces to create a full "wall" eight blocks wide all the way to the top. Then start filling in the two-wide column to start making lines. Best this seems to give is five. Has anyone made it to six? Is it possible? Edit: after reading more of the comments here, I see the high score is 31!!! Wow, didn't expect that -- it is neat to watch it through: ௨ഖƌݯߜࠏІWƑsໃa௨೯ܘݷಳජଈیԪؼʥݺԥඞܘݲࠐڄໂঅமةໃݹ௧ړІٽ௨൞ໃZ௨ಘІܥࠐΣІZߜටȜখذජНݹߛeʛݹߤปເѧ௩ԚໂՉࢸටuа௨સȣݷłقෆঅਏeܘԔצقషݸɢڠຜঀಧҸມѧஐට༪൩ԊಅഫܡथsถԡԦԚໃɥஸقࡈɕɠɈไݸצقషݰਵϺФঅஓػݐɓԞуຯɕझࡈ๐ݞझࢶІݞमปദஈƉؿଭݪஸҩЂ൸ԛمϦGƁҨVھԥචЅշࡂ෮लݷƘණ໘ࠅƘಧНקࢻҨฆӘದԋϝପࠑ੧ͳݲடփරݞਵΚϼɢԒԺٳѦԤࠌξGಘسਯܥஶҋϮτथlϼʔ

jkingsbery 5y ago
Got to 6! హइໃџИටଛڭ௧پಭݪбඩಸݞహࡄȤເ௨ඤʈঅஜѸໃѣۑචʈஆಏ੬ܯཧ૭ටໞݹਓsະࠇஶƣฅяడقແߛ௨ೱٱݸಳ൞ະࢭ௨ඞНݷహइЖݪ௧چະঀ౻ටПݸԫ૫ଠݹ౻ಅໄ൰ళҸཟࢭলฃฅॾవඩಸܭСࡏVپƏοSྌਔ
- jkingsbery 5y ago
  And here's 7 ฆࡄາໃݣඪජݹಏ૫ຊरಗق༨൪صඨʐএЩටลڝ௨෨ଈݚЩචƙɕࢳ৩ฅڥࢲටະࠇ௨ٴໃɛ௨ٴແߛ௨൞ໃק௧ڠງƷஶكɑݹத෮ແࢭ௧ຂຽஈਢචƚܥ௨ۼถݷಏقܧɒԩঘญகϡࡆϿߟƑؾϿॻ౦ʜວॿޠظܪܦ౻ॸࠋ
  - JohnHammersley 5y ago
    That's awesome (and props to the creator for including such a convenient replay system) :)
  - romwell 5y ago
    This shows that 8 is possible :) Ɣঔໃݹஐټຯپ௧এІK௨ಗາɢƏࡈາɕƔןІJ௧ڠຽঅসඞݕݹமΒІυݸටຯວ௨ටȣƫ௨ඖІܥ௨ౚഫݹđҨSঅரեໃƫ௨൝ධݛࠑಧషҪࡐԊໂƷஓҸգǶߜඖڪڤ௨డลГଚ౾κʥࢳॴ༱uझٯฦܥƑȺیюಳϾຯஞ௧ڈ๓ଖಱலะCஐشڛઝѻਯϝລ

jdonaldson 5y ago

This is a great analogy, I might have to steal it.

graup 5y ago

There are a few "Tetris is life" essays out there. One I enjoyed: https://zachsnyderproductions.medium.com/8-life-lessons-ive-learned-playing-tetris-57990fc967c1 https://zachsnyderproductions.medium.com/8-life-lessons-ive-...