“Are you going to be crabby if you lose?”

Repeating this phrase both internally and externally countless times on the way to the Convention Center. I have witnessed the upsets in the casual setting of our living. These significant amount of pressure that will be placed on his shoulders today will only multiple the level of frustration.

Winners of each round are determined in a best two out of three. Having qualified towards the middle of the bunch, Bo is forced to go against the individual who qualified directly beneath him. One could say this is the most difficult of all matches as the talent is rather equal.

I wish him luck one last time before he takes his seat next to his opponent.

The judge prompts the men with a 3… 2… 1… go!

They are off. Stacking and Tetris-ing. My knuckles are white due to the excessive force I am placing on them in an attempt to control my nerves.

Game one complete. Bo is the winner.

Game two begins immediately.

It isn’t long before Bo is victorious. Knocking his opponent from the competition.

As ecstatic as I am for Bo. It would have been a lot less stressful if he would have lost. However, I can’t get over the fact that Bo is moving on.

We looked at the brackets to see who he is to play against next… Ben Mullen. (uh oh!)

**Side note: I forgot to mention… my previous post as well as this one is about my trip to Portland, Oregon last year.

Saturday morning. I awake to Bo practicing on the hotel television. Today is the qualification rounds of the tournament. I cannot tell if there are butterflies fluttering in his stomach or if he is truly cool, calm, and collected like he is showing externally. I would be beyond freaking out if I were in his shoes. I am nervous enough for him; enough for the both of us I would say.

We enter the Oregon Convention Center. So many arcade games, booths, people. We find the location where the qualification rounds will be taking place. Money transfers hands as the entrance fee is paid. We begin the walk to the end of the line for the first time of the day.

We continue through the same motions for hours. Wait in line… play one game… back in line. Attempting to get a qualifying score that will place him high enough on the list. The final game is played. We are finally able to leave.

My feet ache from standing on the cold concrete floor.

Tomorrow is the day Bo has been anxiously waiting for. He is convinced he will lose in the first round. I try to keep his thoughts positive.

No one knows what tomorrow has in store.

“Flight attendants, please prepare the cabin for landing.”

Portland here we come. I am so hesitant and worried about this mini-trip. Watching people play Tetris is not going to be fun. We are supposed to attend a gathering tonight with numerous Tetris community members. I am going to be so bored. There will be not a single person there for me to talk to.

We walk up the steps to the house. We are warmly welcomed. With the first step through the door, the Tetris talk begins. This is going to be a long evening.

Bo never leaves my side. Making sure that I feel included in conversations with others; also having side conversations as well. I feel as though I am holding him back from experiencing this to its full potential. I go back to the hotel.

Something with such meaning to him as Tetris and I am unable to enjoy it as much as he. This is something that deeply aches inside of me. It’s not that I don’t support him but I just cannot divulge myself into something such as this. A quick phone call home helps to steady my thoughts before I spill over with emotion.

Tomorrow will be a better day, I hope. It has to be. Its qualifications. That has to be exciting, right? I try to convince myself but am not all that successful.

Bo may claim fallacy in what I write throughout some of the future blogs, including this one. This is only because the information is from my perspective and not exactly how he viewed it.

He often claims that my accusations are over exaggerated and dramatic. This may very well be, I am quite the drama queen, but never the less, it is how I felt and reacted at the time.

After attending the movie, Bo was determined to become the player that he once was. He didn’t care about the amount of hours he would have to dedicate to this game; he would prevail.

I am not completely sure how life would have been if we were living separately when he decided to undergo this operation. Living under the same roof and I barely got to spend time with him since his butt was permanently glued to his “Tetris Chair,” eyes locked on his newly acquired CRT television.

*You may notice that I mention CRT televisions quite frequently. This is because Tetris and other games played on older consoles have a significant delay when played on new televisions.

Throughout this time period, I had such a hate towards the game of Tetris that even hearing the word made me cringe. The stupid repetitive noise was constantly in my head (Tetris Effect.) I hated hearing about the successes he had achieved because that meant he would be playing more in hopes of continually improving.

April 2012

The Minneapolis / Saint Paul International Film Festival

The Ecstasy of Order… ‘NOW SHOWING’

Word was spread to Bo via Facebook that a movie dedicated to Tetris was being shown at the Minneapolis / Saint Paul International Film Festival. Eagerness and curiosity pulled him towards the theatre that night and his world would be changed…

One of the participants of the movie was present (as he is a Minnesota resident) with two CRT television; challenging movie goers. Bo Steil steps up to the plate. Scoring the highest of all who attempted this feat he is handed two free passes to another showing of the movie.

He relaxes in his seat, ready to enter the world of Tetris on the big screen.

Watching the numerous success stories unfold in front of him, he realizes that he now knows who beat his record; who had received a valid World Record of 296 lines. He was the exact person that he played Tetris with just moments ago.

The credits roll and the lights return to their original state.

Approaching this Tetris rival must occur. Replaying his Tetris stories, Bo tells of how he once had received 290 lines back in the early 2000s.

From that, the friendly rivalry begins…

‘King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters’ is a documentary that follows dedicated video gamers competing against one another to break world records of classic video games; specifically following Steve Wiebe on his intense journey to beat Billy Mitchell’s score in the well-known game, Donkey Kong. Twin Galaxies, the official keepers are video game World Records, is frequently mentioned throughout the documentary.

Sparking interest, Bo visited their website; curious to find out records held in NES Tetris. Surprise surprise.

Thinking that he could have potentially held a World Record with his 290 lines (discussed previously)

His small amount of hope was quickly stomped flat – someone had received a valid World Record with 296 lines. A valid World Record means that there is legitimate video proof that complies with the rules created by Twin Galaxy. No pausing, must show start menu screen… etc.

Now days, the number of lines accomplished is a laughable achievement. Overall total points and transition scores are all that truly matter. (Transition score refers to the score when switching from one level to the next) These transition scores will give insight into whether or not the player in on a max-out pace.

I apologize for the amount of dry, filler information provided from time to time. Explanations into numerous terms and side information are a necessity when it comes to the wacky world of Tetris.

Well folks; this sure has been an exciting few weeks in the Buntrock-Steil household. The recent NES Tetris max-out has led to what one could call ‘fame’ throughout the Tetris community. Thanks to a Tetris forum known as Hard Drop each month there is a glorious crowing of the player who achieved something great in Tetris in the past month. (Realistically it’s really just your name on the home page)

Nominations are submitted and votes are cast.

Anticipation and nerves radiate throughout me as I check the latest tallies. I rally the troops, friends and family via Facebook and text message, to vote vote vote!! A number one fan holds the duties of running the campaign, right? Being a Tetris super fan is definitely hard but rewarding work.

It may appear to be miniscule and perhaps even nerdy to be ranting and raving about something such as this. I am willing to bet a lot on the fact that if any one of you were to max-out, in other words do something that only 9 people have done before, also gain recognition in the form of “Player of the Month”… you would be excited too.

Then again, maybe not.

Anyways… without further ado; I present to you August 2013 - Player of the Month…

Exactly one month from now…  Bo and I will be in Portland, Oregon attending the 4th Annual Tetris World Championships – where he will be competing.

People from all over the United States will come together in one location and take part in a tournament that is all about their beloved game. A long row of CRT televisions will be patiently awaiting the arrival of such spectacular players. Qualification rounds will take place as well as many others in order to award Tetris’ best players. Hours upon hours of Tetris all jammed packed into one weekend – bringing together so many people with one common interest, one major goal. Master a game; a game that takes both skill and luck. Swapping max-out stories and close calls… So much Tetris one may think they would become sick of this game. But, it never happens.

Even though I lack a significant interest in this game (weirdly I am devoting an entire semester to the topic) I hold this game very close to my heart. I did however think my brain was going to explode with all the ‘Tetrominos Talk’ so let’s just hope I have had enough recovery time before it happens all over again!!

I can’t wait to see what surprises Portland has in store for us.

Let’s start at the very beginning. We need to jump back a couple of years to a little over a decade ago.

The year is 2001 and Bo Steil is just a college student playing NES Tetris in his spare time. Due to the significant amount of hours spent strategically placing these tetrominos, development of the “Tetris Effect” occurred.

“People who play Tetris for a prolonged amount of time may then find themselves thinking about ways different shapes in the real world can fit together, such as the boxes on a supermarket shelf or the buildings on a street.  In this sense, the Tetris effect is a form of habit. They might also dream about falling tetrominos when drifting off to sleep or see images of falling tetrominos at the edges of their visual fields or when they close their eyes.”

It is no surprise that Tetris was a battle field amongst brothers as they are both such competitive souls. Originally, it would come as no surprise his older brother prevailed but was eventually overtaken. Continually swapping scores and line achievements, Bo eventually made the best success of the game. He had reached Level 29, receiving 290 lines. A disposable camera was the only form of proof to commemorate this milestone.

Upon searching the internet, no evidence was uncovered of anyone having hit level 29. He ‘retired’ from the game as the best (in his mind) until… *to be continued*

So many great stories begin with the ending. A climax is an exciting and detrimental aspect to any good story but the buildup is often times much more impressive.

Anyone who is intensely into the game of Tetris knows that the ultimate goal is to achieve what is known as a max-out; receiving the ultimate score of 999,999. There is no higher score that can be reached when playing NES Tetris. Those within the Tetris community (yes, there is a group of individuals who devote hours upon hours of their lives to this game) hope and strive to achieve this goal. On August 28, 2013 there were only 9 people who have reached this success but that was soon to change…

The morning of August 29, 2013 around 1:38 am I was abruptly awoken. Screams filled the bedroom as I rubbed my tired eyes in an attempt to figure out what happened. The words, “MAX-OUT” came flooding through my head. He had done it, after just a little over a year; he had finally accomplished what he had set out to do. Energy and excitement burst through my body as if I was sitting front row at a Jonas Brothers' concert. My mind was still in a daze as he led me downstairs to show me what he had accomplished. Bo Steil was the tenth person in the world to reach a max-out on NES Tetris.

I just could not wrap my head around this news. The number of hours put into this goal. So many people knew he was capable of this success but none knew the time it would happen. Either way, the deed had been done. A check-mark on the list of goals had been made. Bo Steil now held another World Record in NES Tetris. (Yes, I said another... But we will get to that at a different time.)

Three days later the initial shock and excitement has diminished. Euphoria still hangs in the air.
SUCCESS!