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Try these tips from Tetris® icon Henk Rogers for Red Bull Tetris success
When Henk Rogers discovered Tetris® in 1988, he couldn’t wait to bring it to the whole world. Here, the gaming industry pioneer describes the life-changing moment and shares advice for playing to win.
Henk Rogers may be the ultimate Tetris® fan. When Rogers came across Alexey Pajitnov’s game at a trade show in the 1980s, not only was he obsessed with playing it himself, but he was determined to introduce it to the wider world – and he put everything on the line to make that happen. Rogers and Pajitnov would go on to reshape the gaming landscape and founded The Tetris Company along the way.
Rogers (L) with The Tetris Company's CEO, Maya Rogers and Pajitnov
© The Tetris Company
Now with the Red Bull Tetris tournament speeding toward a history-making World Final in Dubai, Rogers is as passionate as ever, sharing his expert insights and advice..
More on how to play your best Red Bull Tetris®
Henk, that moment when you first discovered Tetris is the stuff of legend in the gaming world. Can you take us back to what it was like?
In January 1988, I went to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and found Tetris… I was mesmerised by the game. Normally, I would stand in line to play each game for a couple of minutes and move to the next game, but with Tetris, I found myself standing in line for the fourth time and knew I was hooked – I had to go back and play more. So I brought Tetris back to Japan [where he had founded a successful software and gaming company]. Everybody went crazy playing it. In February of 1989, I met Alexey Pajitnov, the creator of Tetris. Boy, that was a match made in heaven!
Alexey Pajitnov and Henk Rogers
© The Tetris Company
Now, after nearly four decades of playing Tetris yourself and watching generations of top players, what do you think separates good players from the truly great ones?
The very, very best are dedicated. They're like athletes – they practice, they analyse their game, they improve. That’s what the top Tetris players do. I’m positive the Red Bull Tetris finalists will embody that same level of dedication!
So what’s your ultimate tip for Red Bull Tetris hopefuls?
Put in the hours. Players should get to a point where your body is playing, not your mind. You basically need to short-circuit the path from your eye to your hand. If you can play while having a conversation or thinking about something else, that’s when it becomes automatic.
And what are you looking forward to when the best Red Bull Tetris players from over 55 countries compete in the World Final this December?
Most people have no idea what great Tetris truly looks like. I’ve met so many people who think they're really good, but they haven't seen what top-level play really is, so I’m looking for “Ooh, ahh.” I want people to react and say, “Oh my gosh, this is so amazing.”
The Red Bull Tetris World Final will take the game to new heights – with over 2,000 drones at the Dubai Frame creating the first-ever live playable Tetris game in the sky. Find out more, and get all the World Final updates, right here.
