Formats Unpacked: Tetris

Hey,

Before we get into today’s format I wanted to give a quick book recommendation for all you format fans - you are format fans, right?

Steve Pratt’s excellent new book ‘Earn It: Unconventional Strategies For Brave Marketers’ is superb! Steve co-founded Pacific Content - one of the first branded podcast agencies in existence - and spent much of his career developing content formats and building strategies for getting attention. Check out his excellent Substack post on why formats matter. If you’re reading Steve, I’d love to have you unpacking a format for us. And that goes for all our subscribers too.

OK. On to this week’s format. With Tetris in the news, we thought it timely to unpack this classic game. Doing the unpacking is Samira Sohail. Samira runs Luxo Beta, a global product and venture studio where she helps digital products thrive at every stage—from the first spark of an idea to growth and pre-exit. Like myself, she’s ex-BBC and has her own podcast. Go check out her work!

Over to Samira… 

What’s it called?

Tetris - the iconic puzzle game that has captivated players and tested their skills since 1984.

What’s the format?

At first glance, Tetris appears deceptively simple. You’re given a 10x20 grid, and your task is to arrange falling tetrominoes—seven distinct block shapes—into complete horizontal lines. Each time you complete a line, it disappears, making room for more blocks. But the real magic of Tetris goes far beyond stacking shapes. The increasing speed builds tension, pushing players to think faster and make split-second decisions as the game escalates into chaos.

While the game centers on fitting shapes into a confined grid, that very structure opens endless possibilities for creativity, strategy, and emotional engagement. Much like the canvas for a painter or the chessboard for a strategist, the Tetris grid provides a structured playground for players to adapt, refine their approach, and develop their style. Within these boundaries, creativity thrives. Every block presents new opportunities and challenges, making each game a unique blend of order and unpredictability.

Just as in chess, where each move has long-term consequences, Tetris players must think ahead. You can’t predict which piece will fall next, but you can prepare for it, arranging your current blocks with an eye on future moves. This delicate balance between the randomness of falling tetrominoes and your strategic choices keeps the game endlessly engaging, while the heartbeat of Tetris comes from its iconic soundtrack, adapted from the r (peddlers), which began as a poem by Nikolay Nekrasov in 1861. Though already a favorite, Tetris immortalized it, turning it into a toe-tapping global sensation.

What’s the magic that makes it special?

The real magic of Tetris lies in how it intensifies as you improve. Much like a dancer speeding up their routine or a runner pushing their pace, Tetris forces you to keep up as the blocks fall faster. At the start, you have time to carefully consider where each piece goes, but as the pace accelerates, the luxury of thoughtful planning disappears. Your fingers move instinctively, and your decisions become split-second reactions to the flood of falling pieces.

It’s this rising intensity that draws players in, creating a sense of urgency that keeps the heart racing. You’re no longer just arranging blocks—you’re managing the chaos that builds with every new piece. Much like a chef juggling multiple tasks in a busy kitchen, you must make fast, efficient decisions to keep everything under control. Every mistake compounds, and the pressure mounts, forcing you to create order from the spiraling disorder.

The unpredictability of Tetris adds to its magic. Much like a tennis match, where you can’t predict the next shot your opponent will send your way, Tetris players can’t control which piece will fall next. What you can control, however, is how you respond. Do you play defensively, clearing one line at a time, or do you take a calculated risk, holding out for that perfect piece to land a “Tetris” and clear four lines at once? It’s a dance between risk and reward, where quick decisions and sharp reflexes determine the outcome. When you pull off a perfect move—whether it's a forehand winner or clearing a “Tetris”—the satisfaction is immense. In that moment, you’re not just reacting; you’re mastering the game.

At its core, Tetris is a quest for perfection. Clearing lines bring a momentary sense of accomplishment, but the game keeps pushing you forward, demanding more. There’s always another block, another decision, and the speed of the game ensures that those decisions come faster and faster. For those who relish a challenge, the ultimate goal is clearing four lines at once with the I-Block. It’s a move that requires both patience and precision where every element comes together in a satisfying moment of mastery.

Favourite Tetris Moment?

For me, the O-Block stands out in a game where chaos often reigns. Unlike other pieces, the O-Block is simple, symmetrical, and reliable. It doesn’t rotate, it fits perfectly into any gap, and it brings a sense of calm in a fast-paced world. When the screen is filled with complex shapes, the O-Block offers a moment of stability—something solid to build on amidst the turmoil.

There’s an almost meditative quality to the O-Block. Its perfect symmetry reflects the geometric ideals of Pythagoras, and in a game that thrives on chaos, it provides a brief moment of peace. Its bright yellow color feels optimistic, like a burst of sunlight cutting through a storm of falling blocks. Interestingly, in the Japanese personification of Tetris pieces, the O-Block is depicted as a cheerful mascot, sitting on a cloud—a fitting image for a piece that brings order to a frantic game. In a world of rotating, falling shapes, the O-Block offers a pause, a safe place to regroup and regain control.

Similar Formats?

The magic of simplicity within constraints that define Tetris is mirrored in other formats like Drawful, and Wordle, which use basic structures to engage players in creative problem-solving. Similarly, Cracking the Cryptic and The Repair Shop turn chaos into order, just as Tetris does when the game’s pace escalates. Even Battle Royale shares Tetris’s unpredictability, forcing players to make fast decisions in a constantly changing environment. These formats thrive on the balance between structure and creativity, drawing players in through simplicity and tension.

Tetris continues to captivate players worldwide because it seamlessly blends structured chaos with intuitive mechanics and creativity. Its 10x20 grid may seem simple, but within it lies an endless universe of strategy, unpredictability, and emotional highs that make it as timeless today as when it first debuted.

Thanks Samira.

If you’d like to unpack a favourite format Like Samira drop us a line. And go check out some of Samira’s work and find out what else she’s up to.

If you want to talk to Storythings about how we can help you hit that big button above. There are two simple first steps to choose from. First, we have a Formats Unpacked workshop that will help you come up with lots of format ideas to prototype. Secondly, we have a 15-day story-finding sprint in which we’ll find dozens of really compelling stories about your company, and make practical suggestions for how to test and scale story formats.

Both approaches have been tried and tested with some of the biggest brands, foundations and arts organisations on the planet.

Thanks for reading. See y’all next time,

Hugh

If you need more creative or strategic inspiration, please sign up for our other newsletters Attention Matters and the Storythings Newsletter. Join our network of over 12,000 creative explorers!