Tetris

Yes, Tetris, people I kid you not. I'm going to write a blog about the greatest video game I have ever played (then again, I don't play a lot of video games) and relate it to economics. Because it really does relate to econ, it's not just something I play to procrastinate doing my econ.

For those of you who are not familiar with this game, it's rather simple. There are seven different Tetrimonoes, each made of four blocks. They fall from the top of the screen to the bottom. The player's goal is to make full lines blocks. When this happens, the line disappears and the other Tetrimonoes fall. The game is over when no more blocks can fit on the screen. If you want a full demonstration, go to www.freetetris.org, but I warn you, it's addicting!

So yes, this does relate to economics. First of all, opportunity cost. A player only knows one Tetrimonoe beyond the one currently in play. Since the Tetrimonoes fall in a random order, it is impossible to predict the ones that will come next. Therefore, a person might decide to use the L-shaped block to clear three lines, when the long skinny one comes up later and can clear four. Instead, when the player gets this block, it is too late and they cannot use it it it's full potential. There is major information asymmetry at work here: the computer knows what order the blocks will fall, but the player does not, making the game challenging.

There are also some externalities related to playing Tetris. If I were to play this game at school, it eats school bandwith and causes computers around the building to run slower, creating an issue for others. After playing Tetris for a long time, a player can experience the Tetris effect, meaning that after stopping play, you see little Tetrimonoes falling and fitting into shapes. Another externality is that Tetris improves cognitive function and spacial skills. This is a good thing for me!

So with that, I think I'm going to go play some Tetris.