- Centre for Creative Learning turns a classic screen game into a body-in-motion experiment
- Circular Tetris fixes the game at the centre, compelling players to move around it
- MIT interns collaborate on a playful rethink of attention, learning, and screen habits
- Innovation shows how minimal design shifts can spark mindful, embodied interaction
NE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY BUREAU
GANDHINAGAR, JAN 29
In a subtle yet striking innovation that blends play, movement, and learning, the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) has reimagined the iconic video game Tetris into an interactive, physically engaging experience called Circular Tetris.
Developed at IIT Gandhinagar’s Centre for Creative Learning (CCL), the innovation flips conventional gaming logic on its head. Instead of the player sitting still while the game moves on a screen, Circular Tetris fixes the game at the centre—requiring the player to physically move around it to play. The result is a game that transforms passive screen time into an embodied, spatial experience.
The project was developed in collaboration with interns from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), underscoring CCL’s philosophy of hands-on exploration, creative inquiry, and playful experimentation across global academic boundaries.
“Tetris is something most people instantly recognise,” said Manish Jain, Teaching Professor and Principal Coordinator at CCL. “We asked a simple question—what if the player had to move instead of the game?”
That single question led to a deceptively simple intervention that encourages awareness, movement, and engagement without positioning itself as a fitness tool. Circular Tetris does not preach exercise; instead, it gently disrupts sedentary gaming habits by inviting players to rethink how they interact with digital interfaces.
Educators and designers observing the experiment say its strength lies in its minimalism. By altering just one fundamental assumption—who moves and who stays still—the project opens up broader conversations about attention, screen dependence, and learning in an increasingly digital world.
The innovation has drawn interest for showing how familiar technologies can be redesigned to create entirely new experiences, especially in educational settings. It also reflects IIT Gandhinagar’s growing reputation for interdisciplinary work that blends technology, design, and human behaviour.
With Circular Tetris, the Centre for Creative Learning demonstrates that innovation need not always be complex or hardware-heavy. Sometimes, a small shift in perspective is enough to make a decades-old game feel fresh, thoughtful, and physically alive.
