Tetris > Trauma

🎮 Can a video game actually heal your brain after trauma? Turns out… yes.

Laura Khalil

10 Nov 2025 — 2 min read

🎮 Can a video game actually heal your brain after trauma? Turns out… yes.

Researchers at Oxford and Karolinska Institutet discovered something remarkable:

When survivors of car accidents played Tetris within six hours of the event, they experienced fewer intrusive flashbacks in the following week.

After trauma, our brains start “consolidating” memories, aka locking them in.

But Tetris, with its fast-moving, visual gameplay, interrupts that process.

Essentially, it gives the brain a competing task that prevents distressing images from “sticking.”

In the study, patients were first asked to recall the event briefly, then play Tetris for a few minutes in the ER.

The result?

✅ Fewer flashbacks.

✅ Quicker recovery.

✅ Less post-traumatic stress.

It’s an early study, but continues to reinforce what we already know.

Games aren’t just entertainment. They can be medicine for the mind. Play helps us heal. It builds resilience. And maybe—just maybe—it can help rewrite how we recover from pain.

💡

At Once Upon a Roll, we design games that unlock team trust and collaboration. Whether you need a 2-hour spark or a full-day transformation, we tailor every adventure to your goals. Email us to learn more: hello@onceuponaroll.com

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