What Wired writer coined the term "Tetris effect" in 1994?

The Wired writer who coined the term “Tetris effect” in 1994 was Jeffrey Goldsmith.

Goldsmith introduced the phrase in his Wired article “This Is Your Brain on Tetris,” published in the magazine's May 1994 issue. He described the lingering mental imagery and pattern-fitting thoughts that can follow prolonged Tetris play, including imagining shapes fitting together in everyday surroundings.

The term later became associated with a broader psychological phenomenon: intensive engagement with an activity influencing dreams, perceptions, or thoughts after the activity has ended. Tetris players may picture falling blocks, mentally arrange objects into rows, or experience related imagery while falling asleep.

The effect is not the same thing as a Tetris game title. Tetris Effect, released in 2018, borrowed its name from the psychological expression. Garth Kidd was connected with a later 1996 discussion of after-images and related experiences, while Neil Gaiman's earlier poem described a similar phenomenon without establishing the commonly credited term.