I love Russian automotive culture. When their not using stripped-down Soviet-era cars as curling stones, they’re doing something equally ridiculous like embedding Tetris in the operating systems of their vans.
Tetris, the quintessential Russian video game, is apparently — and inexplicably — included as an Easter Egg in some models of the GAZelle Next vans. To play, you need to perform the automotive version of the Konami Code, which is to say click the odometer and clutch a specific number of times while revving the engine. That makes the game appear on the screen behind the steering wheel. Here’s a closer look:
And props to Jalopnik for going the extra mile and translating the narration on this video:
1) Turn the ignition on 2) Start a car 3) Activate the right turn signal for three blinks 4) Two click the trip odometer reset twice (the computer translated this as “two times distant,” but this is what I think that means5) Push the clutch five times 6) Rev the engine to 2000 RPM while turning on the left turn indicator
Sadly, the game isn’t installed in every GAZelle: Tetris is set up on the car’s dashboard during the factory check up but only a few vehicles are lucky enough to be sold with the game.
Of course, most people would prefer to play Tetris on their phones (or their Gameboys), not awkwardly hunched over the steering wheel of a Novgorod-produced medium duty van. Not to mention the dangers posed by distracting oneself with laying bricks when you should be paying attention to the road ahead. Topping out while doing 110 kilometers-per-hour down the federal highway is probably “game over” in more ways than one.