The tidy pattern instinct

[nancylebov]

rinku wrote about games which appeal to male instincts of hunting and fighting vs. games which appeal to female instincts of nurturing. This leaves out a large category of games like tetris, minesweeper, and Ring Pass Not that appeal to the desire to get things to match neatly. [1]

I think this is an instinct, or else those games wouldn't be such timesucks. I don't know of any animals that show signs of sharing it, and I suspect civilization would be impossible without it.

[1] I believe tetris also appeals to the desire to drop things from a height. Dropping things and having them slot neatly into place is a pleasure that ordinary life just does not offer.