The Wise Ry Guy

Who remembers the board game Candyland?

I was forced to play it recently

It might be the dumbest game I’ve ever played

I mean obviously it’s geared toward children

But I’m still taking this opportunity to complain about it

Here’s a quick rundown about how it works:

you pick a card, and that card tells you where to move your piece

by the way what is that piece called?

avatar is an online thing

pawn? chit? I’m at a loss

my point is this

it’s pointless for anyone over the age of 7 to play that game

unless they’re playing with kids 7 or under

7 is a bit arbitrary by the way but it felt right

Very quickly, you’ll find that it is impossible to care about the game at all

God reciprocates with free will

“oh, you have to deal with all that stuff out of your control?

Here, some personal prerogative for you.”

This game does not reciprocate at all

there is no purpose nor personal stake in it

The Cards Decide All.

What should we want from a game?

After all, if we have full personal prerogative,

Then there is no game!

Oh my geez Calvin Ball!

wow, thank you Bill Watterson you genius

I’m inclined to say that even Monopoly is designed badly

That game is so boring

I have trouble having any personal stake in that one either

By personal stake I mean that the game has allowed the player enough autonomy that they are invested and feel a sense of possession and risk

That feeling of possession & the investment that follows motivate the participant

Of course, the idea of possession altogether is a bit of a total lie it seems

but I won’t chase that rabbit or fall down that squirrel hole today.

When someone’s “turn” comes around, they want more than a dice roll

Sorry has some cards that give you two options and offers two different paths; the game Life has many different paths to take

this brings me to dungeons & dragons

which I’ve never played

but I saw the two Community episodes in which they played the game so

The player gets complete autonomy and freedom of imagination on their turn

Their limits are their resources, the perhaps whimsical rules/perceptions of the leader person and the odds (determined by a roll of dice – fitting) of each action’s outcome.

There is a structure, but its design does not force the player a certain direction

This might be better than life! haha

In Calvin Ball, the player determines the underlying reality itself, which is both impossible and undesirable..

Candyland is a completely oppressive and unrewarding structure

Maybe Dungeons & Dragons simulates how life should be

minus the literal dungeons & dragons..