To me the most special part of competition is rising to challenge and finding a way to win when it looks like all roads lead to a loss. While this story involves a kids game, it was one of the most amazing demonstrations I've been involved in that dramatizes how, with the right determination, you can manufacture a victory against all odds. I know this is a little tough to follow, but for those who like this kind of thing I think you'll get a kick out of it.
Most of you are probably familiar with the game "Guess Who". For those who aren't but want to enjoy this story here is a quick summary: http://howdoyouplayit.com/guess-game-rules-play-guess-who/
I was playing this game with my 8 year old daughter. The problem was that the rules state the younger player gets to guess first every time. After a few games it became clear this was a prohibitive advantage. It usually only took 4 or 5 guesses to determine the opponent's character, so being a move behind meant I would have to get very lucky to have a shot to win. Now I know, she's my daughter, and the rules are designed so she can have some fun and beat the old man. But I absolutely hate losing, especially when I feel like the deck is being stacked against me. It's a helpless feeling. But I was just following the rules, playing 'level 1' Guess Who, and my daughter was trouncing me. I knew I had to do something, but what?!?
Level 2: The out of turn guess. During the next game she got a big lead, as always. On the next question she asked she excitedly flipped down all of the characters standing except for one. I looked at my board and there were still three characters standing on my side, so I wasn't ready to try to win the game. Or was I? It was obvious I didn't have time for another guess, she was clearly about to win on her next turn. Isn't a 1/3 chance better than a certain loss? So I did what I had to do. I took a deep breath, then picked a character randomly and asked "Is your player Tom?" Lo and behold, I had guessed correctly! She was shocked and asked how I knew. I admitted that I didn't know, but explained I wanted to give myself a chance and it paid off. She was partly disappointed that she lost when she thought she had the game locked up, but she understood my reasoning. She wanted a rematch!
Level 3: Inducing an incorrect guess. The next game my daughter acquired a huge lead again. She was down to 3 characters, I still had 8 left on my turn. I asked my next question (does your person have a hat...) and it only helped me eliminate 2 people. At that moment I knew I couldn't catch her. I also knew that guessing would be very difficult as I'd probably be guessing on my next turn and I'd only be 1/6 to get it right. Then I had a flash of brilliance! Maybe I could bluff my daughter into thinking I was about to win, and induce an incorrect game losing guess on her part! So instead of just flipping down the two people I was able to eliminate, I just went 'all in', and flipped down 7 people excitedly, leaving just one character remaining. Then I just stared at her. Of course you and I know that had she taken her next turn as usual and the move came back to me I would've been at a complete loss. I would have to just resign or take a truly wild 1/6 guess that the person I had left was correct. But it didn't come to that. She saw that I had one guy left standing, and just as I hoped she put it together. After seeing me guess last game, she decided to use my strategy and guess prematurely. She picked one of the three people at random and was incorrect. I won! I was so proud of myself I showed her what I had done. She couldn't believe I tricked her like that but was laughing about it. Once again she demanded a rematch.
Level 3. Leaving decoys. Well, finally luck was on my side. Despite going second I caught the right questions and was able to jump out to a lead. We both had 4 people left standing but I was on move, and my next question allowed me to eliminate 3 and identify her person. I started to flip the eliminated characters down but then I hesitated. Why? Why did I need to flip them down? I know in my head which character she has. I can remember that. The other tiles won't shark me. Why would I want to tip her off that I am about to win? All I'd be doing is allowing her a free guess! So I flipped just one tile down, leaving two decoys making her think she had more time. Sure enough she didn't take a shot at the win, and instead asked a routine question. Then on my next turn I announced her character and won the game. She was surprised once again, asking how I did that. So I filled her in on how I had left the two decoys to keep her off my scent. She laughed again, but nevertheless I could tell she really wanted to beat me. Another rematch.
Level 4: Decoys to induce an incorrect guess. OK, again she's killing me, again I'm hopelessly behind. I wanted to go back to the strategy I used in level 2 and make her think I was about to win to induce an incorrect guess. But I didn't think she'd fall for it again if I flipped all the way down to one character. Besides, when I actually WAS about to win I didn't flip down to one character, I had left the decoys. Hmm. Then it hit me. Maybe I could flip to 3 characters left but make her think I was down to one and just disguising it. So I asked my question, and when she answered I excitedly started flipping down tiles until I had 3 left, then I reached out like I was going to flip down more and then dramatically (bad acting) hesitated, and pulled my hand back leaving 3 tiles standing. It worked! She assumed I was about to win and was just leaving the additional tiles up as a decoy as I had done before, so she then took a wild guess to give herself a chance and was wrong. I won again! When I explained how I had tricked her again we both laughed until we were out of breath. She excitedly retold the story to her brother and sister and a good time was had by all.
All of the other 3rd graders at school just play traditionally, asking questions, flipping tiles. I told my daughter to take what she had learned and empty all of them. The more important lesson was not to do what everyone else does if it won't get you where you want to go. Rather, figure out where you want to be and keep digging until you find a way to get there...
Most of you are probably familiar with the game "Guess Who". For those who aren't but want to enjoy this story here is a quick summary: http://howdoyouplayit.com/guess-game-rules-play-guess-who/
I was playing this game with my 8 year old daughter. The problem was that the rules state the younger player gets to guess first every time. After a few games it became clear this was a prohibitive advantage. It usually only took 4 or 5 guesses to determine the opponent's character, so being a move behind meant I would have to get very lucky to have a shot to win. Now I know, she's my daughter, and the rules are designed so she can have some fun and beat the old man. But I absolutely hate losing, especially when I feel like the deck is being stacked against me. It's a helpless feeling. But I was just following the rules, playing 'level 1' Guess Who, and my daughter was trouncing me. I knew I had to do something, but what?!?
Level 2: The out of turn guess. During the next game she got a big lead, as always. On the next question she asked she excitedly flipped down all of the characters standing except for one. I looked at my board and there were still three characters standing on my side, so I wasn't ready to try to win the game. Or was I? It was obvious I didn't have time for another guess, she was clearly about to win on her next turn. Isn't a 1/3 chance better than a certain loss? So I did what I had to do. I took a deep breath, then picked a character randomly and asked "Is your player Tom?" Lo and behold, I had guessed correctly! She was shocked and asked how I knew. I admitted that I didn't know, but explained I wanted to give myself a chance and it paid off. She was partly disappointed that she lost when she thought she had the game locked up, but she understood my reasoning. She wanted a rematch!
Level 3: Inducing an incorrect guess. The next game my daughter acquired a huge lead again. She was down to 3 characters, I still had 8 left on my turn. I asked my next question (does your person have a hat...) and it only helped me eliminate 2 people. At that moment I knew I couldn't catch her. I also knew that guessing would be very difficult as I'd probably be guessing on my next turn and I'd only be 1/6 to get it right. Then I had a flash of brilliance! Maybe I could bluff my daughter into thinking I was about to win, and induce an incorrect game losing guess on her part! So instead of just flipping down the two people I was able to eliminate, I just went 'all in', and flipped down 7 people excitedly, leaving just one character remaining. Then I just stared at her. Of course you and I know that had she taken her next turn as usual and the move came back to me I would've been at a complete loss. I would have to just resign or take a truly wild 1/6 guess that the person I had left was correct. But it didn't come to that. She saw that I had one guy left standing, and just as I hoped she put it together. After seeing me guess last game, she decided to use my strategy and guess prematurely. She picked one of the three people at random and was incorrect. I won! I was so proud of myself I showed her what I had done. She couldn't believe I tricked her like that but was laughing about it. Once again she demanded a rematch.
Level 3. Leaving decoys. Well, finally luck was on my side. Despite going second I caught the right questions and was able to jump out to a lead. We both had 4 people left standing but I was on move, and my next question allowed me to eliminate 3 and identify her person. I started to flip the eliminated characters down but then I hesitated. Why? Why did I need to flip them down? I know in my head which character she has. I can remember that. The other tiles won't shark me. Why would I want to tip her off that I am about to win? All I'd be doing is allowing her a free guess! So I flipped just one tile down, leaving two decoys making her think she had more time. Sure enough she didn't take a shot at the win, and instead asked a routine question. Then on my next turn I announced her character and won the game. She was surprised once again, asking how I did that. So I filled her in on how I had left the two decoys to keep her off my scent. She laughed again, but nevertheless I could tell she really wanted to beat me. Another rematch.
Level 4: Decoys to induce an incorrect guess. OK, again she's killing me, again I'm hopelessly behind. I wanted to go back to the strategy I used in level 2 and make her think I was about to win to induce an incorrect guess. But I didn't think she'd fall for it again if I flipped all the way down to one character. Besides, when I actually WAS about to win I didn't flip down to one character, I had left the decoys. Hmm. Then it hit me. Maybe I could flip to 3 characters left but make her think I was down to one and just disguising it. So I asked my question, and when she answered I excitedly started flipping down tiles until I had 3 left, then I reached out like I was going to flip down more and then dramatically (bad acting) hesitated, and pulled my hand back leaving 3 tiles standing. It worked! She assumed I was about to win and was just leaving the additional tiles up as a decoy as I had done before, so she then took a wild guess to give herself a chance and was wrong. I won again! When I explained how I had tricked her again we both laughed until we were out of breath. She excitedly retold the story to her brother and sister and a good time was had by all.
All of the other 3rd graders at school just play traditionally, asking questions, flipping tiles. I told my daughter to take what she had learned and empty all of them. The more important lesson was not to do what everyone else does if it won't get you where you want to go. Rather, figure out where you want to be and keep digging until you find a way to get there...
