Comments on: Taking Turns

By: michael

michael — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 03:55:32 +0000

my daughter learned how to think strategically and sequencely from playing candyland. She also really got away from “I have to be the winner”… She would take all the cards and secretly order them and then bring the game in to play at first with one of us and then both. She took great pleasure in learning how to orchestrate our game experience, and of course, she would always win. The games got more and more outrageous as she learned how to stack the deck deeper and deeper. She ended up experiencing the game as a series of oh boy and oh nos- soon, winning mattered less than the ride. Interesting seeing all this in a 3 to 4 year old. Also she learned alot about deception and bluffing. The sense of mastery she got through controlling all the parameters makes her fun to play games with as an adult, although that isn’t one we play anymore.

By: a logical fallacy

a logical fallacy — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 21:27:45 +0000

Well that was suitably nonsensical. I shouldn’t read before coffee.
I wanted to say: “Nice website, enjoy the read, Johnson annoys me in general.” :)

By: a logical fallacy

a logical fallacy — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 18:26:55 +0000

Johnson is notorious for his leaps of logic and shortcuts – “Look I made a strawman and now I can tear it down.” I always wonder about authors so desperate to convey a point in their writing that they fail to adequately present an argument.

I’m glad to see Costik’s far better take referenced here as well as on kottke today (as you were as well).
It’s nice to know that not everyone buys hook line and sinker into the NOUN. VERB. STEAMPUNK. ramblings of BB and it’s cult of the amateur adoring bloggers.

By: JMO

JMO — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 17:08:54 +0000

I think what Steve was getting at about Candyland is that it is a decision-free game. It is the equivalent of rolling a dice ten times to see who can get the greatest total. It is 100% luck, 0% skill.

With most other games comes a decision-making process. In Battleship, you make your own picks, and you learn more information that could influence your next decision. This teaches kids far more, even at a basic level. You are forced to make a choice instead of letting the dice or deck make your decisions. A decision-making game is far more valuable (and fun over time) than one of pure chance.

By: russell

russell — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 19:56:09 +0000

And of course the first move in Battleships isn’t random at all. Because you can make some good decisions based on psychology and knowledge of your opponent. As Derren Brown demonstrates by consistently winning at Rock Paper Scissors, people tend to behave in certain ways – and the way they place their ships in Battleships is one example. Some people hug the edges, some the middle. Some try and double-bluff you. There are Battleship placements that look ‘unnatural’ when revealed – those tend to be the successful ones.