Monday, October 28, 2002
Checkers Anyone
Next time someone asks you if you want to play checkers, start by asking them which version they want to play.
I first learned about the power of this question maybe 35 years ago, when I encountered R. C. Bell's Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations. The book led me to the realization that there really isn't a "real" game of, for example, checkers - there's checkers as played in the States and checkers as played in Italy and checkers as played in England. (see this site to learn how to play these International versions.).
Then I discovered that by deciding which version we wanted to play that day, we were somehow making each other more important than the game. We could decide that we didn't like a particular version or that we wanted to change a rule or try something new. And in making that kind of decision, the game became a tool for building a relationship, a thing we could explore together, side-by-side, not as opponents, but as players, looking for a way to have fun together.
Which, ultimately, let me to understand the nature and nurture of the Fun Community - all because of my discovering that there's more than one way to play everything.
I first learned about the power of this question maybe 35 years ago, when I encountered R. C. Bell's Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations. The book led me to the realization that there really isn't a "real" game of, for example, checkers - there's checkers as played in the States and checkers as played in Italy and checkers as played in England. (see this site to learn how to play these International versions.).
Then I discovered that by deciding which version we wanted to play that day, we were somehow making each other more important than the game. We could decide that we didn't like a particular version or that we wanted to change a rule or try something new. And in making that kind of decision, the game became a tool for building a relationship, a thing we could explore together, side-by-side, not as opponents, but as players, looking for a way to have fun together.
Which, ultimately, let me to understand the nature and nurture of the Fun Community - all because of my discovering that there's more than one way to play everything.
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