This is Alpha, the first-born, when he was 2YO.
This is Beta, the second-born, when he was about 2YO.
This is Gamma, the third-born, when he was about 18MO.
The Five Hows
Jan
16
2012
In the business world, there’s a quality-control technique called “The Five Whys”. It involves asking “Why?” to solve problems. I am tempted to mock the concept (e.g. “my 3-year-old came up with that on his own”), but that is not the point of this post.
Rather, I’ve adapted the concept for learning how to play a new game. This was inspired by my attempt to play Seven Wonders recently. The guy who brought the game did a valiant effort of trying to explain how to play, but I didn’t really understand it until after we played.
I call my technique “The Five Hows”. Other people may want to learn a game differently, but I have found this is how my mind wants to work. When attempting to learn how to play a game that is new to you, ask “How?” five times:
- How do you win the game?
- How do you that?
- How do you that?
- How do you that?
- How do you that?
Just adapt questions 2-5 to refer to the answer given in the previous question, and that’s all there is to it.
I’ll give an example, using the card game Hearts.
How do you win the game?
By scoring the fewest points
How do you score points?
By winning cards of the heart suit (or the queen of spades)
How do you win heart cards?
By playing the highest ranking card of the suit that was lead. You take all the cards that were played that hand and count any points.
How do you play a card?
By laying it face-up on the table, following suit if possible. If you are supposed to lead the hand, you decide the suit.
How do you end the game?
When someone reaches at least 100 points, the game is over. That person is the loser.
More complicated games might require more hows, but you get the idea.
But in case you don’t get the idea: the idea is to start with the big picture and work down. Don’t start with the details of how to play, start with the reason of why to play.
If all else fails, just play a practice round.
A wise man will hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,
Proverbs 1:5
This little article thingy was written by Some Guy sometime around 7:02 am and has been carefully placed in the Fun category.
