We are part of a game

Everyone needs skills to be successful in life. The more of them you hone, the more successful you will be. Learning life lessons from games is not a new idea—pilots have been doing it for a very long time, like the simulation game “Flight Simulator.” It teaches skills without making it obvious. Through play, we can obtain valuable skills that will help when the playing stops and reality takes over.

While spending the time playing Bejeweled, which is a software game program that I recently downloaded from a gaming site, I started to see that there was more to the game than the game itself. Sure, it is fun to build roller coasters that make riders vomit and conquer villages to rule the world, but the underlying skills needed to win this game is far different than those needed for other types of video games.

Bejeweled has everything a good game should have: It’s colorful, easy to learn, has progressive levels of difficulty, and, oddly enough, features incredibly satisfying sound effects. You score points by swapping gems to make rows of three or more. Keep going until the game alerts you that you have no more moves; then decide if your score is good enough to upload and compare against others.

Unlike other video games in which each level is always the same and repetitious play will allow you to win eventually with your eyes closed (or close to it), Bejeweled take a different course each time you play. By changing your strategy, you force the software to play out a different series of events related to your new strategy. What you do first, and then the sequence of actions after that, will all affect the final outcome.

The lesson here is that the ability to form a strategy offers the best chance to arrive at the conclusion you want. How do you teach that to someone in any way other than a game?

Logical thinking is part of strategy, as you need to think logically to form a strategy, but it is more useful when your strategy is not working. What needs to be changed to get back on track? If you change something half way through the game, how much of the rest of your strategy has to change?

The next step to logical thinking – what happens next? This is a great skill to have, thinking ahead to the results of your actions. How many people do you know that can really do this well? Especially for teens, it is crucial. Consequences are everywhere, for every decision we make, including what to wear, eat, say, play, and what route to take to get to work or school. Of course, greater consequences are attached to more serious decisions. It is one thing to teach someone that the consequence of breaking the rules is punishment. However, how many parents are truly consistent with punishment? How many threaten a harsher punishment than they wind up enforcing? The trick is to get them to relate that idea to real life!

You are in charge. The whole premise of this game is to put you into the situation. There is little, if any, direction as to what to do while you are in the game. Leadership is learned when the initial strategy isn’t working and the player has to change something. They assume the leadership role because their actions are going to be followed. This is where understanding consequences ties into leadership.

However, leadership does not mean that you have to tell everyone what to do all the time. You can translate it to real life, when you are in a situation that needs to be changed. You can strategize, think logically, understand consequences, and take a leadership role, then move the situation in a different, hopefully more positive, direction. Kids and teens who learn through this game may have a better chance in averting potentially bad situations by taking a stand and being a leader – even if no one else follows.

For me, there are four things that are certain in this life: death, taxes, work, and me staying up until a.m. everyday so just I can play Bejeweled. My friend once likened this puzzler to “crack cocaine covered in milk chocolate”, and I couldn’t agree more. I’ve seen tons of people – young and old – hooked on this wicked diversion. It is habit forming, it’s evil, and was probably designed by a game developer on a bad day… it’s “Bejeweled.” And it’s a must have—just don’t forget to quit your day job.

The views expressed are strictly that of the author. Fajardo is the editor of the Saipan Tribune.