{"id":1366,"date":"2024-11-16T17:17:50","date_gmt":"2024-11-16T15:17:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nononyathi.co.zw\/?p=1366"},"modified":"2024-12-22T16:44:46","modified_gmt":"2024-12-22T16:44:46","slug":"games-night-a-plethora-of-lessons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nononyathi.co.zw\/index.php\/games-night-a-plethora-of-lessons\/","title":{"rendered":"Games night – A plethora of lessons"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>5 Minute, 23 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
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Scrabble board game<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

We abandoned our first Scrabble game. On my part, I was using less tiles to get more points but that created a deadlock. A few days later, I was musing on this (as I always do with my random thoughts) and realised that it’s good to put in all you can to keep things going and finish the race (in this case, the game).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I never thought one game of Scrabble would become a life lesson for me. This is a game I had been playing several years before this particular encounter. My friend and I were playing Scrabble but we never finished the game. We reached a deadlock.

Here’s the thing, I was playing selfishly. I was using less tiles to try and get more points by extending or connecting words that were already on the board. Basically, putting in less to get more. If I had played my best tiles by creating new words despite of whether it gave me more or less points, then we’d probably have been able to finish the game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is what happens in our lives. Sometimes, we try to get more out of very little, effortless input. It could be studies, a work assignment, relationships, a sport, anything really. The biggest lesson I’ve drawn from this encounter is: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Do your best regardless of what you think you will get out of it. It’s better to finish the race, than reach an impasse. Play for the long haul!\u201c <\/p>\nQuotes by Miss Enn<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Working smart is not only getting more out of less, it also entails considering the bigger picture. This is a life lesson I picked from a single game of Scrabble and hence why I love games night. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Another kicker is Monopoly – playing the long game is not enough, you have to be willing to let others win so you can win. Personally, Monopoly is all about property trading in a fast-paced environment. And sometimes, forming alliances helps to get ahead. It’s a game that has taught me the importance of not making rash decisions even when I’m under pressure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s a chance game so you win some and lose some. <\/p>Quotes by miss enn<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Then there’s Candy Crush Saga (“Candy Crush”). A bonus game with hundreds of lessons. I play Candy Crush whenever I get the chance so months can pass without attempting to pass a level. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Whenever I see candy, I think Candy Crush \ud83d\ude42<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When playing Candy Crush, your first move can be the only move you make to win the game. On the other hand, your very last move can line up all your ducks in a row and give you a win. Sometimes, you have to get extra moves and boosters, to pass a certain level. And this is the case in our lives, we all need a support system – friends, family, colleagues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I tell you that Candy Crush has helped me be better in my work and school projects, would you believe me? Maybe not but here’s what I consider in all scenarios:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. What is the set task?
    This is the Candy Crush goal you’re required to accomplish to pass a certain level. Sometimes we make unnecessary moves to unlock blocked candy yet all you are required is to clear the one jelly that is clearly visible.

    Are there any tasks that you would normally complete but may be unnecessary for the current school\/work project? Having a bigger picture of the task at hand is necessary to ensure you don’t waste time on activities that don’t add value to your project.

    <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. What is the level of difficulty?
    Candy Crush has various levels of difficulty ranging from normal to nightmarishly hard levels. This applies to courses at school or projects at work, that is, if you work in project-based field like me.

    What is the complexity level of a course or project? This will help you determine whether you have enough resources to complete the project and whether you will need additional support which is available in various forms.

    <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. How much time are you expected to take to complete the task?
    In Candy Crush language this translates to, ‘how many moves do you have to pass the level successfully?’. You will have to plan to win the game within the allocated moves just like we would need to plan for time spent on a project from start to completion. When you have an exam coming up, you will need to plan accordingly to complete the coursework ahead of time and revise for the exam.

    <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Do you have anything to leverage?
    Candy Crush gives us boosters to help us navigate certain hard levels. Applying a similar mindset to work \/ school projects – find resources that you can leverage to complete your task efficiently.

    This could be revising past exam papers under exam conditions or referring to prior knowledge as a starting point for advanced courses. As for work projects, this includes referring to available technical support resources, consulting with more experienced colleagues, etc.

    <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Don’t waste valuable skills on unnecessary tasks
    How you use your gold bars in Candy Crush is important – don’t waste them on less difficult levels because you will have nothing left when you actually need them. The same goes for the tasks we spend our skills and energy on. Understand the depth of the skill required and delegate if necessary.

    <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Sense-checking
    Sometimes the last jelly is hidden and because we’ve been looking at the screen for long we can’t see it. But when we wait a bit, the candy covered with jelly starts flashing. Sometimes, my sister or son helps me finish the game or even suggest moves I wouldn’t have thought of taking to win the game.

    When we write essays or reports, our mistakes are always not visible because we have been working on the write-up for long. Either, take a step back and come back to it if there’s time for that or ask for a colleague to sense-check it for you. I remember using this principle in my Mandela Washington Fellowship application. I wrote my essays – parked them for a week or so – and revisited them with a fresh mind. This is one of the things that helped me get selected into the program.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    I could go on and on but today I leave you with these lessons from a game of Scrabble, Monopoly and Candy Crush Saga. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure>\n
    \n
    \n \n
    \n \n \"Happy\"\n <\/a>\n
    \n Happy <\/div>\n
    \n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
    \n \n \"Sad\"\n <\/a>\n
    \n Sad <\/div>\n
    \n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
    \n \n \"Excited\"\n <\/a>\n
    \n Excited <\/div>\n
    \n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
    \n \n \"Sleepy\"\n <\/a>\n
    \n Sleepy <\/div>\n
    \n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
    \n \n \"Angry\"\n <\/a>\n
    Angry<\/div>\n
    \n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
    \n \n \"Surprise\"\n <\/a>\n
    Surprise<\/div>\n
    \n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    We abandoned our first Scrabble game. On my part, I was using less tiles to get more points but that created a deadlock. A few days later, I was musing on this (as I always do with my random thoughts) and realised that it’s good to put in all you can to keep things going and finish the race (in this case, the game).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1408,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Playing games - board, field, mobile app and computer games - can bring meaningful lessons to our lives. In this post, I share some lessons I have picked from games. \n\nAny guesses on the mobile app game? Dig in to see if you're right. ","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[106],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.nononyathi.co.zw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Games-night.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1194,"url":"https:\/\/www.nononyathi.co.zw\/index.php\/get-to-know-me-tag-who-am-i\/","url_meta":{"origin":1366,"position":0},"title":"Get to know me tag: Who am I?","author":"Nono Nyathi","date":"25 July 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"As promised, I'm going to share a little bit about me so that you know the person behind the stories I tell.","rel":"","context":"In "Personal Growth"","block_context":{"text":"Personal Growth","link":"https:\/\/www.nononyathi.co.zw\/index.php\/category\/personal-growth\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Beauty","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nononyathi.co.zw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/rose-729509_1280.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nononyathi.co.zw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/rose-729509_1280.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nononyathi.co.zw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/rose-729509_1280.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nononyathi.co.zw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/rose-729509_1280.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nononyathi.co.zw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/rose-729509_1280.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1204,"url":"https:\/\/www.nononyathi.co.zw\/index.php\/grief-in-the-midst-of-a-pandemic\/","url_meta":{"origin":1366,"position":1},"title":"Grief in the midst of a pandemic","author":"Nono Nyathi","date":"8 August 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"This topic was unplanned but after losing a close family member a week ago, I thought I should share my experience. 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