Easy games are not fun

This post belongs to Player Mindset

Approach life like a game to make growth more engaging and strategic.

A game where you win by clicking one button is too simple, not fun.

Click this button

A game where you click a button 200 times to win is too tedious, not fun.

Click the button 200 times
0 / 200

A game where you win without doing anything has no engagement, not fun.

Congratulations, you won
You Win! You're amazing!

A game that’s impossible to win is impossible to win, not fun.1

Remember 20 numbers
Remember 20 numbers (1 second)

A game that doesn’t provide timely feedback is too slow and wastes time, not fun.

Come back in 7 days to press this button
Please come back in 7 days to press this button

Now try this game.

Click numbers from smallest to largest

What we want to play is this kind of game:

Not too simple that you feel insulted.
Not too hard that you want to give up.
Not too repetitive that you feel bored.
Not too long that you lose patience.

Just at the edge of your ability.
Just enough to require your focus.
Just enough to make you feel “one more try and I’ll succeed.”

Most of life’s challenges are this kind of game.

They look difficult, but most can actually be beaten.
You just need to redesign your approach and find the right rhythm.

If it’s too easy, it’s not fun anymore.2

Footnotes

  1. Unless you’re Tom Cruise.

  2. This is also why the game played by people born with golden spoons isn’t necessarily more fun than yours.