unspoken rules
He was so curious about our 3D Tic-Tac-Toe set, I figured why not. How complicated is tic-tac-toe?
Very.
Forget strategy; forget even the concept of winning. As we played, my son gave me a step-by-step education on the numerous possibilities for invalidating a game.
It turns out board games require a host of principles we take for granted:
- Each player uses only one set of pieces, X’s or O’s. You can’t switch pieces in the middle of a game; if you do want to switch, you need to start a new game.
- Take turns: each player plays only once, then waits for the other to play — even if the other takes a while to decide on a move.
- Place only one piece at a time, and only on designated spots on the board — not between spots, on top of other pieces, or on the board margins.
- Leave your pieces in position once they’re placed. Do the same for the other player’s pieces.
I was amazed to discover, as my son bulldozed through them one by one, how many unspoken rules exist in even the simplest game.
I was even more amazed by how quickly and eagerly my son learned them. Previously, the only rules that had ever governed his play dealt with effectiveness (how to get a toy to work) and conservation (how not to break it).
Unlike other toys, this toy couldn’t be played with any old way. (Well, it could, but that wasn’t its point. ) With 3D Tic-Tac-Toe he engaged in an entirely new manner of play, one that regulated behavior in multiple meticulous ways — and he loved it, loved the intellectual, mother-may-I challenge of figuring out and abiding by what was and wasn’t allowed. Within twenty minutes we were taking regular turns.
But not to win; strategy could wait for another day. Laying the foundation for hundreds of games to come was thrilling enough.
