68 / 133
The Stoplight Method Applied to Games
At the beginning of this chapter, we mentioned the “click-clack” phenomenon. This is the lively
sound made during a game of Four in a Row by the playing disks being dropped in rapid
succession into the frame, when children are playing at top speed and not taking time to think.
The “click-clack” exemplifies the problem of haste that’s dealt with by the Stoplight Method. In
effect, this problem of making hasty moves is characteristic of children, and in other thinking
games likewise. The techniques we’ve mentioned for preventing overly hasty moves in thinking
games (like counting to ten or writing down the moves) are tools for improving the first stage of
the Stoplight Method.
Now we’ll see how the other stages of the Method can be applied in thinking games. In order to
do this, we’ll get to know the inner workings of two games. Note the way we carry out the analysis
that goes on in the second stage of the Stoplight Method. Try this approach for yourself when
you play games with your children. It’s important to deepen your understanding of the Stoplight
Method. Remember, this is not just a way of preventing hasty action. The Stoplight Method is
primarily a system for developing skills in paying attention and analyzing your surroundings.
Thinking games present a complex challenge, that at first glance we’re not at all sure how to deal
with. We’re confronted with a game board and pieces, with multiple options for playing. How
do we decide what to do? How do we distinguish among the various possibilities for moving our
pieces? In which direction should we advance?
Do these questions remind you of anything? Complex… multiple options… two important
concepts for understanding different ways of life in our modern age. The world in which our
children are growing up is pluralistic in its values and has room for a wide range of lifestyles.
And it’s not only the lifestyles that have multiplied; we’re witness to a great proliferation in many
aspects of life, beginning with the seemingly unlimited quantity of information available through
the Internet, the vast array of television channels, and the growing variety of professions and
occupations in which a person can choose to engage. In a world with such an enormous range
of possibilities, the decisions that the individual must make are difficult and complex. How are
we to navigate our way?
As we’ve learned in the Stoplight Method, the proper approach to go about making decisions is
first to stop and understand the surrounding environment in which we’re operating. In thinking
games as well, children confront a very wide range of possible moves, and it isn’t always clear
what would be the advantage of each of them. Just as military strategists deal with evaluation
the field of operations before they deploy their troops, we have to analyze the game board before
we decide upon our next move.
68