Players -5minutefreewrite

For https://steemit.com/contest/@freewritehouse/day-45-selfie-freewrite-celebration-contest-prize-114-36-sbd

I have played many games over the years. The first time I knew that I was destined to be a player of games was when I was playing monopoly, a game I knew many people hated, and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the challenge of making good deals that were beneficial to both parties and not to whomever wasn't involved in the deal. That's the big challenge. It's hard to convince people that they're getting equal value. Everybody overestimates the value of their own holdings and underestimates the value of others' or they can see the benefit that someone else will get in a deal, but they can't see the benefit to themselves. This is problematic.

Now I play mostly games that involve other strategic problem solving. Things that don't require other players to agree with your choice. It's not as much an exercise in negotiations, which I think is a key to developing useful social skills, but it still does what games are intended to do, engage the brain in activity and give it rewards for being such a useful organ.

There's laughter and joy all around us. There's paper and plastic all around us. There's sleep all around us... closing in. Filling us with...

I know I know. It's so cliche. Parents are always sleepy. We really gotta do something about that.