The Curiosity Game

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

My first suggestion relates to a passion of mine – curiosity. 

Let’s talk about The Curiosity Game – something that can be done online among far-flung friends and family or at home in a more analog way. 

Online:

There are probably a lot of things you’ve wondered about, the secret for this game is to turn curiosity into a competitive sport.

Think of something you’ve wondered about and look for a number related to it. For example, you might wonder how many times a politician has uttered a certain phrase or how many M&Ms candies have ever been made. Or maybe which US airline flies the oldest planes and how many of those planes are still flying (well, under normal circumstances). Or how many craft breweries there are in your state or your country. You get the idea.

Now you challenge others online to be the first to find the answer (and to cite their sources). It’s best to keep this to a manageable group, preferably friends and family. Maybe make a small digital image of a “winner’s certificate” that can be posted on the winner’s Facebook or other social media pages for bragging rights.

The point is to get everyone searching for answers. Then each new challenge can come from another member of the group. Maybe you keep a journal of your findings for everyone to look back on.

More Analog:

Had enough of staring at screens? Or maybe you have young children and you want to take this game analog or IRL.

Think of something that is countable and set everyone to seeing how many are in the house. For example, drawer handles, door knobs, taps, light fixtures, books, etc.

To extend the learning here have discussion, for example, about the history of doors or door knobs.

If you want to take it outside challenge everyone to figure out how lines are on a particular utility pole, how many flowers are in a particular garden, how many bricks or pavers are in a path, how many trees are on your lot, etc.

To extend the learning have an adult or older child explain the purpose of each line on that utility pole. Don’t know? Look it up! Or have a discussion about how bricks are made, what concrete is or what types of trees you have (again, look it up).

The point of all this is to stimulate curiosity – one of the greatest of human attributes – and, sadly, the one we tend to use not nearly enough.

Got your own variations of The Curiosity Game? Let me know, I’d love to hear from you

-Mike Johansson