The Same Game, Once More
"The work gets done. But the same trouble comes back."
That was the title of one of terang's Labor Hack articles.
In the world of work, the same trouble twice is a bad thing.
It means the lesson from last time did not stay.
At the game table, the story runs the other way.
A game ends.
Someone says it.
"One more time."
The same box opens again.
Playing the same thing again is the joy here.
The second time is not the same game as the first.
The rules take less time to explain.
Hands move faster.
And above all, you can see the other players now.
That person hides a strong hand early on.
That person is bad at lying.
The first time was time for learning the game.
From the second time, it becomes time for playing with people.
Bluffing games show this most clearly.
In a game of traded lies like Cockroach Poker, the first lie is guesswork.
The second lie carries a reading of the other person's habits.
The one being lied to remembers how they were fooled the first time too.
The same bundle of cards, but the air at the table is something else.
The same failure can repeat too.
Falling into the same trap, twice.
At work, that would be embarrassing.
At the table, it turns into laughter.
"Fooled again."
The person who says it is laughing too.
A repeated failure turns into a memory the table shares.
Winners and losers both want to say "one more time."
The loser wants to win it back.
The winner wants to check the win was not luck.
Both feelings point at the same box.
The box is not closed. It opens again.
The repetition work wants to erase is the repetition play invites in.
The same game, once more.
As long as those words exist, the table's time does not end.