Pandemic, Road Rage, and High School Musical

Owlet and I spent Christmas at my parents' house, and we played a lot of games. They have a whole closet full of over 100 games, and we played Oodles, Polar Dare, Careers, Loaded Questions, The Game of Things, The 5 Second Rule, Link, Pit, Bubble Talk, The Great Dalmuti, Mastermind, Eat Poop You Cat, and even Mr. Mouth. Not to mention all the Wii, Super Nintendo, and Sega Genesis games we played, or the Chopped! cooking competition we held. But the game we played 4 times, the game Owlet and I got for Christmas, was Pandemic.

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Pandemic is different from all those other games in that it's not competitive; it's cooperative. You aren't trying to beat the other players. In fact, if they don't win, you don't win. Everyone either wins or loses together. The struggle is against the game itself. Your goal as a team is to cure 4 diseases before the time runs out. Each player has different abilities, and you're free to discuss what actions to take.

I really like this game because 1) Owlet can't beat me every time, and 2) it's a lot like life. Or at least a lot like life should be.

1 Corinthians 12 teaches:

25 That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.

26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.

27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

Life is full of societal schism like keeping up with the Joneses, competing for jobs, and war. But as High School Musical (the first one—I escaped before they could torture me further) said, "We're all in this together." We're all one big family, and we work together toward a better life.

This is not a new concept, but it came to me in greater force earlier this week as I was driving to work during rush hour. I wouldn't say I have road rage, but I do often get frustrated when other drivers don't act like I'd like them to act, and I don't always let cars in in front of me. This week I was trying to justify this attitude to myself, telling myself that driving was like a video game and my frustration was like what one might feel when things go wrong in MarioKart. And then the Pandemic analogy hit me, and I realized that I should look out for everyone, not just myself. That I should not only let people into my lane more, but that I should also think about other drivers in a different way. Sometimes drivers make mistakes, but I should forgive them as easily as I want other players to forgive me when I make a wrong move in Pandemic. And sometimes people intentionally try to "win" at the cost of others. But then I shouldn't feel mad, just sorry for them. Because they aren't winning the game. The only people who win the game are those who try to help everyone win. And when I remember that and act accordingly, I'm winning too.

-El-ahrairah