Tap a claim on the ring to put it at the centre.
← Players say they want a fair match, but what they actually want is to…
13 connected korrents · 11 moments from 3 Jul 2013 to 23 Sept 2026.
Everything filed under video games
video games
Everything filed under curiosity
curiosity
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management
Everything filed under benchmarks
benchmarks
Everything filed under mental models
mental models Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Read this korrent: Players say they want a fair match, but what they actually want is to be slightly better than the other side — and no matchmaker can deliver that. Players say they want a fair match, but what they actually want is to be slightly better than the other side — and no matchmaker can deliver that. Last stated 7 months ago
11 Mar 2026
JK
Jeff Kaplan — holds since 2026-03-11 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Good teams keep asking what could make something better and how it could be different, but not just for difference's sake. — tap to centre the map on it Good teams keep asking what could make something better and how it could be different, but not just for difference's sake. Last stated 4 weeks ago
23 Sept 2026
GT
Geoff Teehan — holds since 2026-09-23 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A team performs better when an outsider introduces social friction, even though the group believes it performed worse. — tap to centre the map on it A team performs better when an outsider introduces social friction, even though the group believes it performed worse. Last stated 2 months ago
3 Sept 2026
TH
Tim Harford — holds since 2026-09-03 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Expecting a reasonable baseline from people is fair — tap to centre the map on it Expecting a reasonable baseline from people is fair Last stated 3 years ago
12 Mar 2024
DH
David Heinemeier Hansson — holds since 2024-03-12 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Playing games where others have the aptitudes and one does not is close to certain to lose, so one has to find where one has an edge and stay inside one’s circle of competence — tap to centre the map on it Playing games where others have the aptitudes and one does not is close to certain to lose, so one has to find where one has an edge and stay inside one’s circle of competence
CM
Charlie Munger — holds since c. 1994 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A comedy world cannot run on jokes alone: forty hours of humour needs story, heart and drama underneath it or it stops working. — tap to centre the map on it A comedy world cannot run on jokes alone: forty hours of humour needs story, heart and drama underneath it or it stops working. Last stated 12 months ago
31 Oct 2025
DH
Dan Houser — holds since 2025-10-31 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A game is a machine built around uncertainty. — tap to centre the map on it A game is a machine built around uncertainty. Last stated 12 months ago
3 Nov 2025
RK
Raph Koster — holds since 2025-11-03 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A game is an equation between two personalities, the world's and the protagonist's, and the friction between them is where the experience comes from. — tap to centre the map on it A game is an equation between two personalities, the world's and the protagonist's, and the friction between them is where the experience comes from. Last stated 12 months ago
31 Oct 2025
DH
Dan Houser — holds since 2025-10-31 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A profit motive inside a game holds players there long past the point where they are still enjoying it. — tap to centre the map on it A profit motive inside a game holds players there long past the point where they are still enjoying it. Last stated 8 years ago
30 Jan 2019
RK
Raph Koster — holds since 2019-01-30 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Anyone who wants to understand games should learn to play the compulsive ones and, in the same motion, learn how to stop. — tap to centre the map on it Anyone who wants to understand games should learn to play the compulsive ones and, in the same motion, learn how to stop. Last stated 2 years ago
25 Jul 2024
FL
Frank Lantz — holds since 2024-07-25 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Free-to-play games use the same techniques as gambling machines in order to maximise what players spend and how long they stay. — tap to centre the map on it Free-to-play games use the same techniques as gambling machines in order to maximise what players spend and how long they stay. Last stated 13 years ago
3 Jul 2013
RK
Raph Koster — holds since 2013-07-03 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A good open-world spy game may not be possible, because a spy story has to run against the clock and an open world needs the player free to wander. — tap to centre the map on it A good open-world spy game may not be possible, because a spy story has to run against the clock and an open world needs the player free to wander. Last stated 12 months ago
31 Oct 2025
DH
Dan Houser — holds since 2025-10-31 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A puzzle that invites guessing and then punishes wrong guesses stops the player learning the very method it could have taught. — tap to centre the map on it A puzzle that invites guessing and then punishes wrong guesses stops the player learning the very method it could have taught. Last stated 3 years ago
2 Sept 2023
RK
Raph Koster — holds since 2023-09-02 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Balancing a system elegantly is not the same as giving people what they actually came for, which is emotion. — tap to centre the map on it Balancing a system elegantly is not the same as giving people what they actually came for, which is emotion. Last stated 12 years ago
10 Mar 2015
TS
Tynan Sylvester — holds since 2015-03-10 — tap for who they are
At the centre
Players say they want a fair match, but what they actually want is to be slightly better than the other side — and no matchmaker can deliver that.
Holds Read this korrent →
Good teams keep asking what could make something better and how it could be different, but not just for difference's sake.
Holds
A team performs better when an outsider introduces social friction, even though the group believes it performed worse.
Holds
Expecting a reasonable baseline from people is fair
Holds
Playing games where others have the aptitudes and one does not is close to certain to lose, so one has to find where one has an edge and stay inside one’s circle of competence
Last stated c. 1994
Holds
A comedy world cannot run on jokes alone: forty hours of humour needs story, heart and drama underneath it or it stops working.
Holds
A game is a machine built around uncertainty.
Holds
A game is an equation between two personalities, the world's and the protagonist's, and the friction between them is where the experience comes from.
Holds
A profit motive inside a game holds players there long past the point where they are still enjoying it.
Holds
Anyone who wants to understand games should learn to play the compulsive ones and, in the same motion, learn how to stop.
Holds
Free-to-play games use the same techniques as gambling machines in order to maximise what players spend and how long they stay.
Holds
A good open-world spy game may not be possible, because a spy story has to run against the clock and an open world needs the player free to wander.
Holds
A puzzle that invites guessing and then punishes wrong guesses stops the player learning the very method it could have taught.
Holds
Balancing a system elegantly is not the same as giving people what they actually came for, which is emotion.
Holds