Out of all the games on Whyville, Kalah is definitely in my top favorites. It's fun to strategize and try to figure out what the best move will be. To win, and get a "good game," and to lose, and say a "good game." But have you ever experienced this scenario? It's nearing the end of the game, and you make a move. You get this good feeling rising up in you, like, "I've got this game sewn up!!" and the stones start piling up in your bank. You are about to say "good game" with only four or five stones to go when your frustrated opponent leaves the chair! The win doesn't go towards your rank! That can be very, very frustrating.
Whyville offers the opportunity to learn many life lessons. How to work to earn your 'food,' or in our case face parts, learning how to figure things out on your own, how to swallow your pride and enter the newbie center and ask a dumb question. But there's one more lesson that is waiting to be grasped on too that we fail to accept. How to win gracefully, and more importantly, how to lose gracefully.
Picture this: you're at a soccer game, and the score is 3-3 with two minutes to go, and your best forward gets control of the ball and starts taking it down the field. He gets past defense and has a shot at the goal. He shoots a long shot, and as the ball is in the air, clearly going to go right into the net, the opponents throw down their jerseys and leave. The win doesn't count, it was a forfeit, and it doesn't go as a win on your team record, it goes as a tie. Not fair? Neither is leaving a Kalah game.
A few days ago, one of the top Kalah players was playing against another Whyvillian. It was pretty close until the other person landed in the right spot and ten or twelve stones went into his bank. It was pretty clear that he would win. But could a top Kalah player lose to an amateur? All of the spectators would mock him! So he made his choice. He left and then returned quickly. "Chat stopped, I'm sorry!" What happened? The audience still laughed, and the opponent was upset.
Let's take advantage of this lesson early on and start right here on Whyville. It's a lot easier to quit on Whyville than it is in real life, but it's also easier to simply say "good game" and admit defeat on Whyville, too. So next time you're in the middle of a Kalah game and you lose, compliment the opponent and ask him to give you some pointers. You will learn something and he will be a whole lot happier.
Working on my mad Kalah skills,
Tfklover
