a game you stand a chance of winning...
March 14, 2011 1:29 PM   Subscribe

Is there an opposite to The Game?

Walking past a NYC firetruck yesterday and seeing "Never Forget," I thought about how hard it would be to literally never forget something, to actually hold a thought in your head perpetually. Thinking of this made me lose The Game, and simultaneously caused me to invent Another Game, one in which the purpose is to constantly remember that you are playing it.

There's got to be a website somewhere about this, right? Googling for it has been unproductive. I realize we can't prove a negative, but I've got to believe it's out there. Anyone?

Also, you just lost The Game.
posted by etc. to Society & Culture (19 answers total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
Maybe your average meme cycle? The one thing that's required to be part of a meme in-crowd is to remember the meme.
posted by Afroblanco at 1:32 PM on March 14, 2011


The opposite of The Game is Anonymous.
posted by rhizome at 1:35 PM on March 14, 2011 [1 favorite]


oblig. xkcd comic
posted by yeoz at 1:37 PM on March 14, 2011 [2 favorites]


Mindfulness?
posted by box at 1:42 PM on March 14, 2011 [3 favorites]


Language. You're playing it right now.
posted by adipocere at 1:43 PM on March 14, 2011


I suppose certain types of religious (mostly Hindu and Buddhist) austerities could be defined as a "[game] in which the purpose is to constantly remember that you are playing it" -- see japa, pranava, the kammatthana objects of Theravada Buddhism, etc.
posted by theodolite at 1:44 PM on March 14, 2011 [3 favorites]


I have heard of religious practices like this, I want to say it was Catholic. There is some bible verse or a phrase that a person is supposed to just say constantly during the day, until it becomes ingrained. Maybe just "Jesus loves you" or "Forgive us Oh Lord".

I can't think what the name of this was, so I can't google it. It's not Perpetual Adoration; doesn't seem to be Constant Prayer. I think of it like a Mantra, but that is a practice in eastern religions so I think it wouldn't be the same word in Catholicism. Maybe someone else knows what I'm talking about.
posted by CathyG at 1:45 PM on March 14, 2011


I have heard of religious practices like this, I want to say it was Catholic. There is some bible verse or a phrase that a person is supposed to just say constantly during the day, until it becomes ingrained. Maybe just "Jesus loves you" or "Forgive us Oh Lord".


You might be thinking of the Jesus Prayer? I see we're on the same wavelength, although I think maybe the question asker isn't looking for a spiritual practice.
posted by theodolite at 1:48 PM on March 14, 2011


I suppose certain types of religious (mostly Hindu and Buddhist) austerities could be defined as a "[game]...

I have heard of religious practices like this, I want to say it was Catholic.


This could describe affirmations in general.
posted by lekvar at 1:50 PM on March 14, 2011


Yes, that's what I was thinking, theodolite. From the wikipedia article:

People who say the prayer as part of meditation often synchronize it with their breathing; breathing in while calling out to God (Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God) and breathing out while praying for mercy (have mercy on me, a sinner).

So that it becomes a part of your life and you never forget it.
posted by CathyG at 1:51 PM on March 14, 2011




People who say the prayer as part of meditation often synchronize it with their breathing; breathing in while calling out to God (Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God) and breathing out while praying for mercy (have mercy on me, a sinner).

Wow, I totally forgot about that practice. Ironic?

Breath meditation runs on the same principle. Keep coming back to the breath.
posted by heatherann at 4:20 PM on March 14, 2011


Here you go.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 5:16 PM on March 14, 2011


Namu Amida Butsu! Thanks for reminding me.
Back in The Game!!
posted by Jezebella at 6:33 PM on March 14, 2011


When we were in high school, we played a game such that any time you caught yourself making an accidental double entendre, or really just saying something unintentionally weird/absurd/offensive/awkward, you had to say "1-2-3" as soon as possible after it, otherwise someone else playing the game could say "How?" at which point they would get to pick anyone nearby that you had to approach and repeat the double entendre (or whatnot) to. Maybe they got to punch you if you didn't do it? Anyhow, if you forgot that you were playing the game, you would lose the game often. I can't figure out if this game has a name, though, or if anyone else ever played it.
posted by unknowncommand at 6:39 PM on March 14, 2011


Well, back at university, we used to play the Pineapple Game, which went as follows:

* You win the pineapple game whenever you think of it, or of pineapples.
* You cannot lose the pineapple game.
* You may choose to stop playing the pineapple game at any time.

Of course, I'm still playing it.
posted by Zarkonnen at 12:46 AM on March 15, 2011 [1 favorite]


that's what she said
posted by jodawo at 1:09 AM on March 15, 2011


I play "Zen Snap" with a friend, it's a little mindgame that's kind of the opposite of the game. A player wins when he says "snap". That's the only rule. It's mostly about winning it with style.

I had thought this game was well known, but in this previous MeFi discussion I had to concede it may be relatively obscure.
posted by Nelson at 8:35 AM on March 15, 2011 [1 favorite]


A way to combine mindfulness and forgetfulness for teh win:

There's a line in Nethack that's displayed when you read a scroll of amnesia: 'Thinking of Maud, you forget everything else.' You win the game when you think of Maud, then can't remember what you were thinking or talking about immediately beforehand.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 10:29 PM on March 15, 2011


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