# A Game of Problems and Solutions By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2024-04-22 A fun party game is entitled Problems and Solutions. In this game, there are two bags. One bag is labeled “Problems,” and the other is labeled “Solutions.” People write out various problems and solutions on slips of paper and put them in their respective bags. The game is that the bags are passed around, and one person will reach in and read a problem, and another person will reach in and read off a solution. There are several points of enjoyment in the game. First, there can be enjoyment in the creativity shown in the problems and solutions. Second, one can enjoy the randomness of the combination of creative problems and equally innovative but in no way related solutions. Lastly, one can enjoy sharing time with one’s friends and laughing. A game of problems and solutions is a cheap and easy way to consume part of an evening. As fun as this game is social, it is less fun and more consequential when it is enacted without acknowledgment at work. In the work version, people attend meetings and bring up random problems. People then respond by providing equally random solutions to the problems. Unlike the game, these are real problems, and the proposed solutions will likely be consequential. One would think that real-world problems with consequential solutions would warrant something more than a random treatment. At a minimum, if organizations are going to spend so much time proposing and responding to issues so randomly, they should at least take the time to make the problems and solutions being discussed entertaining. #### Related Items [[Problem Solving]] [[Games]] [[Work]] [[Enjoyment]] [[Entertainment]] [[Reality]]