Play It by Trust

(artnet.com, Yoko Ono, work date 1966-1998)

An all-white chess set! By Yoko Ono.

Ever since I saw this in an exhibition in the SF MOMA, I have been interested in seeing someone play a similar game. Last week, I got a chance to try a similar experiment myself.

I was playing one of these games that seem like an extension to tick-tak-toe. Except you have a bigger grid, colored coins and had to line up 4 of the same color in a row to win. After a while, we decided that both players would use coins of the same color. Interestingly, it was not trust that was the issue, but just remembering who placed which coin, is very difficult.

There were so many other things to think about while playing. For instance, the strategy, the conversation on the side, your food, etc, and then it becomes really hard to just remember what you placed and what the other person did.

I guess that is what happens in real life too. Its not just a question of Playing it by Trust. It is a question of paying attention to stuff.