I enjoy the game of scrabble. Scrabble contains “arbitrary obstacles” in that you are given random letters, and need to construct words. This challenge engages the user and brings high reward when solved. As the video mentioned, difficulty is not the same as challenge. For scrabble, there is typically always at least one word you find quickly and can play. However, the challenge is needing to find the best possible word and position it optimally on the board. Scrabble can also be quite competitive, and thus, competition is an additional aesthetic that pairs well with challenge. We want to win, to prove intelligence and ability. Scrabble is often played with friends and family, which adds a social element to the competitive aesthetic which ups the stakes. Certain aesthetics, like expression and discovery, are less seen in scrabble. If you do not know a word, you cannot use it, and typically you do not learn many words from the other person’s move unless they choose esoteric words to construct an often frustrating play. The paper describes adversarial play, which I think is a large motivation behind Scrabble too. It is exciting to try to win over the other person and use problem solving and planning to do so. This all works together to make the gameplay engaging and rewarding.
