The Trap of Being Almost Right
We think we know when things happened. We’re sure Netflix was always there, that Taylor Swift must have released Red before 1989, that Iron Man came out right after Batman Begins.
But we’re wrong. Often. And that’s where it gets interesting.
The Order of Five isn’t just another trivia game. It’s a mirror that shows us how we construct false narratives about cultural moments, compress time, and rearrange history to fit our preferred story.
The game is deceptively simple: put five things in order. Movies. Albums. TV shows. But here’s the twist – you get three chances to be right, and each failure reveals more truth. It’s not about memorizing dates. It’s about understanding how culture evolves, how one moment leads to another, and how the pieces fit together.
What’s fascinating isn’t that we get it wrong. It’s how we get it wrong.
We cluster events around our personal experiences. We assume causation where there’s only correlation. We forget that culture doesn’t move in straight lines.
The game teaches us something deeper about pattern recognition. About how industries work. Why did Netflix launch House of Cards when it did, or why did Taylor Swift release Folklore during a pandemic?
But more importantly, it teaches us about ourselves.
Every wrong answer is a chance to recalibrate our cultural compass. Every revealed date reminds us that our memories aren’t as reliable as we think. Every successful sequence is a small victory in understanding how we got from there to here.
The magic isn’t in the technology (though the drag-and-drop interface is lovely). It’s in the moment of realization. The “aha” when you see that Squid Game came after Tiger King, not before. When you understand why that matters.
This is what games can do when they’re built right. They don’t just test knowledge – they create understanding.
The Order of Five isn’t perfect yet. There are more categories to add, patterns to reveal, and stories to tell. But it’s already showing us something valuable about how we perceive time, culture, and change.
And isn’t that worth a few minutes of your day?
If you’re working on something similar, remember – it’s not only about being right. It’s about being interesting when you’re wrong.
Christopher lives in Vermont with his wife, twin boys, border collie and corgi. He has owned a film production company, sold slot machines, and worked for Tony Robbins. He writes in his magical tiny house and sometimes writes in his blog at chrisrodgers.blog
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