Uses for a Paperclip
Write down things to do with a paperclip, then see which are on the book's list of common answers. Ideas that are not on the list move you twice as far.
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Uses for a Paperclip
1. Start from a far-out idea. The chapter’s game starts from a man who began with a single red paperclip and, after a series of trades, ended up with a three-bedroom house. It was a far-out idea, and not something you would normally come up with as a use for a paperclip. The game is about thinking up other interesting uses.
2. Write down uses for a paperclip. There is no timer in the book. You are making the longest chain of paperclips you can, one idea at a time.
3. Check your ideas against the list at the back of the book. The list holds ideas people commonly come up with, such as a key-ring, an emergency toothpick or a bookmark. For every idea that is on the list, move one space along the board. For every idea that is not, move two.
4. See how far you get. You play against yourself, so the book says everyone is a winner. The scoring rewards far-out ideas, because the ones everybody thinks of move you only one space.
Write your own ideas below. The list stays hidden until you are done.
0 ideas
How to play
- Write your ideas. List as many uses for a paperclip as you can, one per line. There is no timer. The longer your chain, the better.
- Press Done. The game now shows you the book’s list of ideas that people commonly come up with.
- Tick the ones on the list. For each of your ideas, tick it if it is on the book’s list, or close enough. Each tick moves you one space. Each idea that is not on the list moves you two.
- See how far you got. Your ideas become a chain of paperclips. You are playing against yourself, so the book says everyone is a winner.
Why it works
The Far Out chapter is about how thinking big can trigger interesting ideas. The man in the chapter started with one red paperclip and, after a series of trades, ended up with a three-bedroom house. The chapter says that when we are trying to come up with creative solutions, we should use whatever tricks we can to fire up the imagination, and exaggeration is one of them, because it takes us away from the more obvious solutions.
This game puts that into practice. The ideas people think of first are the ones on the list, and they earn the least. The ones further out earn more.
What counts as being on the list
The book’s list has 25 ideas, from a key-ring to an emergency wedding ring. The book does not say how close a match has to be, so you decide. Be honest, because the chain is only useful to you if you are. If you are not sure, ask whether most people would have thought of it.
Where this comes from
This is the Far Out board game from the Far Out chapter, played on screen. The rules and the list are the book’s. This version does not draw a board. It counts your spaces. Nothing you type leaves your browser and nothing is stored.
Questions
Can I use a different object? The game is about the paperclip, but the idea works with a brick or a coat hanger. The Random Idea Generator can give you an object.
Why is the list hidden until I finish? Because seeing the common ideas first would push you toward them.
Should I stop at one idea per line? Yes. One idea per line makes the count honest.