27. Card Swap
class: tweener | impressiveness: 4/5 | factors: logic, rigged game | requires: deck of cards | watch full episode
This game is evil. It’s evil and it means you malice. Why else would a game look so completely honest and fair… yet prove that your skills mean absolutely nothing.
The Setup: Lay 13 cards of one suit in a row, from ace to king. Below, lay 13 more cards in the reverse direction, from king to ace.
The Game: Each turn, a player can swap any two cards they like from the bottom row (The top layer of cards are never moved; they’re set there just to number the positions).
BUT, whenever a card from the bottom layer lines up with its match on the top layer, that card is “locked in” and cannot be moved again (indicate this by flipping the card face down). To illustrate this point, before the match even begins, make sure to flip over the 7, as it’s already in its matching spot. During play, players take turns back and forth, and the winner is the LAST one to lock in a card.
Fair enough, right?
I recommend you explain this game to two friends and have them play multiple games against each other. Remind them that the winner of each game has honors to go first in the following game.
They’ll come up with all kinds of theories as to why they’re winning or losing. They’ll insist they’ve got the strategy figured out… yet when you join the game, you’ll be absolutely, positively, 100% guaranteed to win your match.
Why?
The Reveal: Because no matter what your strategy, no matter how you play, no matter what you do… whoever goes first, will lose.
Always.
That’s the beauty of insisting that the winner goes first… it will force all players into a back-and-forth of wins and losses, convincing them that there’s a real technique to the match…
Which is how you’ll be able to step in, go second, and win when it counts