Games to reveal hidden attitudes

As the year plunges into its annual holiday shopping frenzy, impulse-purchase items abound. Retailers begin utilizing all available counter space nearest the cashiers, strategically displaying an array of gift ideas ranging from poster calendars, diaries, and self-help and devotional books to collections of token items and all types of miniatures –– poetry collections, puzzle kits and board games.

It always gives me a good feeling to give away books at Christmas, even if the gift-giving investment on these items are getting stiffer every year. One title I recently picked up in one of my frequent visits to bookstores is Kokology: The Game of Self-Discovery, a fascinating, addictive pop psych quiz game compilation authored by Isamo Saito, a renowned psychology professor at Risho University in Japan, and Tadahiko Nagao, head of the Kokology Project team, a multinational effort with over a dozen members. With the kind of fun and enjoyment I had reading the book, it will surely be part of this year’s list of gifts to give.

Kokology comes from the combination of two words with different origins– kokoro, a Japanese word that means mind, spirit or feeling, and logia, a Greek term which means the study of something. It is, as the authors state, "a popular term for the interpretation of the hidden meanings of human behavior and situational responses."

Kokology is meant to be a game, but there is a sense to it that cannot be ignored. It is a portable version of a psychologist or a psychoanalyst, which allows you the same process of discovery, but packaged with a large dose of interest and fun. It is a collection of life and work experiences – sweet memories, emptiness inside, hanging out, making judgments, blowing your horn, or spreading your wings – viewed in the form of play becomes less threatening. This is precisely the thrust of Kokology. Designed to help open the inner eye and sharpen its vision, it allows you to study and comprehend the mind using psychological triggers and quizzes. The book randomly presents a variety of scenarios that are seemingly unimportant and trivial, but actually serve as levers to see the insights in your hidden attitudes and feelings about sex, love, relationship among others, filtered through the medium of riddles.

Consider this one: "It’s a morning like any other: last minute preparations before you run out the door. Hair? Check. Clothes? Check. Everything’s ready to go. You get on your way at the usual time, but halfway to work you realize your wallet is not where you always keep it. A quick search confirms the worst – you left it at home! And there is no time for you to turn around and go back for it. You begin going through your pockets and bags to see how much spare cash you have to get you through the day. How much more do you find?"

Kokology’s analysis of this sequence of events say that the amount of cash you find represents the amount of money you forget about in your daily life. It also pictures the amount of money you feel comfortable lending to others. Just how much did you say you found? It can be a reasonable figure, an amount that can probably make you popular with friends, or nothing at all, which makes you cheap or just broke.

How about this one: "Gathering in the town square for the lighting of the Christmas tree gives people a chance to come together as a community and celebrate the end of another year. It’s a time of nostalgia and a chance for new memories to be born. People are in holiday spirit, strangers act like friends, and a sense of peace is all around. The night is cold, and you have come with a group of friends and acquaintances to watch the lighting of the tree. In the group of people with you, one person is wearing a yellow coat and another person is in blue. Who are the people wearing the blue and yellow coats?" (Give the names of people you know.)

If you will agree with Kokology, bright colors such as yellow are associated with warm and positive feelings, while cool colors like blue are linked with cold, negative emotions. It may surprise even you, but the persons you named as wearing the yellow coat are people you like or who make you feel happy, while some things about the individuals in blue leave you cold.

Another instance. Imagine what instrument you would play in an orchestra. The one you choose gives an indication of your strongest sexual techniques. The violin denotes precise hand technique, while the string bass symbolizes power and domination. A trumpet represents a strong oral personality, and a flute exemplifies extreme patience towards your partner.

The whale-watching game asks you to visualize a family of whales. The characteristics of the family you see determine how you feel about your own family – too much dependence on your mother, craving for physical affection, equal appreciation for the distinct roles of both your mom and dad, or achievement of personal autonomy.

Look at postmarking the future. "Lounging around the house one afternoon, you are startled out of your reverie by the doorbell. When you open the door, you are greeted by a most unusual surprise – a pair of animal messengers has come to deliver news of your life in the future! But when you open their messages, you see they contain very different predictions of what lies in store for you. One of the animals has brought a letter foretelling a life of happiness and contentment; the other prophesies only disaster and despair. In this scenario, the animal you choose as the bearer of the message of happiness represents the type of person you perceive as an ideal spouse, while the doomsayer animal is the type you fear would drag down into the depths."

Other conundrums are somewhat more spirited and vigorous, bringing up the parlor game aspect of the book. In the puzzle, "The Stolen Berries," you are asked what you would do if you saw a fenced-off field of berries. What does the fence look like? How many berries would be eaten? Berries turn out to be a symbol of sexual attraction and desire, and the game measures attitudes towards forbidden love. Sorry, but there is no record of what your attitude is if you simply don’t like berries.

"Kokology also works as a communication tool," Saito claims. The answers you provide in the games, surprisingly enough, accurately reflect your true personality, and that of others. "This makes the game a great way to bridge communication gaps between friends and lovers, to bring you closer and help you understand each other better, to open up conversations on what might otherwise be difficult, sensitive, or forbidden subjects," Saito stresses.

Adam Dunn of CNN Interactive warns that Kokology (now in two volumes), isn’t meant to be confused with psychotherapy, or even a Meyers-Briggs personality test. It’s a worldwide fad that has taken off, and has been as satisfying as astrology or tarot. You can use the riddles to create excitement in small get-togethers, as ice- breakers during group meetings, tension-lifters after heated discussions, or as a form of entertainment on long drives. Its conclusions are open to argumentation, but it can serve humor, pave the way for some self-introspection or group evaluation.

When the "life-sucking" virus hits you, and threatens to destroy your business, your family, and the tapestry of your soul–robbing you of the joy, hope, and will to move on, try to pause and have a little moment of chuckling with Kokology. Check out a copy of the book at Goodwill Bookstores or at Page One, Power Plant, Rockwell.

* * *

E-mail bongo@vasia.com or bongo@campaignsandgrey.net for comments/suggestions.