tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89555288509678544462024-03-22T06:15:47.079-04:00World of Card GamesNews about <a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/">World of Card Games</a>, the website for card players who love Spades, Hearts, Euchre, Gin Rummy, Double Deck Pinochle, Twenty-Nine, 3-5-8 (aka Sergeant Major), and Go Fish!
Get news about updates on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/WorldOfCardGames/">Facebook</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/WorldOfCardGamz">Twitter</a>.Maryahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01225344835373375589noreply@blogger.comBlogger208125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8955528850967854446.post-65175028703404609862024-03-22T06:14:00.006-04:002024-03-22T06:15:04.723-04:00How Community Focus Led to 27% Higher Revenue and 76% Satisfaction<p><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 19pt; text-align: center; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Impact of Community Engagement — We Achieved a 27% Revenue Boost and 76% User Satisfaction </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-0f1e0f07-7fff-aaa5-4634-72c72ac9df22"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The online gaming community continues to grow exponentially. Millions flock to various platforms daily, eager to engage in their favorite dopamine-releasing pastime. Studies say around </span><a href="https://www.bankmycell.com/blog/how-many-people-play-video-games" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">41%</span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> of the global population has played or is playing a video game, showing the undeniable appeal of video games.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">However, while there is a huge player base, individual gaming websites and platforms face tough competition from each other, especially post-pandemic. A simple Google search for </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">‘gaming websites’ </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">or </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">‘play games online’ </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">will give you millions of results. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Plus, the attention of online audiences is easily taken up by social media and OTT platforms, which offer users entertainment and foster a sense of community. So, it’s not easy for a gaming website or platform to stand out and be a person’s first choice. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">However, our experience with building our </span><a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">World of Card Games</span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">brand has taught us many valuable lessons. The issues described can be fixed by paying attention to what gamers want, implementing those changes, and developing a community around the game.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So, let us take you through the challenges we faced and how we addressed those issues to build a successful gaming community.</span></p><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Introduction: The Challenge of Standing Out</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj53lBCcBagiUnJU4i374YyJDWWcsVaoeaBpYD4QkjizIBxh-REkfpV-upii2TIM6GQjAcPgGDTit7EqcijQw1y5nN8Huhp0Lvci6wcpUjNvcdhAlFJlpkHlHSitR4U-nBcw7avB_64qCjxD59Ii6Gp-x5iZ8P1YOixl5rqJZ5l2kyh-2bFrqWgYYGU4hF-" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj53lBCcBagiUnJU4i374YyJDWWcsVaoeaBpYD4QkjizIBxh-REkfpV-upii2TIM6GQjAcPgGDTit7EqcijQw1y5nN8Huhp0Lvci6wcpUjNvcdhAlFJlpkHlHSitR4U-nBcw7avB_64qCjxD59Ii6Gp-x5iZ8P1YOixl5rqJZ5l2kyh-2bFrqWgYYGU4hF-=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/black-and-gray-game-controller-P8ERfhQ_mq4" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">https://unsplash.com/photos/black-and-gray-game-controller-P8ERfhQ_mq4</span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In the 90s, having a few games on Nintendo 64 felt like unlimited entertainment and fun. The video game industry has come a long way since then. Today, gaming is not a rare pastime for a select few but a massive industry with a seriously dedicated clientele. Naturally, the competition is intensely fierce.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">One could argue this is true for the arts and entertainment fields. But revenue generated globally by the gaming industry is more than the movies and music industries, combined. The gaming industry was </span><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2023/11/17/the-gaming-industry-a-behemoth-with-unprecedented-global-reach/?sh=6d7329c4512f" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">$184.4 billion</span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> in 2022 versus $26.2 billion for music and $26 billion in box office revenue, respectively. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Thousands of gaming sites and platforms crop up yearly, and players are spoilt for choice. So, when </span><a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/blog/2013/07/hello-world" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">we first launched World of Card Games</span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, we were overwhelmed by the sheer number of similar, competing platforms out there.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Not only was the competition a challenge, but it was also difficult to keep players engaged. The feedback we received from players showed a need for the </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">‘feeling of community’</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. It was a major reason for low engagement. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Noting these as features we needed to improve, we set ambitious goals:</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> to increase player numbers and foster a vibrant community centered around our game.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Here’s how we reactivated our inactive players and created a standout brand in the card game niche.</span></p><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Listening to Our Players: The Foundation for Growth</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgy8OGknEjbJaH0-8JagXV0aKDsrRBfoOX5z7HPsX0s8yeL3Lyn6uHmpsrjAiuRtl7zAHqKneip1bDf_l6Oj7B7sD22Hu_M-acI1LzO2D0ghnbiJwlxoor9VJhEZNaHqxz4C6bTeSHAHc8OW05NwDfkaR4ZJdVTsxOEU8gMYO-9q4G_3I18yAUfdmyBZ0Fm" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1069" data-original-width="1600" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgy8OGknEjbJaH0-8JagXV0aKDsrRBfoOX5z7HPsX0s8yeL3Lyn6uHmpsrjAiuRtl7zAHqKneip1bDf_l6Oj7B7sD22Hu_M-acI1LzO2D0ghnbiJwlxoor9VJhEZNaHqxz4C6bTeSHAHc8OW05NwDfkaR4ZJdVTsxOEU8gMYO-9q4G_3I18yAUfdmyBZ0Fm=w640-h428" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/black-and-white-printed-textile-vVSleEYPSGY" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">https://unsplash.com/photos/black-and-white-printed-textile-vVSleEYPSGY</span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Our card game platform initially had a steady number of daily players, but over time, that number dwindled. We found a breakthrough in our challenges when we started listening to our players. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Here is how we built the foundation for our growth.</span></p><ol style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="color: #434343; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: decimal; margin-left: -18pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><h3 dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Implementing in-depth feedback collection</span></h3></li></ol><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When player numbers started tapering off, we didn’t know the exact cause for a while. Our card gamers weren’t forthcoming with their problems. We had to actively gather feedback and insights from our players through our </span><a href="https://world-of-card-games.canny.io/feature-requests" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">feature request and feedback board</span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. We also followed up with players for reviews and ratings and reached out on social media. </span></p><br /><ol start="2" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="color: #434343; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: decimal; margin-left: -18pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><h3 dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Using feedback insights to shape our strategy</span></h3></li></ol><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We received all kinds of feedback from our players. Some reviews were positive, and others were neutral. However, the most critical feedback we received was about the lack of a holistic gaming experience. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Many of our players said they </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">‘wish there was community support’</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. The resounding consensus was players wanted a better gameplay experience and interactive community features.</span></p><ol start="3" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="color: #434343; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: decimal; margin-left: -18pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><h3 dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 16pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Bridging the gap between feedback and action</span></h3></li></ol><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Once we realized the problem, we formulated solutions to improve gameplay and give our players the sense of community they craved. We transitioned from a mere game-only platform to a more rounded community-driven one.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Our platform evolved with each change and upgrade we made, leading to better engagement. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Here’s how we successfully implemented these innovations.</span></p><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Implementing Community-Centric Innovations</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiBqczCteIL1I4T14MaZtCbDUcWbZjUeZFIWV688ImuAq0oxOQApWUp6zlk9r-btfdZ7TbTcrzrMivl0P0L7hIdY-lvdsMH9zByt3hp8maMLp-vePEB_4QKxKEuxcs5afZjtU38h2qSEjtgOUFblspjZGu5vO5WqEcneVB33fV4BSkY8s0_KcQicbwYv-SW" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="797" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiBqczCteIL1I4T14MaZtCbDUcWbZjUeZFIWV688ImuAq0oxOQApWUp6zlk9r-btfdZ7TbTcrzrMivl0P0L7hIdY-lvdsMH9zByt3hp8maMLp-vePEB_4QKxKEuxcs5afZjtU38h2qSEjtgOUFblspjZGu5vO5WqEcneVB33fV4BSkY8s0_KcQicbwYv-SW=w640-h418" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">World of Card Games</span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> has a clean, intuitive interface and quickly loads. The game ran smoothly from the get-go, but we needed to keep evolving. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">One of the most satisfying things to a gamer is tracking progress and comparing it to others worldwide. Players tend to prefer gaming websites and platforms that have these capabilities. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So, after we collected insights on what our users wanted, we introduced these comparative and community features to our platform. We added new competitive modes and made social interaction possible. We also introduced custom challenges to enhance the community experience.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With targeted outreach, feedback collection, and engaging content, we could reactivate our inactive players, returning them to the fold. This also significantly rejuvenated the daily playtime per user.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Thanks to these initiatives, we saw a</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> whopping 50% increase in new player sign-ups and a 40% reactivation rate</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> of previously inactive players.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">What did this mean, ultimately? Read on to see how our card game spread its wings. </span></p><br /><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Ripple Effect: Word of Mouth and Brand Recognition</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjK3-yAJ-2v9xlB3SDFqZY1ry4mSgLIy9DjwEaqcIeb_wlzMGDqkzkOoheCkoGQv9geFtyDIVeh_OYFUqUtfxb9u1Qw4eTKKYGN7ig-RxauPxAExQ0zlU4fba8L3LiOfHJwms2woI8dtgr4GGOf7kCeUgpuE6QpCYYWYX36F_Mi_tCmE3q6aGhB-cLNkHS_" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="1600" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjK3-yAJ-2v9xlB3SDFqZY1ry4mSgLIy9DjwEaqcIeb_wlzMGDqkzkOoheCkoGQv9geFtyDIVeh_OYFUqUtfxb9u1Qw4eTKKYGN7ig-RxauPxAExQ0zlU4fba8L3LiOfHJwms2woI8dtgr4GGOf7kCeUgpuE6QpCYYWYX36F_Mi_tCmE3q6aGhB-cLNkHS_=w640-h317" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Transforming the World of Card Games into a community-forward platform was the best thing we could have done. Without any additional efforts toward marketing or advertising, we saw an increase in new players and returning existing ones.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We realized organically enhancing player satisfaction leads to word-of-mouth promotion. Our happy players were talking to their friends and family, recommending World of Card Games and its many attractive games.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Our referral program and community events were bringing in new players. We saw a </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">28% growth in referrals</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> from existing users. What’s more, card game enthusiasts were generating a positive buzz by comparing their statistics and leaderboard records on online forums.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Our community-centric solutions and upgrades turned World of Card Games into a strong, recognizable brand within card-game communities and the online card game niche. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">By enhancing the experience of our players, we could build a notable brand that keeps updating itself based on evolving needs. </span></p><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Reflecting on Our Journey: Building More Than Just a Game</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Staying rigid where customer experience is concerned can get you outmoded very quickly. Brands that don’t adapt to changing needs </span><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2023/12/12/how-to-get-a-brand-in-decline-back-on-track/?sh=7a8867b677e9" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">tend to fail</span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. This is true in the realm of online card games, too.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When you figure out what is wrong or unsatisfactory about your game and fix it, you change and grow with your player base. Today, gamers want well-rounded gameplay and supporting community capabilities. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We offered our online gamers an experience that took them beyond the game. And we saw an increase in returning and new players. Cultivating a community around our game helped us elevate our brand and increase revenue, even though our platform is free-to-play.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Our journey with elevating the World of Card Games proves the benefits of listening to player feedback and harnessing the power of community engagement. With many free games and many community features, our players have as much fun playing on our platform as we do running it!</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div></span>HolgerSindbaekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06905864096948995075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8955528850967854446.post-8970407578976762572024-02-25T14:00:00.004-05:002024-02-25T14:03:57.628-05:00How We Achieved 85% Productivity with Unlimited PTO: A Remote Team's Success<p><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 22pt; text-align: center; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Our Journey to Joy: Achieving 85% Productivity with Unlimited PTO in a Remote Workforce</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-b99fec0e-7fff-08ab-b0fd-6af421868721"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Make no mistake: The </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/" target="_blank">World of Card Games</a></span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> wouldn't be the success it is today without my excellent team of remote workers.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Still, despite its numerous advantages, we’re not immune to the pitfalls and challenges of virtual collaboration.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The more video calls I'd host, the more tired, disengaged faces I saw looking back at me. The vibrant collaboration and creative spark that once ignited our discussions began to wane, replaced by a sense of dwindling interest, fatigue, and, worst of all — burnout.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This wasn't just our story.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Across the digital realm, I heard similar tales of remote teams struggling to maintain their passion and momentum.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I could certainly relate to those tales of increasingly blurred lines between work and life, the unwelcome feeling of isolation and a sense that working together towards a common goal was becoming a chore.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If the </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">World of Card Games</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> was ever going to continue to flourish, I had to solve this problem, and I had to solve it fast.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And that, dear readers, is how the story of our new unlimited paid time off policy begins.</span></p><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 17pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Pre-PTO Scenario: Measuring Our Struggles</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It’s a story that begins on a glum note. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Our fantastic remote team, once a blaze of creative energy, was simmering at an all-time low. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Productivity was down to </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">65%</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Employee satisfaction sank to </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">5.8</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> out of </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">10</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Most concerning, our burnout rate was up to </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">40%</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> and only ticking upwards. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">These weren't mere statistics. They were troubling reflections of the toll remote work was taking.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Collaboration began to feel like a chore, the spontaneous bursts of excitement that used to fill our virtual rooms were replaced by emails and messages as we started to feel more and more isolated. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Remember that hilarious in-joke that used to erupt in every brainstorming session? It faded into a distant memory, replaced by the silence of individual screens.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">That bothered me more than any numbers could. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It was time to stop measuring our decline and start charting a course towards a better, brighter future.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">How we'd get there wasn't immediately clear. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I toyed with mandatory team retreats, and virtual coffee breaks, hoping to reignite team spirit. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I even explored compressed workweeks and longer weekends, but all these ideas felt like a temporary bandage slapped over a much deeper problem. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Then, one idea landed on the table like a wildcard, its upside as thrilling as its downside was terrifying:</span></p><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 17pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Embracing Unlimited PTO: A Bold Decision</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">At first, the idea of giving our team unlimited time off was met with a deafening silence laden with uncertainty and cautious hope.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hours were spent crunching numbers, analyzing unlimited PTO case studies, and dissecting potential pitfalls.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We reviewed questions of abuse, accountability, and the very definition of "work" in a remote world.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In the end, it wasn't just statistics that swayed us.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It was the tired faces staring back at us from our screens, the passion for World of Card Games dimmed by the relentless grind.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">After all, how could we ever truly engage our audience in their passion for card games like <a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/hearts" target="_blank">Hearts</a> and <a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/spades">Spades</a> if our own passion was dwindling faster than a rookie's luck in a high-stakes poker tournament?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We needed something with the potential to be a game changer, and nothing quite fit the bill like unlimited PTO.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And so, with a mixture of trepidation and a shared leap of faith, we embraced the unknown and launched our new unlimited paid time off policy. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We weren't naive. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We knew this wasn't a magic spell or a free pass to do nothing. Setting realistic expectations became our priority.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We emphasized balance, not binges. We championed responsibility, not recklessness.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This wasn't an open invitation to abandon ship, but a chance to redefine our relationship with work.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Unlimited PTO wasn't an excuse for never-ending vacations. It was a trust-based system, empowering individuals to manage their time and prioritize their well-being while delivering results. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We reminded everyone that freedom comes with accountability and that open communication would be the foundation of our work together. </span></p><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 17pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Immediate Impact of Unlimited PTO</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There were, of course, a few stumbling blocks to overcome at the beginning. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Some struggled with self-discipline while others grappled with the guilt of taking too much time off, a fear undoubtedly developed over years of measuring their worth by hours worked. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Still, despite those early teething problems, our new unlimited Paid Time Off policy began to pay dividends. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Morale climbed to a solid </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">7.5/10</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Productivity leapt to </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">75%</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> in a surprisingly short amount of time.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Deadlines weren't missed. They were blitzed with the focus of a seasoned card counter. The pressure valve had been released, unleashing a new energy within the team.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Still, as we've said all along, this wasn't just about the numbers. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It was about our people, and that's where we saw the biggest and most welcome change. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Instead of tired, worn-down faces staring back at us, our virtual meetings saw us greeted by an enthusiastic team who began to throw out amazing ideas with that old, familiar gusto we feared may have been lost forever.</span></p><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 17pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Assessing the Long-Term Effects</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We knew the initial excitement would eventually wear off as unlimited PTO became the norm. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So, we monitored ourselves, carefully tracking not just immediate wins, but long-term growth.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Productivity stabilized at a solid </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">85%.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Employee retention surged to a remarkable </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">90%.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Job satisfaction blossomed into a radiant </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">8.5/10</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We were winning consistently, proving that trust and autonomy weren't just feel-good buzzwords, but strategies for long-term success.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Unlimited PTO wasn't just a policy. It was a revolutionary shift manifested in a collaborative spirit that flourished, fueled by mutual respect and shared trust.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Unlimited PTO wasn't just about taking time off, either. It was about taking control.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It was about learning to prioritize well-being and work to our full potential. It was about proving that trust and freedom are the winning cards in the high-stakes game of remote work.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 187px; overflow: hidden; width: 624px;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRWS4L-U7U-7fZ52vmQu_JsfKoxFkSwodRquZYOoqMmezCK0dCjFzX1l2MoKVmdq5XznR2kF82Vnq9KUIHlbZ4abOzudQm1125phUfch2u8AehyJ3DTR6eQnQsVa0HEHiVFrOzyVAAAIBi7vEoQ91_Ab-EUno6RBvBvsWoAD4EfZ1HfBPN-hF-rHAoBuBq" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="1000" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRWS4L-U7U-7fZ52vmQu_JsfKoxFkSwodRquZYOoqMmezCK0dCjFzX1l2MoKVmdq5XznR2kF82Vnq9KUIHlbZ4abOzudQm1125phUfch2u8AehyJ3DTR6eQnQsVa0HEHiVFrOzyVAAAIBi7vEoQ91_Ab-EUno6RBvBvsWoAD4EfZ1HfBPN-hF-rHAoBuBq=w640-h192" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /></span><p></p><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 17pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Additional Measurable Outcomes</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The benefits weren't limited to our internal operations.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Client satisfaction rates soared by</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> 27%,</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> while positive sentiment in client feedback jumped by </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">18%.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If anything, this showed me that the shift in our team's spirit from weary frustration to boundless enthusiasm positively impacted the work we were doing resonating with our clients.</span></p><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 17pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Lessons and Insights for Future Endeavors</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Our experiment proved that investing in trust pays off in spades. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Empowering individuals with freedom and responsibility fostered accountability, creativity, and a newfound joy in work. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Moreover, while the measurable results were certainly positive, metrics rarely tell the whole story. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The subtle shift in team dynamics, enthusiasm and re-energized creativity was our biggest success. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Not that we achieved this success effortlessly.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Switching to an unlimited PTO policy taught us valuable lessons about the importance of open communication, setting boundaries and managing expectations. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Thinking of following our path? These are the three most important tips we could leave you with:</span></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Examine your company culture, values, and communication styles.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;"> Ensure everyone is on board, not just in theory, but in spirit.</span></p></li></ul><ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Communicate clearly, openly, and frequently</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">. Set expectations, celebrate successes, and address challenges head-on.</span></p></li></ul><ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Don't expect a seamless transition.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;"> Be prepared to navigate unexpected bumps, tweak policies as needed, and learn from experience.</span></p></li></ul><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 17pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Embracing Change for a Brighter Future</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Adopting an Unlimited PTO policy may have paid off for us so far, but it's far from the end of our journey.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Rather, it's the first step on a longer path toward a truly engaged and thriving workforce. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I'll share more insights from this journey with you as it progresses. In the meantime, I offer this final piece of advice for those still on the fence about lifting PTO restrictions. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Unlimited PTO isn't a one-size-fits-all solution. It needs to be carefully considered and tailored to your business's unique culture and goals. However, once deployed, it can truly prove to be a game-changer.</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div>HolgerSindbaekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06905864096948995075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8955528850967854446.post-46169401159052929982023-12-31T06:42:00.002-05:002024-01-02T03:12:40.986-05:00A fresh new look: The exciting redesign of World of Card Games<p>I'm thrilled to announce the release of the new design for World of Card Games. I've been working feverishly for the last 6 months on the new design for the website, which should drastically improve the user experience for people, enable people to play the games on their iPhones and Androids, and generally make the playing experience more fun.</p><p>Below, you'll see a comparison of the old and new design when playing a game of <a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/hearts">Hearts</a>:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFUMhG1-ENQT85XyXZ9c36LNA5o5T2UGCqmZ0ehh2bgqzuJLW9Ttl9wv1ls5eT_CwC-30GeUOXWkDNwF0OPKt075IVRnseJA_W7WqYln3cnJnGVScIK2vc5fKB41V3x-PzJ__fSqtkdxzxpD-QL7zJxVKuX9xoEzaC2hTm4g4zdrEM3LqDSPEZoNiDMp2x/s1220/old-design-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="1220" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFUMhG1-ENQT85XyXZ9c36LNA5o5T2UGCqmZ0ehh2bgqzuJLW9Ttl9wv1ls5eT_CwC-30GeUOXWkDNwF0OPKt075IVRnseJA_W7WqYln3cnJnGVScIK2vc5fKB41V3x-PzJ__fSqtkdxzxpD-QL7zJxVKuX9xoEzaC2hTm4g4zdrEM3LqDSPEZoNiDMp2x/w640-h340/old-design-1.jpg" width="640" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi863wpkb4UgOXOuqdwlDDH8-iKz-8JFpz4yuNXC6OFsy8kth0JXpu6FDwMslAMNgfKpIjEiaw3nw1ZAcC9nWr2zZTildkjwG1fU4ou4BVa06H_cTb6ZeproR-B-62oaaw75Hv-haaGNzu8bJuFp8SC6Q6JZuMCeCl3_WlJSj6d3tyWaxow39wkGXKftv7a" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="1220" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi863wpkb4UgOXOuqdwlDDH8-iKz-8JFpz4yuNXC6OFsy8kth0JXpu6FDwMslAMNgfKpIjEiaw3nw1ZAcC9nWr2zZTildkjwG1fU4ou4BVa06H_cTb6ZeproR-B-62oaaw75Hv-haaGNzu8bJuFp8SC6Q6JZuMCeCl3_WlJSj6d3tyWaxow39wkGXKftv7a=w640-h340" width="640" /></a></div><p>All the elements and buttons are still there, though they might have been moved around a bit, so playing the games in the new design shouldn't pose too big a challenge.</p><p>The cards and avatars have been redesigned for a simpler and more cheerful look, and a few new avatars have even been added, which you can find under <i>Settings</i>, where you'll also be able to change the deck of cards you're playing with and pick your favorite wallpaper.</p><p>All of the games have gotten a facelift. Below, you'll see how <a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/gin-rummy">Gin Rummy</a> used to look and how it looks now:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhI_FtrLui0DKxVpMaWvNhYfqzMB5tFbowgiFcHXBm1O1FRZ5mEhMUWAsARrUEMXRSg2r78L_Ni227HUPZ7QXGMd-YIS-OaX7O6LIlhsKWXMGg7odaIgrrjc7iMHvzoH_Lvaqw_vIDgO_-LdI5TLdJJrvgWvUJDPLTTSAOjNuBVPxaw1qhs_HLEL0DHQ9ch" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="1220" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhI_FtrLui0DKxVpMaWvNhYfqzMB5tFbowgiFcHXBm1O1FRZ5mEhMUWAsARrUEMXRSg2r78L_Ni227HUPZ7QXGMd-YIS-OaX7O6LIlhsKWXMGg7odaIgrrjc7iMHvzoH_Lvaqw_vIDgO_-LdI5TLdJJrvgWvUJDPLTTSAOjNuBVPxaw1qhs_HLEL0DHQ9ch=w640-h340" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhTRC1IkF0E0FOAbTBgZa2Nv1VpBe0NBUmVW65jYLMrygB9i_OcxdlxX_W5GgtaluHqvVNmeJkAtyVCFbQvxV--tYpIf4bOr7mpxUAz9zCl4WPFZ2cZ6bE07vSRbtk-qv2pwmvXrUoflNzNbdwHbNy7p8F-lZwZChXA8qmSJRntiBZvANbz2XW_3HTmGRqT" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="1220" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhTRC1IkF0E0FOAbTBgZa2Nv1VpBe0NBUmVW65jYLMrygB9i_OcxdlxX_W5GgtaluHqvVNmeJkAtyVCFbQvxV--tYpIf4bOr7mpxUAz9zCl4WPFZ2cZ6bE07vSRbtk-qv2pwmvXrUoflNzNbdwHbNy7p8F-lZwZChXA8qmSJRntiBZvANbz2XW_3HTmGRqT=w640-h340" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>The redesign has also greatly improved the mobile experience. <a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/">World of Card Games</a> wasn't working particularly well on mobile, but the new design has greatly improved on that:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjXCfAqp7NU-VBZLsFR82MZhwjsnY0FxC3epmAwxGChgqs-QfcujfiSH1sn5vp7-K5ufPqch0k8qbUaB61N-T-5J_7lS3rg_LgNsve0bFG-83ity5hwP6iPpCJutky_y4MSbK3z07emd9yc822wIJRLzWaveU3gNOQE9QTZzoxp5E50BuOnfgBprOkVet1d" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="812" data-original-width="375" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjXCfAqp7NU-VBZLsFR82MZhwjsnY0FxC3epmAwxGChgqs-QfcujfiSH1sn5vp7-K5ufPqch0k8qbUaB61N-T-5J_7lS3rg_LgNsve0bFG-83ity5hwP6iPpCJutky_y4MSbK3z07emd9yc822wIJRLzWaveU3gNOQE9QTZzoxp5E50BuOnfgBprOkVet1d=w296-h640" width="296" /></a></div><p></p><p>I hope you like this new design, though I'm sure it'll take a bit of getting used to for some people. If you find a bug or have any feedback, please reach out to me at <a href="mailto:holger@worldofcardgames.com">holger@worldofcardgames.com</a> and let me know what's on your mind.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Happy gaming,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Holger</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicijElC21hib8Pw6KG6BxERNO8te_wiZaHfiwJ2oT863W3KaBVFZxO24C70vjzOt9eEsKVJN4qlEUf3n0gDN_tVg-sAyk0piJVMZJrDSVZWupxvcHbZsJ4A8gJ4szY3yXwvt0w9NiRgnvwLUV4zB--AVk1fOYMr829K5p_Z9j-RC_P-jiLrbcg0Oy7uw/s200/holger-avatar.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" height="97" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicijElC21hib8Pw6KG6BxERNO8te_wiZaHfiwJ2oT863W3KaBVFZxO24C70vjzOt9eEsKVJN4qlEUf3n0gDN_tVg-sAyk0piJVMZJrDSVZWupxvcHbZsJ4A8gJ4szY3yXwvt0w9NiRgnvwLUV4zB--AVk1fOYMr829K5p_Z9j-RC_P-jiLrbcg0Oy7uw/w97-h97/holger-avatar.jpg" width="97" /></a></div><div><br /></div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div>HolgerSindbaekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06905864096948995075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8955528850967854446.post-67248595976525727152023-09-25T14:31:00.000-04:002023-09-25T14:31:49.407-04:00How Switching to Email Support Skyrocketed Our Customer Retention By 37%<p><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Customer support remains the cornerstone of any successful business. </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-e1edd02d-7fff-5b5c-1709-69692bdf0ec1"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When running a solo venture, there’s one person to do it all and with limited resources. There is also the pressure of decision-making, proper work-life balance, and constant upskilling to stay abreast of trends.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">But things changed a lot in the last six months. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I started using email to assist my customers. More people stuck around — well, </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">37% more</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. This was a significant moment for </span><a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">World of Card Games</span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> since it showed me that using email for support resulted in customer satisfaction, community connection, and retention.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So, today, I’m sharing how this strategic approach brought about a dynamic shift in my business.</span></p><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Crucial Connection Between Customer Support and Revenue</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The way you treat your customers has a direct link to your earnings. But why? You’re basically planting the seeds of loyalty. If your customers feel heard and valued, they will stay longer. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Also, with loyal customers comes a higher lifetime value. Since they are not one-off buyers, they boost the value of your business and keep bringing in a steady stream of revenue.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So, to compound the value of these transactions, you must repeatedly provide stellar customer support.</span></p><h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Struggles of Wearing Multiple Hats</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As a solopreneur, I’m a team of one. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Apart from designing and developing, I also had to work on marketing, managing finances, and tackling customer queries. It gets a tad overwhelming since I’m stretching myself so thin. Sometimes, I’ve even dropped the ball and had to act fast to ensure I don’t lose the customer.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">While I could pick up “tips and tricks” for marketing and finances, customer support pushed me to my limits. I believe it’s mostly because, with other areas, I was working solo. But, with customer support, you must dive deep into the problems. In this stage, you need to ask yourself the right questions —</span></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Was it a one-off issue?</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Is there a larger underlying problem I need to tackle?</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Have I satisfactorily addressed the customer’s concern?</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">What can I do to ensure a consistently superior experience?</span></p></li></ul><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Still, I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything since it helped me grow faster and </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">truly</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> understand what my user expects from me.</span></p><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Old Ways: Why Live Chat Wasn’t Cutting It</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Adding the Live Chat feature felt like the perfect ally for real-time customer support earlier. However, with time, I ran into a few problems with it. Out of those, these challenges were of the utmost significance- </span></p><ol style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="color: #434343; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: decimal; margin-left: -18pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><h3 dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Limited Engagement Depth</span></h3></li></ol><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In 2022, while my users were doubling rapidly, the retention rates remained stagnant at roughly </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">41%</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Why weren’t more users sticking around?</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> I pinned it down to the shallow interactions on Live Chat. While it provided super quick assistance, it lacked depth. Customers look for more substantial engagements and resolutions that go above the superficial.</span></p><ol start="2" style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="color: #434343; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: decimal; margin-left: -18pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><h3 dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">The Chaos of Multitasking</span></h3></li></ol><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Multitasking can be quite exhilarating. You’re managing multiple responsibilities like programming, game updates, server maintenance, live chat, and marketing. Sadly, it brings with it an unintended consequence: a spike in customer support-related errors. In my case, a </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">significant 31%</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Tackling Live Chat optimally while managing other duties felt like juggling on a tightrope. I wasn’t always fully present, leading to less than satisfactory customer conversations.</span></p><ol start="3" style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="color: #434343; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: decimal; margin-left: -18pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><h3 dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Time-Suck and Burnout</span></h3></li></ol><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Consider the hours dedicated to Live Chat support. Late nights and extensive screen time became the norm. Plus, wearing multiple hats meant I was bound to drop the ball at some point. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This led to fatigue that bordered on professional burnout. It not only affected my well-being but also had a ripple effect on other crucial aspects of my business, like bringing new games, user experience, decreased ROI and a decline in customer retention rates.</span></p><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Email Epiphany: A Strategic Pivot</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">One day, it hit me — email could be a better way to help our customers.</span></p><h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Efficiency and Depth</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With email, I could be more thoughtful while helping customers. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Instead of a quick chat, I could take my time to </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">really </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">understand and fix underlying problems. Emails didn't rush me; they let me dig deep. Plus, it made my customers feel heard and happy. And because email is not like a live chat, I could think and craft better solutions.</span></p><h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Streamlining Support: The Organizational Perks of Email</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">But it wasn't just about my customers. Email made my work easier, too. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I could sort, tag, and schedule emails to stay organized. That meant I could deal with important stuff first. No more multitasking chaos. I had a system, and it worked. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I now use email to solve problems and help the customers better. </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And you know what?</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> It works like a charm. The customers are happier, and they stick around longer. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And that’s why I call it the “</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Email epiphany.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">”</span></p><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Six-Month Experiment: A Review</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Email support was a pivotal shift. Here’s what happened after 6 months of implementing it:</span></p><h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A Remarkable Spike in Customer Retention</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The numbers don’t lie. Customer satisfaction rates took a huge leap — from </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">41%</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> to a whopping </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">56% </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">during these six months. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">People were happier with the assistance, and that’s a big deal. But it’s not just about numbers; it’s about people’s voices. I got loads of messages from the users telling me how much they liked the change.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Sam, a long-time user, shared, </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“Ever since </span><a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">World of Card Games</span></a><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> switched to email support, my issues are resolved so much faster. Plus, they actually read my concerns and gave detailed solutions. It feels personalized, making all the difference.” </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">While the initial focus was to increase the numbers, I became more focused on hearing my customers and letting them know I value their opinions. This approach started paying off big time.</span></p><h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Revenue Revolution</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My revenue saw an extraordinary shift of </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">23%</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> in 2023 since my customers were now happy with the product and service. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With this newfound revenue, I decided not to slow down. Instead, I decided to reinvest it for further business growth. Here’s what I did:</span></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Worked on enhancing my games</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Improve customer support</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Expand my reach via organic marketing </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Upskill</span></p></li></ul><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Lessons Learned and Advice for Fellow Entrepreneurs</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">During this transformative stage for the business, I learned a few key lessons. Here they are:</span></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Nunito, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Being customer-centric matters:</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;"> Always prioritize your customer’s experience. Listen, adapt, and engage. They are the key to your success.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Nunito, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Efficiency is key: </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Streamline your processes. Efficiency not only saves time but also boosts customer satisfaction.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Nunito, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Embrace change:</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;"> Don’t fear change; embrace it. Sometimes, the most unexpected shifts bring the best results.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Nunito, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Data is gold:</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;"> Analyze data rigorously. It acts as your compass while navigating new territories.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Nunito, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Invest wisely:</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;"> When revenue grows, reinvest thoughtfully. It is the basis for continuous growth.</span></p></li></ul><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In entrepreneurship, adaptability is the bottom line. So, to navigate the journey with finesse, you must be ready to adapt and pivot.</span></p><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Conclusion</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The switch to email support was nothing short of life-changing. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My customer retention rates rose from </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">41% to 56%,</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> and revenue surged by </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">23% in 2023</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">But it wasn’t just about the numbers. It was about the profound impact on the users. The real triumph was making them feel heard, valued, and satisfied. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It taught me that being customer-centric lays the foundation for success. As I move forward, I’ll embrace change, invest wisely, and uphold my commitment to delivering exceptional experiences. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ultimately, it’s not just about revenue and retention; it’s about the community I’m trying to build and the exciting future.</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div></span>HolgerSindbaekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06905864096948995075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8955528850967854446.post-83884308179972135372023-05-05T06:31:00.000-04:002023-05-05T06:31:00.302-04:00Dimensioning a capstan gear for a Peg Solitaire-playing delta-robot<div style="text-align: left;">This is a somewhat different blog post from what you usually see on World of Card Games. It's part of a hobby project I've been working on for a while. I'm very interested in card games and programming, which is why I created the solitaire site <a href="https://online-solitaire.com/">Online Solitaire</a> and now run <a href="http://worldofcardgames.com/">World of Card Games</a>. Besides programming and card games, I'm very interested in robotics, so I thought, why not try to create a robot and get it to play Peg Solitaire? </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It proved to be somewhat of a challenge for a novice like me, but in the end, I managed to design, create, and program a delta-robot from scratch. So without further ado, let me introduce Peggy, the Peg-solitaire playing delta-robot: </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="576" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wCAqL-u2s_U" width="475" youtube-src-id="wCAqL-u2s_U"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>A lot of creativity, calculations, dimensioning, prototyping and programming has gone into creating this robot. This blog post is part of a series of blog posts where we'll dive into different aspects of the robot. I've previously gone through how to do the <a href="https://online-solitaire.com/blog/calculating-the-inverse-kinematics-for-a-peg-solitaire-playing-delta-robot/">kinematic calculations for a delta-robot</a>, and in this post, we'll go through how to do the dimensioning, along with the calculations, for the capstan gear that is used in the robot.</div><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">When to use a capstan gear</h3><p>There are many different types of gears, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. A well-known gear within the world of robotics is the pulley and belt system. This type of system works very well and is used in many different types of robotic design. The drawback of this type of system is that it usually has a certain amount of backlash. In a delta robot, where speed and precision are important factors, it is important that there is as little backlash as possible. That's why I decided to use a capstan gear. This type of gear is currently not very popular in the world of robotics but is finding its way into various projects like this <a href="https://hackaday.com/2021/08/07/capstan-drive-is-pulling-the-strings-on-this-dynamic-quadruped/" rel="nofollow">robot dog</a>.</p><p>As seen in image 1 below, the capstan gear works by having a motor move the capstan, which in turn moves the wheel it's connected to via a wire. The ratio between the capstan and the wheel determines the gear ratio.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl-5rI2xpgS_F-uCgXaVkE0I7XvaO9z8_7_EZmA4V2tmhoXc_CDNQNIPS8gAv_ZlEJp0MK_5a5g6WErP43uSXxYaDjWn4fVe9ueo4DlVQDDvi6sd_ELPV5TneOOjCW2DeLlrOtzLVkjLoPbB05fgpw6V5fhdVwO7xULLrEqSD4ctDpFwEH7aBWbMgTlw/s1534/hardware-10%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1282" data-original-width="1534" height="534" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl-5rI2xpgS_F-uCgXaVkE0I7XvaO9z8_7_EZmA4V2tmhoXc_CDNQNIPS8gAv_ZlEJp0MK_5a5g6WErP43uSXxYaDjWn4fVe9ueo4DlVQDDvi6sd_ELPV5TneOOjCW2DeLlrOtzLVkjLoPbB05fgpw6V5fhdVwO7xULLrEqSD4ctDpFwEH7aBWbMgTlw/w640-h534/hardware-10%20(1).jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Figure 1: An example of a capstan gearing</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Dimensioning the capstan gear</h3><p>In image 2 below, an illustration of a capstan gear with its associated dimensions is shown. The upper part is the capstan, in which the input shaft is mounted, the lower part is called the wheel, in which the output shaft is mounted, and both are connected by a wire that transfers the rotational forces from one wheel to the other. </p><p>To make the gear work correctly, the capstan and the wheel have to be dimensioned correctly. The calculations for the capstan gear used in this project have been deduced from a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKZIvseA1Nk" rel="nofollow">lecture from Stanford University</a> and a <a href="https://findit.dtu.dk/en/catalog/60eec621d9001d0162248958" rel="nofollow">graduation project from DTU</a> (Technological University of Denmark). Below we'll go through these calculations to give you an idea of what's required if you want to create a capstan gear for your own project.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfB7MntGAogABEICqZ70wR_LfZE901JfMZheTbnMr8-UBkHlkmokFGc5W-VXMj0Vl-cxgWblErKZ3R0kWUd1-CItnyU47db0Cf-VVphnZ6Q-KAOx7NDvoWYAiD6MO6VkFb7TjRlDXQ6wBe7GzIx1tfSdp2s2crmkOcc4PSpF4ZIk7qWCRXYiGQbUlGPA/s1429/hardware-11%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1319" data-original-width="1429" height="590" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfB7MntGAogABEICqZ70wR_LfZE901JfMZheTbnMr8-UBkHlkmokFGc5W-VXMj0Vl-cxgWblErKZ3R0kWUd1-CItnyU47db0Cf-VVphnZ6Q-KAOx7NDvoWYAiD6MO6VkFb7TjRlDXQ6wBe7GzIx1tfSdp2s2crmkOcc4PSpF4ZIk7qWCRXYiGQbUlGPA/w640-h590/hardware-11%20(1).jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Figure 2: Illustration of the capstan gearing seen from the front and the side.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>We have the following definitions:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>\(\lambda =\) Angle of the wire. Also called the helix angle.</li><li>\(S =\) Pitch of the wire.</li><li>\(D_{C} =\) Diameter of the capstan.</li><li>\(D_{O} =\) Diameter of the wheel.</li><li>\(L_{G} =\) Distance between capstan and wheel.</li><li>\(S_{O} =\) Pitch of the steel wire on the output shaft.</li><li>\(D_{W} =\) Diameter of the wire.</li></ul><p></p><p>Doing these calculations, we're really looking to deduce three main numbers: how thick the wire should be to withstand the motor's torque, how many times it should be wound around the capstan so that there is enough friction to prevent slippage, and how large the pitch of the wire should be to prevent too much pressure on the capstan or wheel when the wire travels. Based on these numbers, the minimum width of the capstan and wheel is found.</p><p>An important factor in these calculations is the helix angle, \(\lambda\), as it must be kept constant across the capstan and wheel to prevent stresses in the gear. Thus, the following relationship is given:</p><p>\begin{align}\dfrac{S_{O}}{S} &= \dfrac{D_{O} + D_{W}}{D_{C} + D_{W}}\end{align}</p><p><br /></p><div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Distance between capstan and wheel</h3><div>The distance \(L_{G}\) should be as small as possible to avoid unnecessary tensile forces on the capstan and wheel. In an ideal world, the distance would be no greater than the wire diameter, i.e., \(L_{G}=D_{W}\), but to ensure that the wire doesn't get squeezed between the capstan and the wheel, the distance is set to \(L_{G}=1.5 \cdot D_{W}\). This would result in very few tensile forces in the vertical plane on the capstan and wheel.</div><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Diameter of the wire, the capstan, and the wheel</h3><div>The wire's main job is to transfer the torque from the capstan to the wheel. This is done exclusively using a tensile force. The torque can be found using the definition for torque:</div><div>\begin{align}torque &= force \cdot arm \\M &= F_{W} \cdot \left(\dfrac {D_{C}}{2} + \dfrac {D_{W}}{2}\right)\end{align}</div><div><br /></div><div>Where \(M\) is the torque from the motor and \(F_{W}\) is the tensile force. By re-structuring the definitions, the tensile force can be determined as:</div><div>\begin{align}F_{W} &= \dfrac {M}{\dfrac {D_{C}}{2} + \dfrac {D_{W}}{2}}\end{align}</div><div><br /></div><div>Now that the tensile force is known, a safety factor can be found by dividing the force by the breaking force of the selected wire:</div><div>\begin{align}SF &= \dfrac {F_{break}}{F_{W}}\end{align}</div><div><br /></div><div>Before the tensile force can be found, the diameter of the capstan and wheel must first be determined. There are some practical considerations to take into account when dimensioning the gear. A capstan gear physically takes up a relatively large amount of space. The larger the gearing, the larger the robot will have to be. I've decided to have a gear ratio of 1:8, as this seems large enough to achieve the desired precision while the robot can maintain the desired speed.</div><div><br /></div><div>The second thing you should consider is that the capstan's diameter contributes to how much tension is in the steel wire. For a standard 7x7 wire, it is recommended that the capstan's diameter should be at least <a href="https://www.carlstahl-technocables.com/gb/en/products/pulleys/" rel="nofollow">16 times larger than the diameter of the wire</a>. With a gearing of 1:8, the wheel should be 8 times larger than the capstan.</div><div><br /></div><div>We'll try with a 1mm wire to see what safety factor we'll get:</div><div>\begin{align}D_{W} &= 1mm \\D_{C} &= 20mm \\D_{O} &= 160mm \\M &= 1.5Nm \\F_{W} &= \dfrac {M}{\dfrac {D_{C}}{2} + \dfrac {D_{W}}{2}} = 143N \\F_{break} &= 57 \cdot 9.81N = 560N \\SF &= \dfrac {F_{break}}{F_{W}} = 3.9\end{align}</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Using the above dimensions, the wire will have a safety factor of almost 4, which is fully acceptable for a robot like this.</div><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Number of wraps around the capstan</h3><div>For the torque to be transferred from the capstan to the wheel, the wire should be wrapped around the capstan enough times so that it does not slip. The number of times needed is found using the capstan formula which is:</div><div>\begin{align}F_{W} &= F_{hold} \cdot e^{\mu_{static} \cdot \phi}\end{align}</div><div><br /></div><div>Where we have the following definitions:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>\(F_{hold} =\) The force in Newton required for the wire to be tight enough not to slip.</li><li>\(\mu_{static} =\) The static friction coefficient between the wire and the capstan.</li><li>\(\phi =\) Number of wraps around the capstan in radians.</li></ul></div><div><br /></div><div>Since the holding force is the interesting variable here, we're going to isolate it:</div><div>\begin{align}F_{hold} &= \dfrac {F_{W}}{e^{\mu_{static} \cdot \phi}} \end{align}</div><div><br /></div><div>The wire force is found to be \(F_{W} = 143N\), and the static friction coefficient is estimated to be \(\mu_{static} = 0.2\)\cite{frictionCoefficient}. The holding force is now found for different number of wraps:</div><div>\begin{align}F_{hold} &= \dfrac {F_{W}}{e^{\mu_{static} \cdot 4\pi rad}} = 11.8N \\F_{hold} &= \dfrac {F_{W}}{e^{\mu_{static} \cdot 6\pi rad}} = 3.3N \\F_{hold} &= \dfrac {F_{W}}{e^{\mu_{static} \cdot 8\pi rad}} = 0.9N\end{align}</div><div><br /></div><div>It's clear that there is a significant difference in how big the holding force should be in relation to the number of wraps around the capstan. To have as large a safety factor as possible regarding whether the wire slips, the last calculation is chosen, i.e., the wire is wrapped around the capstan four times.</div></div></div><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><div><h3 style="text-align: left;">The width of the capstan and the wheel</h3><div>The only thing left to determine is the capstan and wheel width. The previous calculations form the basis for this width. As shown in image 3 below, we're looking to find \(B_{min}\), which is the minimum width for the wheel. It should be noted that, in practice, a little extra width should be added.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ5fi0H6G4Sq_MbbgRy5rESGSLGg6Ju7HpEtRHpg8bmlRl6FhYeFKbyKvfysglnQJfmOgWGmhQYeAezUxjwMIFt54MLhIatTEzlqHC2f4_MElv9Dflwkb1C7dWCNLx_Gld0vrriiLZto9n_L1vzn-jDXHN4d8QS7W8N-rdASiWEaLWT6wRd0phgyiyjA/s1447/hardware-12%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1251" data-original-width="1447" height="554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ5fi0H6G4Sq_MbbgRy5rESGSLGg6Ju7HpEtRHpg8bmlRl6FhYeFKbyKvfysglnQJfmOgWGmhQYeAezUxjwMIFt54MLhIatTEzlqHC2f4_MElv9Dflwkb1C7dWCNLx_Gld0vrriiLZto9n_L1vzn-jDXHN4d8QS7W8N-rdASiWEaLWT6wRd0phgyiyjA/w640-h554/hardware-12%20(1).jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Figure 3: Width of the capstan gearing.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The minimum width is a function of the minimum distance for the wire on the capstan, \(B_{C}\), and the width of the wire that wraps around the wheel, \(B_{O}\). The minimum width for the capstan can thus be found by:</div><div>\begin{align}B_{C} &= N \cdot S\end{align}</div><div><br /></div><div>The width \(B_{O}\) depends on the anchor point placement on the wheel (the x's in image 3), \(\beta\), which depends on the desired rotation of the wire on the wheel, \(\alpha\):</div><div>\begin{align}B_{O} &= \dfrac{S_{O}}{2\pi} \cdot \left(\dfrac{\alpha}{2} + \beta\right)\end{align}</div><div><br /></div><div>The distance \(L_{G}\), i.e., the distance between the capstan and the wheel, has been determined to be so small that it can be ignored in this calculation. The minimum width for the gearing can thus be found to be</div><div>\begin{align}B_{min} &= B_{C} + 2 \cdot B_{O}\end{align}</div><div><br /></div><div>If we set the distance between the wires to be \(S = 2mm\), and the number of wraps to be \(N = 4\), \(\alpha = 1.2\pi\), and \(\beta = 0.1\pi\), we get:</div><div>\begin{align}B_{C} &= N \cdot S = 8mm \\S_{O} &= \dfrac{D_{O} + D_{W}}{D_{C} + D_{W}} \cdot S = 15.3mm \\B_{O} &= \dfrac{S_{O}}{2\pi} \cdot \left(\dfrac{\alpha}{2} + \beta\right) = 5.4mm \\B_{min} &= B_{C} + 2 \cdot B_{O} = 18.8mm\end{align}</div><div><br /></div><div>The minimum distance for the wheel can therefore be determined to be 18.8mm. In practice, it will be wider, but now we know that this is the minimum distance.</div></div><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">The prototype</h3><div>Dimensioning something is not much fun if you don't get to create a prototype of it, which is exactly what I've done! 🙂</div><div><br />There are many different ways to design a capstan gear and even more production techniques one can use to create it. I've chosen 3D-printing and laser-cutting as my production techniques. In image 4 below, the prototype of the capstan gear is shown. It has been produced in clear plastic so that all details can be seen. The upper arm is held in place by a shaft that is connected to 2 608RS ball bearings, ensuring as little friction as possible. A spacer has been placed in the middle of where the upper arm sits. This has created more stability between the suspension and the upper arm.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs4XRsQy4OpqQ8Vhzb0hyZ-l9cceWFJdjglf_FA8XphCcU2iekXrqB4G142l1bjxZoiZZ2Dpy-8j5PaCaZ0I8Z0zI-07j71dvQwnIZeji9IhJ7xB7lJfxHowYa7YC_FXtK3S8UEX9XrxVq6hmSkVz3BTwrQ91kk5UzHOmV-JZ_bGK5qojwhpUA9M0GPQ/s4032/IMG_2446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs4XRsQy4OpqQ8Vhzb0hyZ-l9cceWFJdjglf_FA8XphCcU2iekXrqB4G142l1bjxZoiZZ2Dpy-8j5PaCaZ0I8Z0zI-07j71dvQwnIZeji9IhJ7xB7lJfxHowYa7YC_FXtK3S8UEX9XrxVq6hmSkVz3BTwrQ91kk5UzHOmV-JZ_bGK5qojwhpUA9M0GPQ/w640-h480/IMG_2446.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Figure 4: The prototype of the capstan gear.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div>In image 5, the capstan gear and upper arm are shown. This shaft is clamped to the motor through a flexible coupling. This couple has been chosen because we cannot guarantee that the shaft and motor shaft are perfectly aligned. In addition, the shaft extends through to the encoder on the left, which it, in turn, is connected to.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX8xx092h8K07uJl-OUGGENs5Sb3VKCya5fOoD1C5x_IuWAMuePvW2cVAXVZTgW7keucyRRU5zNX5FOyhkMODGXQhIe5q3RAEXR-llRbRx8XvpdtzyuCrlWLuO5QXsZzQpax7Ifae6SYbbaWVVvWpWxZ4RIEj0s4EYr6lHWWSR8_pys9tQlBiw-Ej8Lg/s3021/IMG_2488.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3021" data-original-width="3017" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX8xx092h8K07uJl-OUGGENs5Sb3VKCya5fOoD1C5x_IuWAMuePvW2cVAXVZTgW7keucyRRU5zNX5FOyhkMODGXQhIe5q3RAEXR-llRbRx8XvpdtzyuCrlWLuO5QXsZzQpax7Ifae6SYbbaWVVvWpWxZ4RIEj0s4EYr6lHWWSR8_pys9tQlBiw-Ej8Lg/w640-h640/IMG_2488.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image 5: Capstan and wheel.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>That's all for now. I expect to write up a few more posts in the future with some of the interesting aspects of the robot. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions.</div></div><div><br /></div>HolgerSindbaekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06905864096948995075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8955528850967854446.post-16248295985832696212023-04-03T07:23:00.000-04:002023-04-03T07:23:38.857-04:00A New Chapter Begins<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Hello, World of Card Games community!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I have some exciting news to share with all of you loyal players and supporters! After many years of dedication and hard work, I've decided to pass the torch on to someone who can bring much needed fresh energy to the site.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I'm pleased to introduce Holger, a designer and developer who's also a big fan of card games. Holger runs the solitaire site <a href="https://online-solitaire.com/">OnlineSolitaire.com</a>, so he already has some experience with card games. I feel fortunate that I made his acquaintance; I think he is the perfect fit to run the site.<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I am confident that Holger will carry on the legacy of World of Card
Games with the same dedication and commitment that I have poured into
it. I hope you will all give Holger a warm welcome and continue to be a
part of this amazing community. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you for your support over the years. World of Card Games has been a labor of love, and it has been a pleasure to see it grow and bring joy to so many card game enthusiasts.<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Thank you all for making this journey so special. I will miss you... but be assured that I will still be playing cards at the site from time to time :) So perhaps we'll meet again.<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I'll be helping Holger with the transition, so you'll still be able to reach me at marya@worldofcardgames.com for a while yet.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Marya</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitYU2PPlbYuh5IGvwAkfYDfm_4bf9DaLRoO5j54PdKED3fkJhXlOD64y8DGwyMUSBQB3Npm6yQBWr3KSspiZp8F0PIS2NC_6sXf0IURwV6NFtdMWL3P5Bgr3eVzMzs5ZXyXjlWGHmjjjeURrFG8IpbrsnCm80ZZKH5i6aWDuSS0Xbj5TUG4vSyaJY-qw/s116/aboutPhoto.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="116" data-original-width="100" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitYU2PPlbYuh5IGvwAkfYDfm_4bf9DaLRoO5j54PdKED3fkJhXlOD64y8DGwyMUSBQB3Npm6yQBWr3KSspiZp8F0PIS2NC_6sXf0IURwV6NFtdMWL3P5Bgr3eVzMzs5ZXyXjlWGHmjjjeURrFG8IpbrsnCm80ZZKH5i6aWDuSS0Xbj5TUG4vSyaJY-qw/w97-h113/aboutPhoto.jpg" width="97" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Thank you very much for the introduction, Marya. I am very grateful to have been entrusted with the responsibility of running World of Card Games. I have long admired the site and am excited to work on expanding the repertoire of games and improving the overall gaming experience. My primary goal is to continue to run the site, as Marya has done so successfully. So rest assured, no significant changes will be made to the current games you all know and love.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">That said, I am eager to explore the creation of new games and features for the site, making World of Card Games an even more enjoyable destination for people to play card games online. If you have any feedback or suggestions for the site, I'd love to hear from you at holger@worldofcardgames.com.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Stay tuned for updates and new developments, and as always, happy gaming!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Holger</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicijElC21hib8Pw6KG6BxERNO8te_wiZaHfiwJ2oT863W3KaBVFZxO24C70vjzOt9eEsKVJN4qlEUf3n0gDN_tVg-sAyk0piJVMZJrDSVZWupxvcHbZsJ4A8gJ4szY3yXwvt0w9NiRgnvwLUV4zB--AVk1fOYMr829K5p_Z9j-RC_P-jiLrbcg0Oy7uw/s200/holger-avatar.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" height="97" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicijElC21hib8Pw6KG6BxERNO8te_wiZaHfiwJ2oT863W3KaBVFZxO24C70vjzOt9eEsKVJN4qlEUf3n0gDN_tVg-sAyk0piJVMZJrDSVZWupxvcHbZsJ4A8gJ4szY3yXwvt0w9NiRgnvwLUV4zB--AVk1fOYMr829K5p_Z9j-RC_P-jiLrbcg0Oy7uw/w97-h97/holger-avatar.jpg" width="97" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p>HolgerSindbaekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06905864096948995075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8955528850967854446.post-38035187417773758312023-02-26T07:44:00.008-05:002023-03-31T13:05:38.461-04:00comments, I get comments<p>I know that <a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/">World of Card Games</a> is far from perfect. It has a few bugs (few and rare I believe!). But people notice the bad things and complain about them - those are most of the emails that I get. Despite that, I see plenty of people playing at the site every day, so I think many people play with no problems. I only rarely have problems with the site, and usually it's clear why: I'm in a location with bad wifi.</p><p>In any case, it's a rare person who takes the trouble to write a note of praise. However, I have indeed gotten many nice compliments about World of Card Games over the years. Those are the days when it's a joy to run the site!</p><p>Here's a recent one:</p><p>"Thanks for a great website. Very well done".</p><p>You may be surprised but just a few words like that make such a difference! I've decided to write this blog post and keep it updated with positive comments that I've received, as a reminder that some people enjoy the site, maybe more than I even realize.<br /></p><p>Here's another one that I got at the end of January:</p><p></p><blockquote>It’s a popular site. I would think you could monetize it more to bring
in more revenue and higher a staff. Maybe the next Words with Friends.
You could sell out to a large corporation and buy a house on the French
Riviera </blockquote>This comment had me laughing out loud. The site doesn't make nearly enough money to sell out to a large corporation, but it's nice to hear that someone thinks it's that popular.<p></p><p>These are just a couple of recent examples. I'll keep updating this post when/if I get more</p><span></span>Updated Feb 28: A player at the site wrote me the following lovely comment. Reprinted with permission:<p style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote>It is a great site and I am sure a little tweaking would improve it, but
why change something that is working. You have always answered any
questions i have submitted to you. Keep up the great work --
golfer79</blockquote><p>Thank you, golfer79!</p><p>Updated Mar 23: Another player (Andrew) wrote me a wonderful comment:</p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">Add me to the Great Job chorus. I'm Team Marya!!</p><p style="text-align: left;"> Thanks! It is so nice to hear that. <br /></p><p></p>Maryahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01225344835373375589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8955528850967854446.post-85242562829341028512022-09-17T22:43:00.003-04:002023-04-11T10:31:10.787-04:00How to Change Your Appearance<p><i>NOTICE: This post was originally posted on Medium, but has later been moved to the official <a href="http://blog.worldofcardgames.com/">World Of Card Games blog</a> to consolidate all posts.</i></p><p>Most game sites will let you change the way you look, and it’s the same at <a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">World of Card Games</a>. Even so, not everyone realizes it. Today’s post is a short one that explains how to do that.</p><p>Just click the “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar_%28computing%29" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Avatar</a>” link in the upper left corner of the screen. This causes a panel to open that’s filled with all the possible images you can use for your profile picture while playing a game. You can scroll down using the scrollbar at the right hand side of the panel, and when you see the one you want to use, click it. You’ll see a green check mark briefly appear, and the panel will close.</p><p>Now you’re all set. You’ll see your new avatar the next time you play a game. And you can change your avatar to something new anytime you want – all free of charge. Enjoy!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0NCLuOcx6dJ2kImhnvtw8G21M8KmeZ9yrsG7ItSV1K7e1t-b-zWe9Mn_XgHMxgOqtyHrbKpX_py9yIrFFGvWmY1sBzcl50mPOx0fS0PVg_o6NXiTN-xz1oz-0UieUMBiVcFePwKUDmvKziP7GW03OmPuSS3KpbDkEoaWjXjjaJ91CGzhCgsqisCN1fA/s800/1_zjQVj1zgHPXXEaKxxE1rZg.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="636" data-original-width="800" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0NCLuOcx6dJ2kImhnvtw8G21M8KmeZ9yrsG7ItSV1K7e1t-b-zWe9Mn_XgHMxgOqtyHrbKpX_py9yIrFFGvWmY1sBzcl50mPOx0fS0PVg_o6NXiTN-xz1oz-0UieUMBiVcFePwKUDmvKziP7GW03OmPuSS3KpbDkEoaWjXjjaJ91CGzhCgsqisCN1fA/w590-h468/1_zjQVj1zgHPXXEaKxxE1rZg.png" width="590" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">You can choose from a wide variety of images for your profile pic!</span></div>HolgerSindbaekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06905864096948995075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8955528850967854446.post-25476081660333914622022-09-10T21:43:00.000-04:002023-04-11T10:44:15.860-04:00Best Spades card game hand ever?<p><i style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">NOTICE: This post was originally posted on Medium, but has later been moved to the official <a href="http://blog.worldofcardgames.com/" style="color: #3778cd; text-decoration-line: none;">World Of Card Games blog</a> to consolidate all posts.</i></p><p>A player at the site recently sent me a Spades hand history. She’s been playing at the site for many years, and thinks this is the best hand she’s ever seen. Here’s a screenshot taken of the replayer that she downloaded after the hand was finished.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbcE7aZw0Iys1oflPToxGrLPDt3Zby1H-uHectC7_72oEkUuuURydphlVHg99SCb6w2ZiUu7q4-bQUQKh9AcXlQXawZrfSPxYXMBrAIthmNdSZjRiOfSkqlkW24UkoZryKpYZsKijVfahaFzZfyiG0pgi4jkONBqNQjHqaTTsv30x1lRDS8OsnW56Slw/s800/1_dZphF6hez1n4wahadv9EEQ.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="800" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbcE7aZw0Iys1oflPToxGrLPDt3Zby1H-uHectC7_72oEkUuuURydphlVHg99SCb6w2ZiUu7q4-bQUQKh9AcXlQXawZrfSPxYXMBrAIthmNdSZjRiOfSkqlkW24UkoZryKpYZsKijVfahaFzZfyiG0pgi4jkONBqNQjHqaTTsv30x1lRDS8OsnW56Slw/w640-h490/1_dZphF6hez1n4wahadv9EEQ.png" width="640" /></a></div><figure class="wp-caption"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="text-align: center;">There are at least 6 sure winners in South’s hand, and probably more</figcaption></figure><p>She has 7 spades cards, and the 6 highest spades (9 through ace). And she has the ace and king of clubs. What do you think? What would you have bid? I think I would have bid 9, but it would depend on the other players’ bids. Notice that she was also extra lucky in being last to bid, so she’d be able to adjust her bid based on what everyone else already bid.</p><p>If you want to see what the bids were, and what happened during the hand, <a href="https://tinyurl.com/best-spades-hand" rel="noopener" target="_blank">click this link to view the full replay</a>. It is well worth taking a look if you enjoy playing Spades. Just keep clicking the “next” button to see each step during the hand — which was really an eye-opener!</p><p>This <strong>was</strong> a pretty <strong>amazing</strong> hand! I do think it’s the best hand anyone has ever sent me. But it’s not the best one that’s possible. The very best hand would consist of an entire handful of spades — from 2 to ace. And that’s a valid hand, too — literally just as valid as any other hand. I’d love to see that, one day, myself! I wonder which is more rare: a hand completely full of spades, or picking all the right lottery numbers for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mega_Millions" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Mega Millions</a>? I’m not going to try to work out the odds… 😃</p><p>You have to pay for a lottery ticket, but trying your luck in a <a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">game of Spades is entirely free online at World of Card Games</a>. Enjoy!</p>HolgerSindbaekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06905864096948995075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8955528850967854446.post-24184299035979956552022-09-03T18:17:00.000-04:002023-04-11T10:43:42.829-04:00Was this Spades bid too high?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpcZwEiS1K-qXrlcSFO4hVByK3C56UIgh2UmwtcGZdQlDyg347EAnIRz_GgmM9h57itRKu-5UiW22J95dh5s6ZJ8nuYfXUfDJ63mr7tz5LSOxHJkyl-sePkHd-b_XxDK_7kqin3RAvqxQWM-9OQK1YeetOfMk0v6dhiGCll6CTEhNBNULx0ORf1FZSRQ/s800/1_6nD7cFoqXuwo0N3O6pMpcQ.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="800" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpcZwEiS1K-qXrlcSFO4hVByK3C56UIgh2UmwtcGZdQlDyg347EAnIRz_GgmM9h57itRKu-5UiW22J95dh5s6ZJ8nuYfXUfDJ63mr7tz5LSOxHJkyl-sePkHd-b_XxDK_7kqin3RAvqxQWM-9OQK1YeetOfMk0v6dhiGCll6CTEhNBNULx0ORf1FZSRQ/w640-h500/1_6nD7cFoqXuwo0N3O6pMpcQ.png" width="640" /></a></div><figure class="wp-caption"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="text-align: center;">A modest bid of 2 still got set!</figcaption></figure><p><i style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">NOTICE: This post was originally posted on Medium, but has later been moved to the official <a href="http://blog.worldofcardgames.com/" style="color: #3778cd; text-decoration-line: none;">World Of Card Games blog</a> to consolidate all posts.</i></p><p>Someone sent me a Spades hand history from <a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">World of Card Games</a> to ask what I thought: Was their bid too high? The player is “West” in the screenshot above. They were first to bid, so they had no information about anyone else’s bids.</p><p>When I’m first to bid, I’ll usually err on the side of caution. So let’s see what we have here. The player bid 2. Do I agree?</p><p>At first glance, I’d say it was entirely reasonable. As you can see from the screenshot above, they’ve got the king of spades and one extra trump card. That king of spades is very likely to take a trick, but there’s a small possibility that it might be trumped by the ace, with some bad luck.</p><p>Clearly, the player was also counting on their king of clubs taking a trick. I also think this is reasonable. They’ve got three clubs. It’s always possible that someone else is long in clubs, and that might result in their king of clubs getting trumped. But on average, I think it’s usually safe to count that king as taking a trick, with only three of the suit in my hand.</p><p>However, this turned out to be one of those cases where the odds were not in favor of West. Late in the hand, when West tried to take a trick by trumping over their right-hand opponent using their king of spades, the left-hand opponent took the opportunity to trump that card with the ace of spades! This was the worst-case scenario that they didn’t really anticipate. If they had held the king and just discarded a hearts card, they <strong>might</strong> have saved their bid.</p><p>Overall, I still think the bid was good, and this team just had a bit of bad luck. What do you think? You can view the <a href="https://tinyurl.com/wocg-spades-bid-2" rel="noopener" target="_blank">hand history here</a> or take a look at the <a href="https://youtu.be/FcwXz_gbOtc" rel="noopener" target="_blank">replayer of this Spades hand at YouTube</a>.</p>HolgerSindbaekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06905864096948995075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8955528850967854446.post-5670240987545677292022-08-20T23:16:00.001-04:002023-10-29T05:34:55.032-04:00Play Pokémon Go to Improve Your Health<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6x4H0MwBCgOTy76ccwB_fSI472DWbbG_K1m8KGtAGdUhQ32ny3WojxPxCjmrfX8K7nHBcGrHLo0pjaXlVLaZsjrl32CQZGe70BcZ7ca3o-NKduS9juJ03YbTppIdsbvQsWwLRFZ-l_ie2h1EEnbEcuzQnD5ts5M9x_Fra4OvEa6YZdWZIsPnqAMfhTQ/s800/1_8xcGXUMJTohbjq7CsaXJSQ.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="800" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6x4H0MwBCgOTy76ccwB_fSI472DWbbG_K1m8KGtAGdUhQ32ny3WojxPxCjmrfX8K7nHBcGrHLo0pjaXlVLaZsjrl32CQZGe70BcZ7ca3o-NKduS9juJ03YbTppIdsbvQsWwLRFZ-l_ie2h1EEnbEcuzQnD5ts5M9x_Fra4OvEa6YZdWZIsPnqAMfhTQ/w640-h476/1_8xcGXUMJTohbjq7CsaXJSQ.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><figure class="wp-caption"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="text-align: center;">A Zigzagoon from Pokémon Go seen in augmented reality!</figcaption></figure><p><i style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">NOTICE: This post was originally posted on Medium, but has later been moved to the official <a href="http://blog.worldofcardgames.com/" style="color: #3778cd; text-decoration-line: none;">World Of Card Games blog</a> to consolidate all posts.</i></p><p>Recently, I’ve started playing <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_Go" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Pokémon Go</a>. Okay, I admit it. I’m hopelessly behind — this game has been out since 2016, for 6 years! I’ve always been curious about it, but never had the time to look into it. I used to play video games as a kid. But as I got older, life got complicated, and I became more of a workaholic. By now, I almost never play games anymore, unless I need to for work!</p><p>However, Pokémon Go really piqued my curiosity. The stories I’d heard about it reminded me of a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scavenger_hunt" rel="noopener" target="_blank">scavenger hunt</a>, and that appealed to me. Off and on, I’d hear about this game, and think it sounded like fun. So finally, I caved in and downloaded the app. It’s available for <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nianticlabs.pokemongo&hl=en_US&gl=US" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Android</a> and <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pok%C3%A9mon-go/id1094591345" rel="noopener" target="_blank">iOS</a>. And it’s free of charge, although you are encouraged to make “in-app purchases”, something that I’ve found easy to avoid so far.</p><p>When I started to play, I had no idea what I was doing. I decided to jump right in and not do any research. Research would take the fun out of it! I’m sure there are people who would read all about the rules and look for “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheating_in_video_games#Cheat_codes" rel="noopener" target="_blank">cheat codes</a>” and strategies to get ahead as quickly as possible. That was not me. Well, for one, I just don’t have the time 😄. And for another, I think that would spoil the game for me. I wanted to discover the rules and figure out how to get ahead without any outside help.</p><p>I just started by downloading the app and creating an account. It was so easy that I felt silly about how long it had taken me to get around to it. You choose a name, an outfit (yes, sunglasses and all), and you’re ready to go.</p><p>It was not so clear what I was supposed to do when I started. I soon discovered some Pokémon monsters, and I finally figured out that I was supposed to capture them by throwing “Poké Balls” at them. You do this by swiping your finger up your phone screen in the general direction of the creature. I was pretty bad at it, since my ball tosses tended to swerve to the right. I still don’t do this very well, and I wonder if I’ll get any better, or if there are any tricks to it. I’ve improved a bit, and I can usually capture the monsters that I find. Perhaps 30% of the monsters that I capture manage to escape, unfortunately. True to my nature, I’ve restrained myself from looking for advice about how to improve my odds. Usually, if a monster escapes, I can keep trying, and eventually I’ll get it (using valuable resources along the way, of course). A few of them take a powder before I can capture them for good.</p><p>I captured a few Pokémon just sitting at home, but they turned out to be pretty scarce in my vicinity, and the game got boring. I was quite interested in trying the game outdoors, since I’d heard some fuss about how Pokémon Go used some kind of “augmented reality” to interact with the monsters outside.</p><p>Eventually, I had the chance to take the app on a walk. This turned out to be entertaining. The app has a built in real-life map of your area. While you walk around, you can see your character walking along a map of your real-life location. Here and there on the map, you see “points of interest”. I didn’t understand how to use these at first. I’d click on one, and see a monster and a photo of the place. For example, the place might be a library building or town hall. I still don’t know how these places were first input into the app, but I’m guessing these were contributed by players. Speaking as a game developer, having to filter out all the user contributions sounds like a real headache. Many of them must have come from trolls or worse. Oy! But I digress.</p><p>Eventually, the app itself gave me a tip that I could “spin” the photo of the point of interest and that would generate some little bubbles that I could tap to collect extra valuable potions and so on. Why do you need potions? To heal your critters when they get hurt in fights!</p><p>After playing for a while, I was accosted by a kind of bully who challenged me to a fight. He arrived in a hot air balloon, no less! I could have run away, but decided to give it a try, and accepted the challenge.</p><p>It turns out that you don’t do any fighting yourself. Instead, the Pokémon you’ve captured fight for you. In each fight, you can pick three Pokémon to represent you. The bully is represented by three Pokémon of his or her own.</p><p>I think I’m fighting correctly, but I’m not really sure. Fighting involves swiping or tapping across the screen really fast, like you’re shooting at the opposing Pokémon. The system chooses an ideal Pokémon group for me, and I just kind of hope that I’m using them the correct way. Sometimes I can choose to apply a shield against an attack, and that often works. Sometimes I see a message that tells me my attack is not very effective, but I don’t know how to solve that problem. It seems some types of Pokémon are more effective at attacking other types. I don’t understand those nuances, yet. Sometimes I win the fight, but I’ve probably lost about 50% of them so far.</p><p>Honestly, the battles are not overly exciting. And I’m not sure that I’ll become interested enough in this game to dig into the details of how to improve my chances in these battles. I’m going to keep at it for a while because there’s one thing that I really like about the game. It encourages exercise. You get <strong>credit</strong> for walking while you play the game.</p><p>I can see why this is a problem. After all, we don’t want people strolling down the street with their noses glued to their mobile phone screens. That is a recipe for disaster. The way I deal with this is to take the phone along on a walk, and if I see the opportunity for a battle, I’ll just stop, step to a safe spot to one side of the sidewalk, and play. So far, so good. I do like that the app encourages people to get up and move. It just needs to be used sensibly in order to avoid accidents.</p><p>In this respect, Pokémon Go is so different from World of Card Games, where the only opportunity for exercise is between games, or perhaps if you use one of those <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuGAc1AUWU4" rel="noopener" target="_blank">treadmill desks</a>. Card games have been around for much longer than the Internet, and you don’t need an app to play them, so that’s very different as well. All you need is a deck of cards (if playing <a href="https://online-solitaire.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Solitaire</a>) and maybe some friends if playing a game like <a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/spades" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Spades</a> or <a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/hearts" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Hearts</a>. I can see the appeal of Pokémon Go as an alternate type of entertainment. It gets you out of your chair and outside. And there’s a huge world of game items and rules to discover.</p><p>In contrast, the rules of card games are generally simpler. Once you figure them out, it’s up to you to try to apply different strategies within the constraints of the rules to try to win the game. I feel like a big part of the fun of Pokémon Go will be puzzling out how things work, and I wonder if I won’t get bored once I do. On the other hand, once I figured out the rules of card games like Euchre, Double Deck Pinochle, and Spades, I never got bored of them. I don’t play very often, but I still find it entertaining and relaxing to play once in a while. Perhaps Pokémon Go will turn out that way, too. Time will tell!</p>HolgerSindbaekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06905864096948995075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8955528850967854446.post-41047203815866447782022-08-13T19:09:00.000-04:002023-04-11T10:42:28.307-04:00Questionable Cover for a Nil Bid in a Hand of Spades<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ujlom7mZMFM?feature=oembed" title="A risky nil bid in the card game of Spades" width="500"></iframe></p><p><i style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">NOTICE: This post was originally posted on Medium, but has later been moved to the official <a href="http://blog.worldofcardgames.com/" style="color: #3778cd; text-decoration-line: none;">World Of Card Games blog</a> to consolidate all posts.</i></p><p>Here’s an interesting hand of Spades that was sent to me by a player recently (<a href="https://tinyurl.com/not-a-great-nil-cover" rel="noopener" target="_blank">click this link to view a “replay” of the hand</a> or watch the YouTube video by clicking that video link above).</p><p>The player, North, at the bottom of the screen, bid nil. I think it was a pretty good nil, with lots of low cards, and only two low spades.</p><p>Their weak suit was hearts: 3, 9, 10, J, and Ace. If an opponent tried to set them with a low hearts card, North could duck <strong>once</strong>. But if another low hearts card was led, they might have some trouble. It all depends on the distribution of cards… does their teammate, South, have too many low hearts?</p><p>Turns out that South has the 7, Queen, and King of hearts. It seems like that could work if played correctly. But if you check what happened using the replayer, or viewing the YouTube video, you’ll see something a little strange.</p><p>The second trick was led by the right hand opponent with a low card, the 8 of hearts. North <strong>ducked</strong> by playing the 3 of hearts, their only card that was lower than the 8. This left them with a handful of pretty dangerous cards: 9, 10, J and ace.</p><p>At this point, the nil bidder had safely ducked, and the nil would not be set. South did <strong>not</strong> have to take this trick. Rather, it was an opportunity for South to discard their low hearts card, the 7. In fact, South did something a bit dangerous, in my view. They <strong>took</strong> the trick with the queen. This left only two hearts in their hand, the king and 7. They could cover one more hearts trick using the king. Once they did that, they’d be stuck with the lone 7 of hearts. If the opponents led another hearts trick after that, North would most likely be set. So it is a mystery to me why South decided to take this trick instead of using the opportunity to discard their low card.</p><p>The person who emailed me was surprised and disturbed when viewing the replayer, too. If you view the entire video, you’ll find out just how the hand played out.</p><p>I feel that even slightly risky nils are usually worth the risk in Spades. Sometimes, though, your teammate will make a mistake, and your risk becomes higher than expected! In this case, perhaps South got distracted or misclicked a card.</p><p>What do you think? Can you think of a legitimate reason for playing the cards like this? Leave a comment here, if so!</p>HolgerSindbaekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06905864096948995075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8955528850967854446.post-42914647395911222162022-08-06T19:18:00.000-04:002023-04-11T10:42:13.347-04:00What Would You Bid? Spades End Game Strategy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheIpEKaUPlwpGK5DN9j8j-Iwjo94E2VfYXaDZ_liVKlPaP_Br8muebDIbCsM015bhlBzOV5Ui90PM0gO9tsVtAX9SW63elRrbsFPYBSISH1tjH_GrbnMQOYkbRcf7IjNt6jQlu0glRZP6tmEqloYVakcEW6PnW0mzbnKRo54aCcl5wuQNDCsLKNjeozQ/s800/1_ZbrnkF_MHPoUXvklB9rMvw.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="614" data-original-width="800" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheIpEKaUPlwpGK5DN9j8j-Iwjo94E2VfYXaDZ_liVKlPaP_Br8muebDIbCsM015bhlBzOV5Ui90PM0gO9tsVtAX9SW63elRrbsFPYBSISH1tjH_GrbnMQOYkbRcf7IjNt6jQlu0glRZP6tmEqloYVakcEW6PnW0mzbnKRo54aCcl5wuQNDCsLKNjeozQ/w640-h492/1_ZbrnkF_MHPoUXvklB9rMvw.png" width="640" /></a></div><figure class="wp-caption"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="text-align: center;">As the dealer, I’m the last to bid in this game of Spades</figcaption></figure><p><i style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">NOTICE: This post was originally posted on Medium, but has later been moved to the official <a href="http://blog.worldofcardgames.com/" style="color: #3778cd; text-decoration-line: none;">World Of Card Games blog</a> to consolidate all posts.</i></p><p>Here’s a screenshot of a hand from a game of <a href="https://www.pagat.com/auctionwhist/spades.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Spades</a> that I played at <a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">World of Card Games</a>, this week. Check out the scores! There’s a puzzle. What would <strong>you</strong> bid to win this game?</p><p>This is one of my favorite scenarios when playing Spades. Both my team and my opponents are within reach of winning. So we’re <strong>probably</strong> in the final hand. Both sides need some combination of luck and intelligent bidding to win the game.</p><p>In this case, my team has 465 points. The opponents have 472 points. So close! I am last to bid. That means my team is in a stronger position because I’m going to know all the other bids before I have to make my own bid. I like being last to bid! 😃</p><p>My left-hand opponent, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Steel" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Atom</a>, bids a reasonable 3. With Ace and King of Spades, he will definitely get 2 tricks. And he’s counting on the Ace of hearts to give him an extra trick. I think that bid makes sense as an opener. He’s also in the worst position. As first to bid, he has no additional information to help him decide whether to underbid or overbid. If anything, he might be a bit cautious in making his bid.</p><p>My partner, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimus_Prime" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Optimus Prime</a>, bids 2. At this stage, all I know is that he doesn’t have a very good hand. Too bad, because that may make it difficult for us to win.</p><p>However, we got lucky. My right-hand opponent, hitchBot, bid 1. I would argue that this was a <strong>mistake</strong>. This bid brings their total bid to 4. If they make their bid, they’re going to wind up with a total of 512 points (472 + 4*10). That’s enough to end the game. But there are also plenty of tricks left — 9 extra tricks for our team to take — to help my team beat them. Why 9? Well there are 13 total tricks, and they bid 4, so there are 9 left.</p><p>That means that there’s plenty of wiggle room here for me to bid just a little higher and beat their final score. This is why I like bidding last. I just make a judgment call — can I make a bid that’s safe, and that will put my team’s score slightly above the opponent’s score? If so, that’s the bid to make.</p><p>In this case, I need to bid something that will put my team above 512 points in order to win the game. If my team bids a total of 5, and then succeeds in taking 5 tricks, we will win the game with 515 points, just squeaking by. So I have to bid at least 3. If I bid 2, my team will lose.</p><p>In the end, I wound up bidding <strong>4</strong> to take my team’s total bid to <strong>6</strong> — that’s 1 more than what we needed to win. Why did I do this? I was slightly worried that the other team might try to give us 5 bags. If that happened, we’d roll and lose 100 points. By pushing our total bid to 6, I felt pretty confident that they couldn’t give us 5 bags, although you can never be sure.</p><p>If I’d bid 3, our team’s total bid would be 5. To make us roll, the opponent would need to give us 5 bags — so we’d have to take 5 extra tricks! That would mean they’d have to purposefully lose their bid. Many people don’t want to aim for that, even if that means losing the game. Also, ducking tricks is not exactly easy to do. You could accuse me of being overly cautious by bidding 4 in order to avoid a roll, and you’re probably correct.</p><p>In the end, my team wound up winning, easily. I was playing against the bots, and they aren’t very clever in their end-game strategy. Too bad! It’s fun to win, but I really prefer the challenge of a smart pair of opponents.</p><p><a href="https://tinyurl.com/spades-end-game-strategy" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Here’s the hand history for that hand</a>, if you’re curious to see how it played out. What would you have done if you were on the opposing team? If you were in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HitchBOT" rel="noopener" target="_blank">hitchBot</a>’s place, would you have bid nil? Do you think I made a mistake in bidding 4?</p>HolgerSindbaekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06905864096948995075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8955528850967854446.post-37112974503268970762022-07-30T19:35:00.000-04:002023-04-11T10:41:31.011-04:00How to Avoid People You Don’t Like<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzZpR_gqWMILHIQtGRz2bh_UvPGsuUi4SM5ax7q9HE8GZRdRLYWgVciUmwy39Z0X-KEoOUCtY3jf9dAa4dDZsLjXodU_iUwo-Fh6dvzzqkUSItiNlts6erNVOmQLZPFHZUlH3aoN0ttzkusyWA8mxV5ayG7uNikoDXUGNcYYdwj-niPrVV2cwa3CQNOw/s705/1_3k3wYU3YgynxfHxhu-wx6w.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="705" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzZpR_gqWMILHIQtGRz2bh_UvPGsuUi4SM5ax7q9HE8GZRdRLYWgVciUmwy39Z0X-KEoOUCtY3jf9dAa4dDZsLjXodU_iUwo-Fh6dvzzqkUSItiNlts6erNVOmQLZPFHZUlH3aoN0ttzkusyWA8mxV5ayG7uNikoDXUGNcYYdwj-niPrVV2cwa3CQNOw/s320/1_3k3wYU3YgynxfHxhu-wx6w.png" width="320" /></a></div><figure class="wp-caption"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="text-align: center;">Sometimes, people just get on your nerves</figcaption></figure><p><i style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">NOTICE: This post was originally posted on Medium, but has later been moved to the official <a href="http://blog.worldofcardgames.com/" style="color: #3778cd; text-decoration-line: none;">World Of Card Games blog</a> to consolidate all posts.</i></p><p>At World of Card Games, if someone is behaving in a way that annoys you, you can hit the “<a href="https://worldofcardgames.blogspot.com/2015/08/likes-and-dislikes-at-world-of-card.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">dislike</a>” button next to that player. Once you do that, you won’t be seated with them again.</p><p>If only real life were that simple, eh? Sometimes, you’re put in situations where you have to interact with someone who bugs you. Maybe it’s a relative, a coworker, or your boss. There’s no dislike button in life! But there are things you can do about the problem.</p><p>One thing that can work is to recognize that <a href="https://www.lifehack.org/294859/how-smart-people-deal-with-people-they-dont-like" rel="noopener" target="_blank">you can’t control other people, but you can control how you react to them</a>. So, if you’re letting someone get under your skin, but they’re not actually harming you, then it might be worth looking deep into yourself to try to understand what is bugging you so much about their actions. Is it really something that <strong>should</strong> upset you? Is it possible that you’re actually the one causing yourself more trouble than the other person? For example, if someone is being rude or disrespectful to you, your first reaction might be to get upset, and to try to force them to be respectful in some way. But unless their rudeness is actually causing you to be endangered, then what harm does it do to you? In fact, in many cases, rudeness just reflects poorly on the person being rude, and it’s not worth wasting your time on. Ignoring people who bother you is a great way to avoid unnecessary stress, <strong>if</strong> you can find a way to do that.</p><p>Another option seems a bit of the coward’s way out, but can be very effective. Just do your best to avoid those who annoy you. Don’t like a coworker? Make an excuse to leave the room when they appear, or be extra busy to stay out of their way. Don’t like your boss? Make a serious effort to get a new job so that you don’t dread getting up in the morning.</p><p>Some people find that <strong>confronting</strong> the people who annoy you can work. Is a coworker tap-tap-tapping away, destroying your focus? Don’t wait for it to become so irritating that you explode in a rage at them. Instead, politely explain the problem. In many cases, people don’t even realize that they’re causing someone else discomfort, and will immediately work to improve the situation — but ya gotta tell them!</p><p>Just so it’s clear, in every case above, I’m talking about those who <strong>annoy</strong> you — not when you’re in real danger. If you’re in danger, seek help from the authorities! We’re talking about annoyances here, not danger.</p><p>Do you have a favorite tactic to remain unstressed by the behavior of others? Please share your ideas. And thanks for reading!</p>HolgerSindbaekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06905864096948995075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8955528850967854446.post-60858667680911528472022-07-23T18:41:00.000-04:002023-04-11T10:40:40.431-04:00Cheating at Cards<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMHrzhBSroQ9Jx-cO5Aualuqgna3LE4YEfo1Ir-66g32hS-q3dkeBGz2wNILW3yBDBFeGUVG-8BsoPLAKqThD7CYFpl_zUcgvhZ4C_fOnmCmZQpAGM9d8ZmtSDPQZwGrvfZq4qPdCEZ8x8YpeTrDZ02IikVzvfSm-0nUSLFhcpCawJ6lAgBxqRZeCGRg/s800/1_-dHi69BPVMH1Mh6L40pfkw.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="800" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMHrzhBSroQ9Jx-cO5Aualuqgna3LE4YEfo1Ir-66g32hS-q3dkeBGz2wNILW3yBDBFeGUVG-8BsoPLAKqThD7CYFpl_zUcgvhZ4C_fOnmCmZQpAGM9d8ZmtSDPQZwGrvfZq4qPdCEZ8x8YpeTrDZ02IikVzvfSm-0nUSLFhcpCawJ6lAgBxqRZeCGRg/w640-h494/1_-dHi69BPVMH1Mh6L40pfkw.png" width="640" /></a></div><figure class="wp-caption"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="text-align: center;">Worried about cheating? Play against bots — they do not cheat!</figcaption></figure><p><i>NOTICE: This post was originally posted on Medium, but has later been moved to the official <a href="http://blog.worldofcardgames.com/">World Of Card Games blog</a> to consolidate all posts.</i></p><p>Are you worried that someone at your card table is cheating at the game? You’re not alone! Periodically, I get an email from someone who is convinced that someone is cheating. I’m told I should ban this or that person because they are “too lucky”, or “blatantly cheating”.</p><p>In case it’s not obvious, it is possible to cheat at cards online 😃 Look, for whatever reason, some people consider it more important to <strong>win</strong> than to <strong>play fair</strong>. I am not one of those people, and I think most people are not. But, you’ve got to realize it can happen. This comes under the category of “things I learned in kindergarten”, sad to say.</p><p>This behavior has been going on since time immemorial. There’s an entire Wikipedia page that outlines the different ways that people have <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheating_in_poker" rel="noopener" target="_blank">cheated at Poker</a>. Among the most obvious things? Unethical types will try to peek at another player’s cards, or mark the cards. And there are plenty more obscure techniques.</p><p>Most recently, Ali Imsirovic — a World Series of Poker participant — has been <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Imsirovic#Cheating_Allegations" rel="noopener" target="_blank">accused of cheating</a>. Sadly, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/26/arts/contract-bridge-cheating.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">cheating is apparently rampant in the card game Bridge</a>! As soon as something is at stake — large sums of money, or even something silly, like being called #1 — some people won’t blink an eye at doing whatever they can to get that reward. In that NY Times article about Bridge cheaters, we see this quote from an admitted cheater: “I didn’t do it for money, glory, results, victories, some sort of fulfillment, or masterpoints,” she said, referring to bridge’s ranking system. “I did it because it was so, so easy, and so tempting.” If you’re like me, you’re rolling your eyes at this admission.</p><p>Marking cards and stacking the deck just don’t work online, but people have discovered other ways to cheat, much to the annoyance of those who prefer a straight, aboveboard game.</p><p>Unfortunately, in most cases of online cheating, it’s just too difficult to tell if people are truly cheating, or if they are just <strong>really good</strong> at the game. If you see someone playing cards in a way that just seems too good, consider that after having played thousands of hands of a specific card game, some people have developed strategies — such as counting cards — that makes them better at the game than your casual player. As much as I find cheating pathetic, I hate the idea that an innocent person might be accused of cheating when they’re simply very good at a game.</p><p>What can you do if you are convinced that someone is cheating at your table? Fortunately, at <a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">World of Card Games</a>, you can hit the <a href="https://worldofcardgames.blogspot.com/2015/08/likes-and-dislikes-at-world-of-card.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">dislike</a> button next to a person to avoid being seated with them in the future. Many Guests (unregistered users) are quite nice, friendly, and decent people. But some people are suspicious of Guests. Any registered player can avoid playing with Guests by setting up their Options that way. And if you just think everyone is out to get you, you can still play against the “bots”. The bots don’t have the best reputation and they are not stellar partners, but let me tell you, they definitely do not cheat.</p><p>And if you’re reading this, and you’re a cheater? Please reconsider and take a good look in the mirror. Why are you doing it? In my view, you are <strong>harming yourself</strong> more than anyone else. I understand when people steal bread because they’re starving. I don’t understand when people cheat to win a game.</p>HolgerSindbaekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06905864096948995075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8955528850967854446.post-81139297837797982952022-07-16T20:13:00.000-04:002023-04-11T10:39:58.984-04:00Having trouble signing in? Try this!<p><i>NOTICE: This post was originally posted on Medium, but has later been moved to the official <a href="http://blog.worldofcardgames.com/">World Of Card Games blog</a> to consolidate all posts.</i></p><p>Sometimes, I get an email from a user saying that they can’t sign in to the website.</p><p>I know it happens, but I can’t figure out why. Most people do not have this problem. And I’m one of them. I can sign in with no problems in two different web browsers: Firefox and Chrome.</p><p>How do I sign in? I click the “sign in” link in the upper right corner of the site. This causes a little panel to open with a place for my username and password, and a button labeled “Sign In”. I click my mouse into the username area, and type in my username. Then, I click the password text input, and type in my password. Then I click the “Sign In” button with my mouse. Voila, I’m signed in!</p><p>Here’s a YouTube video that shows how I do this, in case it’s not clear from my description.</p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="375" loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GaWW2-eVrxo?feature=oembed" title="How to sign in at World of Card Games" width="500"></iframe></p><p>One thing I didn’t mention above is that sometimes, a web browser will “remember” my username and password. When I go to the site, and open the Sign In form, those form inputs that I mentioned above will be filled out for me. This can also happen if I’m using a password manager of some sort.</p><p>That’s convenient! And I think that in most cases, the browser’s attempt to fill in the form works. However, for some people, it does not, and clicking the “Sign In” button <strong>does not work</strong> when the inputs have not been filled in manually.</p><p>There’s another case where problems can occur. The web browser may “autocomplete” some words for you. For example, you might start to type your username, and the browser fills it in before you can finish typing.</p><p>This is another case where a feature of the web browser seems to work for most people, but in rare cases, something goes wrong. So if you’re having trouble signing in, try ignoring the “autocomplete” feature of your browser, and just completely type in your full username and password, and then click the “Sign In” button.</p><p>I hope this helps you get signed in to <a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">World of Card Games</a>, or any other sites where you’re having problems logging in!</p>HolgerSindbaekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06905864096948995075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8955528850967854446.post-88277926360449859852022-07-09T21:43:00.000-04:002023-04-11T10:39:47.663-04:00What Would You Bid? A Hand of Spades<p><i>NOTICE: This post was originally posted on Medium, but has later been moved to the official <a href="http://blog.worldofcardgames.com/">World Of Card Games blog</a> to consolidate all posts.</i></p><p>Here’s a fun puzzle for people who play the card game <a href="https://www.pagat.com/auctionwhist/spades.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Spades</a>.</p><p>Take a look at this hand of cards that I was dealt recently. Here’s a <a href="https://tinyurl.com/spades-what-would-you-bid" rel="noopener" target="_blank">link to the Spades</a> <a href="https://worldofcardgames.blogspot.com/2015/11/new-features-chat-after-game-spades.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">hand history</a> for anyone who wants to see the full hand.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1WEHW-jMPKlsRNwjtMPKe1dmBWDuyLk-3PZqZkdk2DhXGmaRrIRDctsUPmsSwoLXUAtIfusk918WMNgMIB8PLP12O5ckuXR6g-6o_yV8CKgXki4WH84dY5aXf2zT25VsLI-uwlE2dc4XdxRf6ccXGyxl6IsFnCWmzcY1h9quZU7VyHFzhvKjmOgp0yA/s800/1_RcaJ82U5CatDuI5xYsz5hw.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="594" data-original-width="800" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1WEHW-jMPKlsRNwjtMPKe1dmBWDuyLk-3PZqZkdk2DhXGmaRrIRDctsUPmsSwoLXUAtIfusk918WMNgMIB8PLP12O5ckuXR6g-6o_yV8CKgXki4WH84dY5aXf2zT25VsLI-uwlE2dc4XdxRf6ccXGyxl6IsFnCWmzcY1h9quZU7VyHFzhvKjmOgp0yA/s320/1_RcaJ82U5CatDuI5xYsz5hw.png" width="320" /></a></div><figure class="wp-caption"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="text-align: center;">I was dealt 5–8–10 of clubs, 10-Q of diamonds, 2–3–8 of spades, and 3–4–5–9-J of hearts. I bid 1! Why?</figcaption></figure><p>My partner was first to bid. They bid 6, meaning their hand was pretty good. I don’t know about you, but when I see my partner make such a high bid, my mind immediately thinks “Can I bid nil?”</p><p>And if you look at my cards, at first glance, there’s a good argument for a nil bid. I’d argue that I might be lucky to even get one trick if I tried!</p><p>I’ve got three spades, but they’re all low. I’m long in hearts, five of them, and the highest is the Jack. And I’ve got three clubs, all low.</p><p>If I bid nil, it’s unlikely that I’ll get set in clubs or hearts. What about diamonds, though? There’s the catch. I’m holding the 10 and Queen of diamonds. There are eight cards out there that are lower than my 10 of diamonds: the two through nine. On top of that, I’m also holding the Queen. It seems to me that if I bid nil, I’d very likely get set with diamonds unless I got very lucky.</p><p>And in fact, if you look at everyone else’s hands in this hand history, you can see that if I’d bid nil, it would have been <strong>very</strong> risky. Imagine my teammate leading with the Ace of diamonds. That works fine and I’d get rid of my Queen. Eventually, though, it would be likely that one of my opponents would wind up leading with diamonds. If they’re smart, they’d lead with their lowest diamond, and at that point my nil would be <strong>toasted</strong>! My opponents both hold diamonds that are lower than the 10, and my teammate doesn’t have any higher diamond to cover the 10. So unless my opponents made a bone-headed move, that’d be the end of my nil.</p><p>Bidding nil can so often win the game for you that it’s tempting to do so whenever possible. And it’s fun, to boot! But there’s something else to consider here. Look at the scores. You’ll see that this is an end-game scenario. My teammate and I need to take a total of <strong>five</strong> tricks to cross 500 points and win the game. Our opponents are far behind us and have no chance of winning if the game ends at this hand.</p><p>My feeling is that anyone who bids nil in this case is not playing to win, but just loves bidding nil and taking big risks. My safest bet is to bid one. And that’s what I did.</p><p>There’s a risk in that, as well. What if I can’t even take a single trick? It’s possible that my hand is so weak that my opponents would set my bid of one! But I do have three spades, and I’m kind of short in diamonds. I’m going to hope that once all my diamonds are taken, I’ll be able to trump in on a diamond trick. And if that fails, I’m hopeful that my teammate’s hand is so strong that they will take an extra one and cover my bid that way.</p><p>Things could have gone differently. The only way that my team could have lost this hand would be if we got set. We got lucky, and I actually wound up taking two tricks, one more than I’d bid. We won! 😃</p><p>This is one of the things that I love about Spades. You often need to think — and think again — to figure out the winning tactic. I might have bid differently if the scores were reversed, and we had nothing to lose. I might have made a more risky bid earlier in the game, too.</p><p>I hope you have some fun thinking about what <strong>you</strong> would do if you were dealt this hand of cards! And if you enjoy <a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">playing Spades against the computer or other people, give it a try at World of Card Games</a>!</p>HolgerSindbaekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06905864096948995075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8955528850967854446.post-48407285352743756472022-07-02T20:49:00.000-04:002023-04-11T10:39:14.163-04:00How to Play Ranked Card Games<p><i>NOTICE: This post was originally posted on Medium, but has later been moved to the official <a href="http://blog.worldofcardgames.com/">World Of Card Games blog</a> to consolidate all posts.</i></p><p>Did you know you can get ranked for many of the card games at World of Card Games? I thought everyone knew this… but maybe I’m wrong.</p><p>Recently, I got an email. Someone said it was taking them a long time to get a ranked game going. They suggested that I write a blog post about ranked games. Surely, more people would play ranked games if they knew about them.</p><p>I thought to myself, “but, the site has a big message at the top of the screen that says you can play <a href="https://worldofcardgames.blogspot.com/p/ranked-games-and-elo-ratings.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">ranked games</a> at World of Card Games! Everyone sees that, and knows the drill. Don’t they??”</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3DxSyWjTXPwk9ByiqEz-dq0fTNBMsczGQlnXl17gnICMjTXKtrqqZ2C5PYFT1Jnh3FTm_df_FuilNt1ls7DxP2c1epMOxBM5iMGvZdN14H16fNxOk1y26EoktGIuy-_ZHQ4H_qrii4fmjC7XYWMa1lJWGBlvPPXDPpZhYiFmJsgDlxYLT00bo1CTECQ/s800/1_yTjGw6xvLhBsusft2yTUXg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="148" data-original-width="800" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3DxSyWjTXPwk9ByiqEz-dq0fTNBMsczGQlnXl17gnICMjTXKtrqqZ2C5PYFT1Jnh3FTm_df_FuilNt1ls7DxP2c1epMOxBM5iMGvZdN14H16fNxOk1y26EoktGIuy-_ZHQ4H_qrii4fmjC7XYWMa1lJWGBlvPPXDPpZhYiFmJsgDlxYLT00bo1CTECQ/w640-h118/1_yTjGw6xvLhBsusft2yTUXg.png" width="640" /></a></div><figure class="wp-caption"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="text-align: center;">There’s a link at the top of the page to a post about ranked games</figcaption></figure><p>Well, just in case some people are not aware, I’m going to explain what ranked games are, how to get to them, and how it all got started.</p><p>Ranked games give you a score — an “Elo rating” — that is visible to others. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elo_rating_system" rel="noopener" target="_blank">This system was originally developed for chess</a>, but has been applied to many other games, including card games.</p><p>When you play your first ranked game, your Elo rating defaults to 1500. It gets higher the more ranked games you win. If you lose a ranked game, your rating goes down. For some people, it adds a little bit of competition and excitement to the game. If a person has an Elo rating, <a href="https://worldofcardgames.blogspot.com/2016/07/click-your-name-for-stats-info-to-show.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">you can see it by clicking on the person’s avatar</a>.</p><p>World of Card Games did not originally have any rankings. The total number of your wins and losses was recorded, together with a few other statistics, and that was pretty much it. These stats were only visible to you.</p><p>There seemed to be a demand for something a little more official. People would email me, saying that the site really needed a ranking system. I guess some people wanted to prove that they were better than your run-of-the-mill card player!</p><p>That was okay with me. However, I also chatted with some people who told me that they were <strong>vehemently</strong> <strong>opposed</strong> to rankings! This surprised me. Some people just didn’t want any extra competitive element in their games. They wanted the games to stay friendly and casual.</p><p>That feedback is why the default option for the site is unranked. And it’s also the reason that it can take longer for ranked games to start, especially at times of the day when it’s less busy. I wish that there was something I could do about this. However, I think it’s most important for everyone to play the way that they prefer, even if it means games take a little longer to start.</p><p>Anyway, after a little research, I developed an Elo ratings system, and <a href="https://worldofcardgames.blogspot.com/2015/10/rankings-added-to-hearts-card-game.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">in October of 2015, people could start to play ranked Hearts</a>! The formula was modified over time based on feedback from players. You can read the details of the <a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/spades-card-game-rankings.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Elo ratings system for team games like Spades and Double Deck Pinochle here</a>, or <a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/hearts-card-game-rankings.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">for Hearts here</a>. Over time, the option to play ranked games was added to Spades, Euchre, Double Deck Pinochle, and Twenty-Nine.</p><p>Aside from the rating system, there are some rules that apply solely to ranked games.</p><p>First<strong>, only registered players can play at ranked tables</strong>. Guest numbers change over time, so recording an Elo rating for a Guest doesn’t make sense. And because Guest numbers can change, it’s difficult for others to recognize them. I encourage people to register at the site, so that people can then play with people they recognize and like. I hope that giving registered players the ability to play ranked is a good incentive for people to register.</p><p>Second, <strong>you cannot play a ranked game until you’ve completed 10 games at the site.</strong> This is done to make sure that you’re at least somewhat familiar with the site before you try to play against others competitively.</p><p>Third, <strong>you won’t get ranked unless you specifically choose to be</strong>. You do this by taking a seat at a ranked table. Ranked tables show up as purple in the list of tables.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYwdh5O0bYD0ES-jLph0t5mErCu9GCIMIPWmvMzF0sUZYKHXSW4JxyEdF701JKLscmA2AyZhj8YIcWosfLx8VM-eNKcIeLBldKqZmPoASoi4Id97Y98Dy1TsyjjtqjV_j6t9xxlAwi_9QUs-GhNU0fTc8n9siwk6AmwmjWvhN30qu-Mc9BKVPEZRgwiQ/s400/1_sPkB_IPjfFcE-Hn6leGfwg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="380" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYwdh5O0bYD0ES-jLph0t5mErCu9GCIMIPWmvMzF0sUZYKHXSW4JxyEdF701JKLscmA2AyZhj8YIcWosfLx8VM-eNKcIeLBldKqZmPoASoi4Id97Y98Dy1TsyjjtqjV_j6t9xxlAwi_9QUs-GhNU0fTc8n9siwk6AmwmjWvhN30qu-Mc9BKVPEZRgwiQ/w380-h400/1_sPkB_IPjfFcE-Hn6leGfwg.png" width="380" /></a></div><figure class="wp-caption"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="text-align: center;">A ranked table appears in purple in the list of tables</figcaption></figure><p>You can also play a ranked game by clicking on the <strong>Menu</strong> button for your game, and clicking the link to “Play Ranked”. Here’s a screenshot showing the Menu button.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp9SYq49nopMoN1wC3iO64CdvId47mamIFB61oFFVNmvoX1hSsMWcl4VdlwKv2oYw0IzhRrbe0p51CUI2GdjVUdCKupzJCmdkWDna39ucB-BpIA5_hm1wnweyHKdUcIlHEL7OgyTDUpNaXCdrPPHupGIIns7-dIisSO9Qt0Y7JRZY8tvFz_Gd5EcHFkw/s448/1_dkiUXw7gK8107usY21E86g.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="363" data-original-width="448" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp9SYq49nopMoN1wC3iO64CdvId47mamIFB61oFFVNmvoX1hSsMWcl4VdlwKv2oYw0IzhRrbe0p51CUI2GdjVUdCKupzJCmdkWDna39ucB-BpIA5_hm1wnweyHKdUcIlHEL7OgyTDUpNaXCdrPPHupGIIns7-dIisSO9Qt0Y7JRZY8tvFz_Gd5EcHFkw/s320/1_dkiUXw7gK8107usY21E86g.png" width="320" /></a></div><figure class="wp-caption"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="text-align: center;">The Menu button</figcaption></figure><p>Another way to access ranked games is by visiting the home page for your game, where you’ll see a link for ranked tables. There are separate home pages for <a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/hearts/homepage/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Hearts</a>, <a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/spades/homepage/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Spades</a>, <a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/double-deck-pinochle/homepage/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Double Deck Pinochle</a>, <a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/euchre/homepage/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Euchre</a>, and <a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/twenty-nine/homepage/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Twenty-Nine</a>. Those are all the games that can be ranked at World of Card Games.</p><p>Since ranked games are competitive, there are some penalties if you do something wrong. Specifically, if you quit a ranked game, and don’t return to it within three minutes, you will get banned from ranked play for two hours <strong>and</strong> you forfeit the game. This penalty is applied to deter quitters, since that behavior upsets a lot of people!</p><p>There’s one more thing to note. If you’re one of those people who really does not want to be ranked, and you want to make sure that you never get seated at a ranked table accidentally, then there’s a setting you can apply. From the home screen, click your name in the upper right corner. A panel opens with various settings. If you scroll down a bit, you’ll come to the “Rank me” area. If you uncheck any of those boxes, you will not be seated at any ranked tables in the future. If you change your mind, you can check these boxes again, but it will be seven days before you will be allowed to play ranked again.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSuUM67qufEANcRSYymlf5HVofmPyLDQRlY01k4a7m8PgWJWDkbYnm88-25rMCNpqvNQkiXGCDOZUQ7TMl_7K4T7uHj6I2Ryli6tQt3ataPHTRtKBxVTYSCOjX12lolRGWnkU4CsUyIFegw-jCzdlR9LvGXse4DWfK9D5i-HB8qA4BA8ZUlqoN8IyppA/s847/1_xB2FgzoCS3D2rdMo6hsJWg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="847" data-original-width="650" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSuUM67qufEANcRSYymlf5HVofmPyLDQRlY01k4a7m8PgWJWDkbYnm88-25rMCNpqvNQkiXGCDOZUQ7TMl_7K4T7uHj6I2Ryli6tQt3ataPHTRtKBxVTYSCOjX12lolRGWnkU4CsUyIFegw-jCzdlR9LvGXse4DWfK9D5i-HB8qA4BA8ZUlqoN8IyppA/w492-h640/1_xB2FgzoCS3D2rdMo6hsJWg.png" width="492" /></a></div><figure class="wp-caption"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="text-align: center;">“Rank me” settings are found by clicking your name in the upper right corner</figcaption></figure><p style="text-align: left;">Well, I think this is all you need to know about ranked games! Feel free to contact me or comment if you have any questions.</p>HolgerSindbaekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06905864096948995075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8955528850967854446.post-65631960139115987932022-06-25T18:05:00.000-04:002023-04-11T10:37:05.382-04:00Worst Hand of Spades Ever<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcwstplMBICavJto1mNcIMHALlyRE6sirFaoRyZSrm8ywPEy2KstuFB36acKoAjvZZN1Utmw943BU2WTmcxTHFMfq-JlXNJMu7vvzXfe_o3nBwM_MEYwDMuThXq_eOqVOJ1kP6mp0EpPAuddBN09dXQvUN1rPuTn27K7btWlqO505CJU0akqJQNc_TnA/s800/1_xw3HG3SMWZFo5UCSQ73sxA.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="800" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcwstplMBICavJto1mNcIMHALlyRE6sirFaoRyZSrm8ywPEy2KstuFB36acKoAjvZZN1Utmw943BU2WTmcxTHFMfq-JlXNJMu7vvzXfe_o3nBwM_MEYwDMuThXq_eOqVOJ1kP6mp0EpPAuddBN09dXQvUN1rPuTn27K7btWlqO505CJU0akqJQNc_TnA/s320/1_xw3HG3SMWZFo5UCSQ73sxA.png" width="320" /></a></div><figure class="wp-caption"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="text-align: center;">A terrible hand of Spades!</figcaption></figure><p><i>NOTICE: This post was originally posted on Medium, but has later been moved to the official <a href="http://blog.worldofcardgames.com/">World Of Card Games blog</a> to consolidate all posts.</i></p><p>This post is for people who love to play the card game <a href="https://www.pagat.com/auctionwhist/spades.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Spades</a>. One of the fun things about Spades is being surprised by a <strong>fantastic</strong> hand of cards — a lot of aces, kings, and trump cards (spades). It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, you just know you’re going to be able to make a high bid. And you’re hoping that your teammate will be able to bid nil, too.</p><p>There’s another kind of hand in Spades that is also great, although it seems like a bad one when you first think of it. You’ve got a handful of low cards — twos, threes, etc., and just one or two trump cards (or maybe no trump at all). What a terrible hand! It would take a lot of luck to win even a single trick with it. Fortunately, in this situation, you can turn your poor luck into good luck by bidding <strong>nil</strong>. With so many low cards, your nil will likely work, leading to 100 points for your team.</p><p><a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/spades-card-game-a-good-nil-hand-with-void.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">There are other hands of cards that can be work well for bidding nil, like when you have a void in a suit (meaning, you have no cards in one suit at all)</a>. In some cases, you can successfully <a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/spades-card-game-a-good-nil-hand-with-aces.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">bid nil even if you have some aces in your hand</a>. Just don’t absentmindedly bid nil when you’re holding the ace of spades, or you will possibly incur the wrath of your teammate! 😅</p><p>It’s starting to sound like Spades is all sunshine and roses, isn’t it? No matter what hand you get, you’ll always figure out some way to turn it into a winner. In fact, that’s not the case. Recently, I played a game of Spades, and I was dealt the type of hand that I <strong>dread</strong>. It was filled with middle cards — the Jack, the 10, the 9. If I tried to bid nil, I would probably get set. And if I bid one? That would very likely get set as well. I was second to bid, so I didn’t know what kind of hand my partner had, and all I could do was bid one,and hope they could cover my bid if I didn’t make it. You can run the <a href="https://tinyurl.com/terriblespades" rel="noopener" target="_blank">hand history</a> to see how it went. You can read about the <a href="https://worldofcardgames.blogspot.com/2015/11/new-features-chat-after-game-spades.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">hand history feature</a> in another one of my blog posts if you’d like to see how it works. Long story short — the total bid wound up being 12, and I thought the opponents might set us. We got lucky, though!</p><p>Can you think of an even <strong>worse</strong> hand of Spades than the one I described here? If so, please leave a comment. And thanks for reading!</p>HolgerSindbaekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06905864096948995075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8955528850967854446.post-4383387077804197512022-06-18T18:13:00.000-04:002023-04-11T10:36:29.077-04:00An Exciting Game of Double Deck Pinochle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Kme828oHBtmavGjAOJox2y4CtnQKDaP80ZOErpg3Z8wSbWgPe9Ei_Y7N25y0FWMi6xlas2TIsf-r8WU3n0_bi5WXFrqwLPibs--rPVNptSY5pY9uaeZGHsk8hHO7FZ-bqiFlubLQ0iE1RWjigP0GWGwiwoT9axDccrvyBo2cbZoIXj_lD4m0a3jwFA/s800/1_0V_nl2T6Mh3-HnUwkdQALg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="800" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Kme828oHBtmavGjAOJox2y4CtnQKDaP80ZOErpg3Z8wSbWgPe9Ei_Y7N25y0FWMi6xlas2TIsf-r8WU3n0_bi5WXFrqwLPibs--rPVNptSY5pY9uaeZGHsk8hHO7FZ-bqiFlubLQ0iE1RWjigP0GWGwiwoT9axDccrvyBo2cbZoIXj_lD4m0a3jwFA/w640-h368/1_0V_nl2T6Mh3-HnUwkdQALg.png" width="640" /></a></div><figure class="wp-caption"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Double run in the final hand!</figcaption></figure><p><i>NOTICE: This post was originally posted on Medium, but has later been moved to the official <a href="http://blog.worldofcardgames.com/">World Of Card Games blog</a> to consolidate all posts.</i></p><p>A few months ago, I received an email from a Double Deck Pinochle player, “Tigre”, who plays the game at World of Card Games. He’d had a fun game to report. I asked him if it would be okay to share it, and he said yes… so here it is.</p><p>This game was a <a href="https://worldofcardgames.blogspot.com/p/ranked-games-and-elo-ratings.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">rated (or ranked) game</a>, so there was probably an extra touch of pressure on everyone involved! 😃</p><p>It sounded like my favorite sort of game. There was a struggle in which one team would pull ahead, and then fall behind, back and forth, throughout the game.</p><p>In the next to last hand, the score had gotten to 499–460, with Tigre’s team at 460. Every single point that had been made counted. If the opponents had taken just one extra point anywhere during the game, it would have been over by now. As fate would have it, an extra hand would be played to decide the winners.</p><p>In the last hand, the initial bid was made by Tigre’s right-hand opponent. That person started the bid at 50. <a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/double-deck-pinochle-meld-bids.html#captaincy-bid" rel="noopener" target="_blank">In Double Deck Pinochle, a bid of 50 is a “captaincy” bid or “take” bid</a>. It tells the teammate, “I want to declare the trump suit (aka make trump). Let me know if you have any good meld.”</p><p>Tigre must have been disappointed with having to pass. His hand was not strong enough to make a bid. His opponent on the left bid 51, a pretty clear signal that this person wanted to make trump. It was not looking good — both opponents must have had good hands with a decent chance of winning the game if they were able to call the trump suit.</p><p>Tigre’s teammate responded with a bid of 65! Was she bluffing? No way to tell. The next opponent would have to bid 70 to challenge this bid, but that did not happen. Tigre’s teammate made trump! When meld was displayed, it turned out that she had a <strong>double run</strong> (see the screenshot above), meaning a very strong hand with great meld — 162 meld, in fact, just fantastic! To make things even more interesting, one of the opponents also had a run in the trump suit.</p><p>Tigre wrote me that even with that fantastic meld for his team, he knew that the game wasn’t decided until the hand had progressed. In the end, though, his team <strong>did</strong> win the game!</p><p>The games I love the most are the ones where there’s a huge battle and you never know what will happen until the last card is played. What do you think? Would you prefer an easy win, or do you love the struggle too?</p><p>For anyone who is curious to know even more details of that last hand, here’s the hand history. You’ll need to visit <a href="http://www.powerpinochle.com/forum/handanimator.php" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Power Pinochle’s hand animator tool</a>, and copy and paste the hand history into their form to see each round of cards as it was played. Have fun with it!</p><pre>This hand history for Double Deck Pinochle can be replayed using the Power Pinochle hand animator - http://www.powerpinochle.com/forum/handanimator.php Copy and paste the text below into their form and follow the instructions.<br /><br />% Format "PPN 1.0"<br />% Site "worldofcardgames.com"<br />% Date "2022.01.15"<br />% ID "164229406412410"<br />% Players "N-Ju E-mr S-TH W-Ti"<br />% tableid "61f623d4-4177-4960-bc0b-a0c00ecc1d9d"<br /><br />[GameScores "499:460"]<br />[Deal "E:CTTTQDKKQQJSTKKKQHAATKQJ CAKDAKQJSAAAJHAATTKKQQJJ CAKKQJJDAATTKQSATQQJJHTQ CAATKQQJJDATTJJSTTKQJHKJ"]<br />[Auction "S:50 51 53 65 Pass Pass Pass"]<br />[Contract "E 65 H"]<br />[Melds "31:CQDKKQQJSKQHATKQJ 162:CADAKQSAHAATTKKQQJJ 10:CKQDKQSQHQ 12:CKQJDJSKQJHJ"]<br />[Play "E"]<br />AC JC KC QC E2<br />AD QD TD JD E2<br />KC AC JC TC S3<br />AS JS KS JS S2<br />AD JD KD JD S2<br />AD JD KD QD S2<br />JC TC TC JH E2<br />KD TD AD QD W3<br />TD QD JH KD E2<br />AH QH KH JH E2<br />AH TH JH QH E2<br />QH KC JC KH N2<br />KS AS JS KS E3<br />QH TD QC TH N2<br />AH KH KC QC N3<br />AH KH TS QS N3<br />QS AS JS TS E2<br />[MeldScores "41:174"]<br />[PlayScores "19:31"]<br />[Result "SAVED"]<br />[HandScores "0:205"]</pre>HolgerSindbaekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06905864096948995075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8955528850967854446.post-26940411026392793442022-06-11T20:42:00.000-04:002023-04-11T10:35:55.006-04:00The Entrepreneur<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifsVratDc1WyNGHGmomWetzpBHRJsfKdJlsuY8JBzOjIETlh8om1PcCTzg2AX_B_mITLKvB-FZeveEEUyZ2ZVqGNAvtvDTy87RntxJld4ohcK_odDUM6LncJdoFKL_X0agghavDoThAmwkf91heC6QqlwcZtEEdTZrHQRAbim6bNRc85mvnrKr2z5X9Q/s800/0_N5JFxe4k88Auq1Ei.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifsVratDc1WyNGHGmomWetzpBHRJsfKdJlsuY8JBzOjIETlh8om1PcCTzg2AX_B_mITLKvB-FZeveEEUyZ2ZVqGNAvtvDTy87RntxJld4ohcK_odDUM6LncJdoFKL_X0agghavDoThAmwkf91heC6QqlwcZtEEdTZrHQRAbim6bNRc85mvnrKr2z5X9Q/w640-h426/0_N5JFxe4k88Auq1Ei.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><figure class="wp-caption"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@garrhetsampson?utm_source=medium&utm_medium=referral" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Garrhet Sampson</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com?utm_source=medium&utm_medium=referral" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure><p><i>NOTICE: This post was originally posted on Medium, but has later been moved to the official <a href="http://blog.worldofcardgames.com/">World Of Card Games blog</a> to consolidate all posts.</i></p><p>This weekend, I clicked through a long list of emails in my inbox. I’d been busy with my other job for over a week, and hadn’t had time to check email for <a href="http://worldofcardgames.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">World of Card Games</a> in a while.</p><p>Even when I get busy, I make it a point to respond to all questions, eventually — except for the most rude ones!</p><p>But I have to admit, it wears me down.</p><p>Ninety percent of the emails that land in my inbox fall into one of two categories. The first category is the tech support email. The writer is using the site, and it doesn’t work the way that they expect. So they send me an email with a question.</p><p>In fact, I’m delighted to get these emails! This may seem odd. However, most often, the person writing to me just doesn’t realize that, in fact, World of Card Games can do what they want. I’d prefer that they write to me so that I can explain how they can use this or that feature. I hope they can use that information to have more fun playing cards just the way that they want! If someone is playing cards at World of Card Games on a regular basis, I’d hate for them to be frustrated by the experience. I always tell people that if the site doesn’t do what they want, they should go play somewhere else. And I mean it! The site is there to entertain you, and I want people to have a good time at it. If I can help by pointing out an undiscovered feature to a person with a problem, that makes me happy.</p><p>The other category of email is the one with the angry complaint. A person has become completely frustrated or angry by something that happened at the site, and they are going to blast me about it — even if there’s nothing I can do to help or it isn’t my fault. This type of person sometimes gives me business advice. They tell me that I should run the site this or that way, and if I don’t, then I’m an incompetent nincompoop. Sometimes they rant at me for being a bad software developer. After all, if the site suddenly stopped responding, it’s 100% my fault, and has nothing to do with their Internet provider, bad WiFi, or old computer…</p><p>I try not to take this category of email personally. I guess some people need to vent, and don’t understand that it’s actually extremely difficult to run a multiplayer game site — especially as a solo developer. There are no big corporate bucks behind World of Card Games. I provide the site free of charge. There is a column on the right side of the page with space for one or two ads. The ad revenue makes it possible for me to keep the site running, but it doesn’t provide me with revenue to hire staff to support or build out the site. It’s just me and it probably always will be.</p><p>When I get an angry email, it surprises me how much perfection some people expect from a free service.</p><p>I don’t often get emails from those people who are happily enjoying the site. And I don’t expect it, in fact! Why bother? Most people — including myself, I confess — don’t think to make a comment when everything is going right. In fact, <strong>you may not notice</strong> when everything is going right. It’s when things go wrong that you’re more likely to jump off your couch to register a complaint.</p><p>Prior to running World of Card Games, I wasn’t an entrepreneur. I guess you could say I was a “<a href="https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/small-business/articles/wantrepreneur/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">wantrepreneur</a>”. I wanted to be an entrepreneur, but I didn’t know how. I was always a full time employee, and I had trouble coming up with ideas for how to develop a profitable business, doing something that I could at least tolerate (or, heavens, maybe even <strong>enjoy</strong>!).</p><p>Once World of Card Games fell into my hands, I became a real entrepreneur. It has turned out to be a mixed bag. It’s not highly profitable. People complain. A lot of the feedback I’ve gotten is <strong>negative</strong>. There have been many times in the last few years when I’ve wondered why I keep doing it. And in fact, I’ve had to stop working full time on World of Card Games. I find I can make a better living doing other things. It’s now my side hustle, which is why it can take me a while to respond to email.</p><p>This brings me to the topic of this post. Today, I clicked on an email. The person had written the following to me:</p><blockquote><p>No complaints marya just a thank you for your site. There is a occasional {should not be there} person but most are very nice people who love playing Euchre. Thank you for putting up with all of us.</p></blockquote><p>At the end of the email was a little smiley face.</p><p>I practically broke down and cried. It has been a stressful week. I don’t expect emails with a simple thank you. It’s rare, and this person just blew me away with kindness. I wrote back to let this lovely person know how much I appreciated the thoughtful email.</p><p>Since I became a business owner, I’ve made an effort to give positive feedback at businesses that I frequent. In my experience, entrepreneurship is difficult and often thankless. If someone’s small business brings me joy, I want them to know about it. I encourage you to do the same. Let me be clear, this is not a request for you to send me a thankful email, although obviously I’d appreciate it 😃 But the next time you go into someone’s diner or shop, and you enjoy the experience, maybe take a moment to say thanks! Some days, a kind word can make all the difference!</p>HolgerSindbaekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06905864096948995075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8955528850967854446.post-47598124355475834392022-06-04T18:48:00.001-04:002023-10-29T05:35:13.041-04:00How to Find Family Members and Friends at Private Tables<p><i>NOTICE: This post was originally posted on Medium, but has later been moved to the official <a href="http://blog.worldofcardgames.com/">World Of Card Games blog</a> to consolidate all posts.</i></p><p>Recently, someone wrote to me with a problem. The email went like this: “I play Pinochle with my family at a private table every week. But recently, my brother and I can’t get to the same private table. My other relatives and I can be at the same table, but then when my brother tries to join, he is seated at an empty table, and can’t find us. If I leave the table, then <strong>he</strong> can get to the table with my family as expected, but then <strong>I</strong> can’t get to that table. What’s going on?”</p><p>I feel pretty bad when this happens. I hope that everyone who experiences this problem writes to me about it, so I can help, but I do wonder if there are people who just don’t think to send me a tech support email. This post will explain what’s going wrong and how to solve it. I hope anyone who searches for the answer to this type of problem will find it here.</p><p><a href="https://medium.com/@marya_52685/play-cards-with-friends-at-private-tables-b74171698871" rel="noopener" target="_blank">I explained a few weeks ago that you can play at private tables at World of Card Games</a>. Usually, people who play at private tables just want to chat amongst friends and/or family. It may not be quite as good as getting together over a card table in real life, but it’s a good substitute. And personally, I think it’s more fun than <a href="https://zoom.us/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Zoom</a>! Although, when I think about it, there’s nothing to stop you from Zooming <strong>and</strong> playing a multiplayer online card game at the same time!</p><p>Anyway — private tables have most of the features that are available at public tables. One of those features is the “dislike” button. The dislike button is a little red circle with a white x in the middle. As you can see in the screenshot below, it appears next to every person at the table (except yourself… you cannot dislike yourself!).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgJJXGQ0KGfSEtHE5-dX4H2wxBMg0eRP2JoHIix7OBSaV2padHjtn8P08YOVkH5E7g6ZO_NiOz9izwbAo_IIeVTKA34Yx6Qq6xOTASoy9CLqQ7yR397HDAcWfd6tndU0tOyN6vCqlVJC_jtLCVUo4jqHKiuw0vbT7TYMSz8EKt1c5SfCcFVHF0giBcVw/s800/1_QvlDHvcqamKq_kRG0M1eUA.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="800" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgJJXGQ0KGfSEtHE5-dX4H2wxBMg0eRP2JoHIix7OBSaV2padHjtn8P08YOVkH5E7g6ZO_NiOz9izwbAo_IIeVTKA34Yx6Qq6xOTASoy9CLqQ7yR397HDAcWfd6tndU0tOyN6vCqlVJC_jtLCVUo4jqHKiuw0vbT7TYMSz8EKt1c5SfCcFVHF0giBcVw/w640-h340/1_QvlDHvcqamKq_kRG0M1eUA.png" width="640" /></a></div><figure class="wp-caption"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">The dislike button is a red circle with a white x</figcaption></figure><p>If you click the dislike button next to a player, there’s usually no immediate effect (<a href="https://worldofcardgames.blogspot.com/2015/06/block-chats-and-kick-players.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">although in some cases it can lead to a person getting kicked from the table</a>). But the site remembers your preference. You will <strong>not</strong> be seated with this person in the future. That’s useful to avoid people that you don’t want to play with again, for any reason. But if you click the dislike button next to one of your friends or relatives, by accident, you won’t ever see them at the site again! <strong>Not good!</strong></p><p>This is only a problem if you don’t realize what’s happened. If you find that you can’t get seated with one of your friends or relatives, just take a moment, and look at your list of disliked players. This list appears in a panel that opens when you click on your user name in the upper right corner of the screen. I’ve got a screenshot of the list below.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlk2zKgKR4qXneD3hNSxC3L92p276cw14hkBpsmlDteEx-LzTuphgLwtCUGIPeOcvOo_PjcgDV058ktAL6g46x6Zj_fsizeUilyO8m-r5qemgmXZUtlu25eTefssl5ogsot_yYSdSw_T9EuEmTQoq90cD9AG17k6XCDnd92ZpVkxU6hFBXn7DO1OALjg/s800/1_ucy-vq_ODoTuXkvXuw4nWQ.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlk2zKgKR4qXneD3hNSxC3L92p276cw14hkBpsmlDteEx-LzTuphgLwtCUGIPeOcvOo_PjcgDV058ktAL6g46x6Zj_fsizeUilyO8m-r5qemgmXZUtlu25eTefssl5ogsot_yYSdSw_T9EuEmTQoq90cD9AG17k6XCDnd92ZpVkxU6hFBXn7DO1OALjg/w640-h400/1_ucy-vq_ODoTuXkvXuw4nWQ.png" width="640" /></a></div><figure class="wp-caption"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Manage Likes and Dislikes at World of Card Games</figcaption></figure><p>Notice at the very top of the screen, you see my user name. I’m a guest — “Guest #2,163”. That user name is clickable. Clicking on it opens the panel that you see here. You want to scroll down the panel, and eventually you will come to the area that’s labeled “Manage Dislikes”. If you see someone in that list who doesn’t belong there, click the “(remove)” link. That <strong>undoes</strong> the dislike immediately, and the site will no longer keep you from sitting with that person. Problem solved!</p><p>In this situation, you will want to make sure that <strong>all</strong> the players in your group of friends and family have not disliked each other. I recommend that people who play at private tables actively “like” each other when they first get together. To “like” a player, click the yellow star to the right of the person. That yellow star is shown in the first screenshot, too. Once you “like” a player, the “dislike” button goes away. This keeps you from accidentally clicking it in the future.</p><p>I hope you all have fun playing <a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">free multiplayer cards online at World of Card Games</a> with your family and friends. And if you’re ever feeling a bit bored, but can’t get a game going with friends, don’t forget that you can play against the computer, as well. It’s almost as good as <a href="https://online-solitaire.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Solitaire</a>… or maybe even better. 😉</p>HolgerSindbaekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06905864096948995075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8955528850967854446.post-79190246826253119582022-05-28T18:21:00.001-04:002023-10-29T05:35:29.526-04:00How to be a Good Teammate in Spades<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJSdXv7rcecXXGzw9_E-aNdleZHtEL10iK7hmCHeBNaOufmf-CkJ4kPZuAZgMSAWvrzY0xWQeRbu5JdbJZICj_5zvNgI6EKMuSJoLHAWMagXKQQv4p6GFmMo7A7rDRuKyIKzYLRwaBYX-MYGDYnFN5ZnFq3s5x9d-wjbey6ajnXwS3eoNYIAOfSluDwQ/s800/1_6A_x6fFuqB3VEtgd5GbhCg.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="396" data-original-width="800" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJSdXv7rcecXXGzw9_E-aNdleZHtEL10iK7hmCHeBNaOufmf-CkJ4kPZuAZgMSAWvrzY0xWQeRbu5JdbJZICj_5zvNgI6EKMuSJoLHAWMagXKQQv4p6GFmMo7A7rDRuKyIKzYLRwaBYX-MYGDYnFN5ZnFq3s5x9d-wjbey6ajnXwS3eoNYIAOfSluDwQ/w640-h316/1_6A_x6fFuqB3VEtgd5GbhCg.png" width="640" /></a></div><figure class="wp-caption"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">I see bags in someone’s future…</figcaption></figure><p><i>NOTICE: This post was originally posted on Medium, but has later been moved to the official <a href="http://blog.worldofcardgames.com/">World Of Card Games blog</a> to consolidate all posts.</i></p><p>The card game Spades is a team game. Despite that, I still see people playing it as if they’re going it alone. At least, that’s what it looks like to me. I sometimes question my own strategy: am I doing things that make me a bad partner? I don’t think so… but then, you can never be sure, can you?</p><p>This got me thinking, and I wrote up a list of 10 dos and don’ts that <strong>I</strong> think will help to make you a good partner in Spades. Leave a comment if you have any ideas of your own.</p><ol><li><strong>Do use chat in a friendly way</strong>.</li></ol><p>Many times, I’ve seen this brief conversation in chat: One person says <a href="https://worldofcardgames.blogspot.com/p/chat-shorthand.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">“Tx” (translation: “Thanks”)</a> to their partner for saving the bid. The other person says “team game” or “it’s a team game”. It’s a friendly exchange. This type of chat can go a long way in cementing a partnership. Of course, it’s kind of a no-brainer. You don’t need to say “thanks”, since it’s in your teammate’s own interests to make sure that your bid is covered. If you lose, they’ll lose too. But that doesn’t matter. It’s an acknowledgement that you saw what they did and appreciate it. I think it’s a rare personality that doesn’t warm to a friendly comment.</p><p>2. <strong>Don’t tell your partner how to play</strong>.</p><p>Some people may be scratching their heads here. If you don’t tell them how to play, how will they know what your brilliant strategy is? I’ve seen people instruct their partners to bag the opponents, or play low cards to set the opponent’s nil. Doing this is usually considered rude, and is known as “table talk” in card games. If you know that everyone at the table is okay with table talk, then feel free to disregard this rule. If you feel your partner is making tactical mistakes, then instructing them (or <a href="https://medium.com/@marya_52685/it-wouldnt-kill-you-to-be-nice-3f1c45ed4dec" rel="noopener" target="_blank">cursing at them</a>) right in the middle of the game is not friendly. You are more likely to upset your partner than transmit wisdom, and playing with a teammate who’s upset with you is not likely to lead to a win. If you must have a strategy discussion, consider a <a href="https://worldofcardgames.blogspot.com/2015/11/new-features-chat-after-game-spades.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">post-game chat</a>. You certainly have the option of avoiding someone whose strategy conflicts with yours in the future (you can use the <a href="https://worldofcardgames.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_25.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">“dislike” feature at World of Card Games</a> to do this).</p><p>3. <strong>Do try to read your partner’s mind</strong>.</p><p>Now I hear you saying “But Marya, it’s not possible to read someone’s mind!”. Of course that’s true, but you can use the clues that you see at the table as the game goes on to get an idea about how your partner plays. If you see that your partner never leads with spades, hand after hand, that may mean they think it’s bad to lead with spades, and they may get upset with you if you do that. If you see your partner tends to bid risky nils, then you probably don’t want to lead with a low spade when they’ve bid nil, if you have a choice — you might flush out their one high spade. You get the idea. Pay attention to the signals that your partner is sending you by the way that they play their cards. You can adjust your behavior in some cases, and that can lead to more wins for your team.</p><p>4. <strong>Don’t hurl abusive chats at anyone at the table</strong>.</p><p>If your partner is a polite person, making angry comments at anyone at the table may very likely upset them, leading to poor gameplay. Just don’t do it. The card table is a public place. If you think it’s okay to curse at people in public, please get some therapy.</p><p>5. <strong>Don’t throw the game</strong>.</p><p>This one seems obvious. Throwing the game is a fast way to get out of an unpleasant situation for you, perhaps, but it completely blows your credibility. If you’re prone to throwing games, don’t be surprised if it becomes progressively more difficult to get a game going as time goes by. No one likes a sore loser.</p><p>6. <strong>Do cover your partner</strong>.</p><p>As a general rule, if the sum of all bids for the hand is 11 (with a maximum of 13), then one team may start thinking about setting the other team. Given that’s the case, you may want to think about taking an extra trick or two at any point during the hand. This can lead to bag accumulation, true. But it can also save your team from getting set. You will have to suss out how your partner feels about bags (see Rule 3). Some people are quite good at taking exactly the number of tricks that they bid. You might be one of those people! But I think that’s actually a pretty rare skill. Even if you’re quite good at counting cards, your partner may not be, and taking an extra trick is usually better than getting set.</p><p>7. <strong>Don’t assume your partner is against you</strong>.</p><p>There are cases when the rules of the game require your partner to play a card that’s not in your team’s best interests. For example, suppose you bid nil. Now your partner is leading, and to your surprise, they lead with the two of diamonds! I’ve seen this happen, and the nil-bidder will start cursing at their partner, assuming the worst. But it turned out that their partner had no choice. Spades had not yet been broken, and the only card they had left to play was that lonely, low card. The solution? First, don’t curse at people at the table (Rule 4)! Second, don’t make assumptions about what people are doing, at least until the hand is finished, and you can see what choices they had. You might want to collect the <a href="https://worldofcardgames.blogspot.com/p/replay-previous-hand-history-at-world.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">hand history</a> to verify what they did, too.</p><p>8. <strong>Don’t take your partner’s tricks</strong>.</p><p>This especially applies if the bid is 11 or more, or if it looks like your team might get set. I’ve been baffled at this behavior more than once when the bid was 13, and it was imperative that our team make our bid. In one example, I was the second person to play a card, and I’d managed to capture a trick with a low card… only to find that my teammate <strong>trumped</strong> the trick! They were the last person to play, so they could have saved a spade and let me take the trick instead. Being a polite person, I just keep my trap shut. I chalk it up to newbie behavior or distraction. Please try not to do this!</p><p>9. <strong>Don’t let your partner take bag after bag after bag</strong>.</p><p>I know I said not to take your partner’s tricks in rule 9. But here’s an exception. Suppose the total bid is low, 8 or 9. There are four or five bags out there, and someone is definitely going to take them. Suppose I’m long in clubs, and I’m leading. I have no choice but to play one club after another, and dagnabbit, the opponents have no clubs. I’ll play club after club, and the opponents merrily discard their high cards to dump tricks, while I collect bag … after bag … after bag. Meantime, my partner starts bagging me, too, by discarding <strong>their</strong> non-trump cards! I do not understand this behavior. If it’s pretty clear that your partner is just getting bagged, help them out by trumping in with your highest spade, and then try to escape the lead yourself with a low card.</p><p>10. <strong>Do graciously forgive mistakes.</strong></p><p>Everyone makes mistakes. Did your partner play a bad card? The most likely explanation is that they got distracted, or accidentally played the wrong card. Yes, some people are trolls, and will deliberately do things to annoy you. Most people are just trying to have a fun game of cards, and want to win. If your partner does something wrong, please consider that we’re all human and we make mistakes. Forgive and forget.</p><p>If you’ve got any rules of your own, or if you disagree with mine, please leave a comment! And if you want to play solo, give <a href="https://online-solitaire.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Solitaire</a> a try. That can be a fun game too, but personally, I prefer <a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">multiplayer Spades</a> for the teamplay!</p>HolgerSindbaekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06905864096948995075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8955528850967854446.post-18921276926377002032022-05-21T18:22:00.000-04:002023-04-11T10:33:35.527-04:00How to be seated at a new card game every time at World of Card Games<p><i>NOTICE: This post was originally posted on Medium, but has later been moved to the official <a href="http://blog.worldofcardgames.com/">World Of Card Games blog</a> to consolidate all posts.</i></p><p>This week, I got an email from someone who had recently started playing cards at <a href="https://worldofcardgames.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">World of Card Games</a>. The person was upset! When he clicked on the big Spades image to play a game, he’d very often be seated at a game that was <strong>already in progress</strong>. And worse, his team was losing, and the game was about to end.</p><p>That’s not fair, he said. It was a problem. But the real problem was that he didn’t realize that this situation was entirely under his control.</p><p>When you visit World of Card Games for the first time, and click on a game “button”, you don’t get taken to a game table immediately. Instead, you will see a dialog that looks like the screenshot below.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYdCmh2hzHOZLL0DWu4lAQmXgpd4KDslZXasdVU2OTs4qXhhBzxggI3IIMoyX3EREgQe3AoM1rocmtsidtwJPgmPQBoJJz6ej_15PwgQ43YDsqnGzUgAzUAD4gfdiQfS0Lzk0x1n5SgFaHX5qBAALyn2V0O_VbIQzSlZsCpCZxJY7YyjGTwCOkj3fWuA/s800/1_vg-Vuo8SE8iq93S6iszbpQ.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="394" data-original-width="800" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYdCmh2hzHOZLL0DWu4lAQmXgpd4KDslZXasdVU2OTs4qXhhBzxggI3IIMoyX3EREgQe3AoM1rocmtsidtwJPgmPQBoJJz6ej_15PwgQ43YDsqnGzUgAzUAD4gfdiQfS0Lzk0x1n5SgFaHX5qBAALyn2V0O_VbIQzSlZsCpCZxJY7YyjGTwCOkj3fWuA/w640-h316/1_vg-Vuo8SE8iq93S6iszbpQ.png" width="640" /></a></div><figure class="wp-caption"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">You can exclude games in progress at World of Card Games</figcaption></figure><p>In this example screenshot, the person just clicked on the Spades button. The dialog reads: <strong>How would you like to play “Spades”</strong>? And it gives you a few simple Options.</p><ul><li>Play against the computer (with “robots”)</li><li>Play against people, with “robots” allowed</li><li>Exclude Games in Progress</li><li>Remember this choice (you can change ALL settings later by using the ‘Options’ button)</li></ul><p>There are two buttons below these choices: “Go to table” and “Cancel”. Hopefully, it is obvious what they mean. If you click the “Go to table” button, you will be seated at a table with your selected Options applied.</p><p>In the example screenshot above, the “Exclude Games in Progress” checkbox is <strong>checked</strong>. If you click the “Go to table” button at this point, you’ll be taken to a table where the game has not yet started. And since you’ve got “Play against the computer” selected, your game will be against robots, and no people will be allowed at your table. If you want your Options to be saved, check the “Remember this choice” checkbox before clicking the “Go to table” button. Otherwise, you’ll see this dialog every time you click a game button.</p><p>At this point, I can imagine some people reading this are puzzled. They’re thinking “Marya, that’s crazy! Why don’t you just make sure that <strong>everyone</strong> gets seated at a table where the game hasn’t yet started.”</p><p>Here’s my answer. There are many people who just want to play one or two hands of a game, and then be done. Maybe they want to take a quick break from some boring task. Or they just just don’t have time to play a full game. After all, while some full games can take only 10 minutes, others can last for 40 minutes or more.</p><p>In fact, I’m one of the people who sometimes plays a hand or two. I do this for a couple of different reasons. Sometimes, I’m just taking a short break and I want to clear my head. I don’t have the time for a full game — but I want to <strong>finish</strong> a shorter game. At other times, I may have time for a longer game, and I find it interesting to get seated in the middle of a game to see if I can turn the tables and come back to win.</p><p>I’ve tried to make World of Card Games very flexible so that different people can use it in different ways, depending on their preferences. You don’t like being taken to a game that’s already started? You can fix that! If somehow you’re not seeing the dialog that I described above, you can still adjust your Options. Every game has its own Options that you can customize. Click the Options button, shown in the screenshot below.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-5NTpor7N8NK1wMQjOBS8n-ejLx95ZGsMHRUUhbrJUF2O3D6YRYyV7UUmQKf2d8MP8I1FdPB-FYXZ6KReNcMVh1_0frmxjBPWS_gJ_1qkaTrYvlJr5t14G6cFU1X3ljqlTVeQ4byl1F73LNa7gZJvutHUELjjTgtfPRWogpW1aq7BsgnubYJGJxTlA/s800/1_NrvTS-LYacX0m0aLPDDyLg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="800" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-5NTpor7N8NK1wMQjOBS8n-ejLx95ZGsMHRUUhbrJUF2O3D6YRYyV7UUmQKf2d8MP8I1FdPB-FYXZ6KReNcMVh1_0frmxjBPWS_gJ_1qkaTrYvlJr5t14G6cFU1X3ljqlTVeQ4byl1F73LNa7gZJvutHUELjjTgtfPRWogpW1aq7BsgnubYJGJxTlA/w640-h220/1_NrvTS-LYacX0m0aLPDDyLg.png" width="640" /></a></div><figure class="wp-caption"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">The Options button for Spades is shown with a green ellipse around it</figcaption></figure><p>Clicking the Options button will open a dialog like this:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bam1_XD152AtGxaBmWEdSvKrjZicUq2wwjRByJPkFHZOlUhzT31E9EAvj4r7lJAk2xm9LJnfQaW-3qxNNF2iB2PwD2zIFN1LrNE3pJBnq4K51nRWQv553umDlnd5FtUi5VNHW0do7baJYFdVAT7TCSskOwDBBX_1ibLl4uO1LOBw2Xfxz8v8wp9llA/s800/1_sFOtT6CeZHlD0XLEAWC3Qg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="402" data-original-width="800" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bam1_XD152AtGxaBmWEdSvKrjZicUq2wwjRByJPkFHZOlUhzT31E9EAvj4r7lJAk2xm9LJnfQaW-3qxNNF2iB2PwD2zIFN1LrNE3pJBnq4K51nRWQv553umDlnd5FtUi5VNHW0do7baJYFdVAT7TCSskOwDBBX_1ibLl4uO1LOBw2Xfxz8v8wp9llA/w640-h322/1_sFOtT6CeZHlD0XLEAWC3Qg.png" width="640" /></a></div><figure class="wp-caption"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">The Options dialog for Spades</figcaption></figure><p>Check the “Exclude Games in Progress” checkbox. Then click the OK button to save your new Options. Now you won’t be joining games right in the middle anymore. Have fun, and be nice 🙂</p>HolgerSindbaekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06905864096948995075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8955528850967854446.post-91045370626923622452022-05-14T18:28:00.000-04:002023-04-11T10:32:11.612-04:00You Got Disconnected<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ1hwvvACDbqmxGWepy_ym6FqyBvZlF97UvvMieE4GxRxYzAZOJAH4eJIRr-VHAjEHU7xpSL5ixUZ9Gi2RAwHvhFS5hRIQ7AItwCyMawdjySFYkM8_Cc3RfmZp7W70pgWSNY_ff8Y95Mlsl4gP505YzySjiiO7ekDdQ39nuesrUZf5JEtlgXJZ7Wl2uw/s800/1_dmtd97KHe1S_mVVPg59c_w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ1hwvvACDbqmxGWepy_ym6FqyBvZlF97UvvMieE4GxRxYzAZOJAH4eJIRr-VHAjEHU7xpSL5ixUZ9Gi2RAwHvhFS5hRIQ7AItwCyMawdjySFYkM8_Cc3RfmZp7W70pgWSNY_ff8Y95Mlsl4gP505YzySjiiO7ekDdQ39nuesrUZf5JEtlgXJZ7Wl2uw/w640-h360/1_dmtd97KHe1S_mVVPg59c_w.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><figure class="wp-caption"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@isodme?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Jonathan</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/router?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure><p><i>NOTICE: This post was originally posted on Medium, but has later been moved to the official <a href="http://blog.worldofcardgames.com/">World Of Card Games blog</a> to consolidate all posts.</i></p><p>Recently, I had to work from a <a href="https://dangerouslyawesome.com/2016/02/how-to-explain-what-coworking-is/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">coworking space</a> where my Internet connection was spotty, at times.</p><p>Typically, the problem would rear its ugly head as follows: I’d be in the middle of developing something, need some documentation, open a web browser, and do a search. And then I’d wait… and wait… and wait. Eventually, I’d give up, close my browser, reopen it, and then my search would quickly load up.</p><p>After a few of these incidents, I decided that slow loading meant I should just turn off the WiFi on my computer, and then turn it on again. This usually seemed faster than just waiting to reconnect, or getting timed out.</p><p>I couldn’t figure it out. What was causing this strange and <strong>annoying</strong> problem? Was the WiFi router really that bad? I expect a coworking space to have really good Internet. After all, most people who use a coworking space are doing work on the Internet. You generally don’t see stacks of books and people typing away on a typewriter at a coworking space 🙂</p><p>One day, as I waited and wondered whether I needed to reset my WiFi, I noticed the droning of a microwave in the next room over. And then it hit me — the microwave was interfering with my WiFi! It seemed quite odd, but the next few times I got disconnected, I noticed the microwave running. It wasn’t exactly a science experiment, but I’ve become <strong>convinced</strong> that microwaves can interfere with WiFi! I’m guessing it depends on the router and the microwave, but I think it has happened to me too frequently to be a coincidence… Perhaps I need to place a tinfoil hat on my computer (or on me!).</p><p>When this happened to me, it was so frustrating! And I felt a lot of empathy with any player who has been frustrated with a disconnect from <a href="http://worldofcardgames.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">World of Card Games</a> right smack in the middle of a game.</p><p>Sometimes, <a href="https://worldofcardgames.blogspot.com/p/freezing-and-disconnections.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">people will email me complaining about getting disconnected from the site</a>. There have definitely been times in the past when <strong>everyone</strong> playing at the site got disconnected due to a problem with the hosting service (the “hosting service” is the company that maintains the big computer that runs World of Card Games software). However, the truth is that most disconnects are due to local problems — and often the culprit is bad WiFi. According to technology writer Geoffrey Fowler at the Washington Post, “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/04/29/best-wifi-fix/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Bad Internet connections are [Americans’] №1 tech problem</a>”.</p><p>That Washington Post article outlines some things you can try to fix your Internet connection. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/05/06/wifi-problems-questions/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">And there’s a follow-up article with reader fixes for WiFi problems as well</a>. Next time you get disconnected, try some of those suggested solutions. If they don’t work, check out my <a href="https://worldofcardgames.blogspot.com/p/freezing-and-disconnections.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">blog post where I describe my own experience with game player issues</a>.</p><p>Or, just make sure the microwave is turned off before you play 🙂 And please comment here if you find anything that helps you, since it might help someone else.</p>HolgerSindbaekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06905864096948995075noreply@blogger.com