This is an incredibly insightful comment. You’ve perfectly described why so many people find word problems, especially in probability, so frustrating. The “guessing the password” analogy is spot on.
It’s fascinating to see how that same challenge—interpreting ambiguous information to figure out probabilities—applies in completely different fields, like strategic gaming.
For instance, ‘Big Brother: The Game’ is essentially one massive, real-time probability problem. Players are constantly trying to calculate the odds of eviction, the chances of an alliance holding true, and interpret intentionally misleading “data” from other players. It’s a surprisingly complex system.
I was so absorbed by this aspect that I actually built a solver tool to help track these variables and calculate the odds for different scenarios. It’s called BB Last Solver: https://bblastsolver.com/
It’s just funny how a tool for a game ends up tackling the same core issues of interpretation and probability you mentioned in math education.
This is a great list, and I agree with your placement of Cosmic Express—it’s a masterpiece of design. I’ll definitely have to check out engine-game.com when it’s ready; sounds intriguing.
It’s interesting how these games are all about solving logical, self-contained puzzles. Lately, I’ve been obsessed with a totally different kind of puzzle: solving the chaotic, unpredictable system of human players in ‘Big Brother: The Game.’
It’s like a puzzle box where the pieces (the players) are actively lying about their shape and function. Trying to find the optimal move is a massive analytical challenge. I got so into it that I built a solver tool to track alliances and calculate outcome probabilities, just to bring some logic to the chaos.
It’s called BB Last Solver: https://bblastsolver.com/
It’s a different flavor of “solving,” for sure, but any fan of analyzing complex systems might find it fascinating.