“Do you remember when we talked about online puzzle games for kids? About how puzzles aren’t about speed. They seemed boring to you… and maybe even a little disobedient. Tell me, have you tried putting puzzles together again? Did you change your mind?” the Wise Owl asked the Little Book Bird.
“Yes, I played the puzzles. And you know what? I started to like them – now they listen to me,” laughed the Little Book Bird. “I put together the puzzle with the map from our first adventure, and it turned out wonderful. The map is so beautiful, and it brings back so many memories! At first, it was hard and took a long time. But then I realized I could choose puzzles with fewer pieces.”
“What does that mean?” asked the Wise Owl. “Are there different puzzles in one game?”
“Not exactly different. It’s the same picture, just with a different number of pieces,” the Little Book Bird explained. “And if it feels difficult, you can choose an easier puzzle.”
“I see – one picture, but a different number of pieces means different difficulty levels.”
“Yes! First I finished the easy level, then a harder one, and then… the last one. Do you know how many pieces it had? Forty-five! It was really hard… and exciting.”
“You did well not giving up right away when it didn’t work,” said the Wise Owl. “You found the right approach: start with an easier puzzle, then move to a harder one. The easy one felt manageable, you succeeded, and that made you enjoy it. The puzzles started listening to you, didn’t they?”
“That’s true!” laughed the Little Book Bird. “They became obedient!”
“It wasn’t only the puzzles that became obedient – you became more attentive, and you started enjoying the process. And when we enjoy something, we don’t want to quit. We even begin to wonder: can we handle the harder level? That’s why you moved on to more challenging puzzles. In that way, online puzzle games taught you how to plan: start with an easier level, then try a harder one. You learned to choose the right strategy.”
“They also train patience and focus,” the Wise Owl continued. “You didn’t give up when the pieces wouldn’t fit and started to frustrate you – you kept trying to put the puzzle together. That is patience. And when you concentrated on the pieces, looked for the right place for each one, noticed small details, and didn’t get distracted – that is focus.”
“So all of that happened while I was just playing online puzzles?” the Little Book Bird asked in surprise.
“Yes. You weren’t just playing – you were training,” the Wise Owl smiled.
“But you know, sometimes puzzles can still be frustrating, especially when it takes a long time to get it right. Then it’s better to take a break. Or go back to an easier level – just 15 pieces – and the joy of success will come back,” the Wise Owl added.