When Dave first moved into his apartment, I worried about activities he would do in his free time, especially because I wouldn’t be there to monitor him. One of the most enduring activities Dave enjoys is playing with his Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. This card game requires the ability to understand the actions of the cards and how they work together to beat your opponent. It turns out that trading card games are excellent free-time activities for people like Dave because they are cognitively demanding.
I learned how to play the game, too, so I could play with him. In the beginning I used to hope I would run out of life points (i.e., lose the game) quickly. The actions of the various cards are very confusing to me so it was hard for me to understand the game. I have played with Dave once a week since he moved in to his apartment, and have come to enjoy it. Now I actually try to win, but I don’t win very often. Whoever wins gets to keep the “trophy” pictured here for the week. Because of the complexity of playing the game and building custom decks, it is an activity that helps keep Dave’s mind challenged.
The Challenge of Building Decks
Besides playing the game, one of the challenging activities associated with Yu-Gi-Oh! includes building your own deck with a combination of monsters, spell cards and trap cards. It’s not easy. For example, if you don’t have a good mix of low level monsters and high level monsters, you can’t win. In addition, as I alluded to, the strategy of the game inludes using multiple cards that work together. Each card has a complex set of instructions that determine how the card works. Dave understands them (mostly). I don’t understand them very well. Actually, I can barely even read the descriptions because they are written in very small print at the bottom of the card!
But the point is that Dave spends much of his free time building Yu-Gi-Oh! decks, including studying the action of each card. I can hardly think of better activity for him to be doing in his free time.
I use the same deck every week because I don’t want to have to learn how other cards work. Dave often uses a different deck that he has built, and studied, during the week, especially after the rare week that I have won the game. He chooses cards from his large collection, part of which is pictured above. Besides this bin, there are cards laying all over the apartment, which I’m not thrilled about. But keeping *his* apartment as clean as *I* would like it takes a back seat to the importance of this game for Dave.
Playing Trading Card Games Supports Learning
Dave, like many people, does not like to lose. In the early days, he would sulk after losing a game. In fact, he used to simply quit the game if it looked like he was going to lose. In the past few years, the sulking has been greatly minimized. Instead of sulking he will, jokingly, try to hide the trophy so I can’t take it home!
When I was reading books about Down syndrome in the late 80s, sources often mentioned a “plateau,” beyond which people with Down syndrome are not expected to learn. Most experts no longer believe the plateau exists, and Dave’s experience living on his own offers many examples. He continues to grow and learn as long as he is given the opportunity to do so. His ability to graciously accept losing is one example. I will share more examples in future posts.