Mario's Super Picross (1995)

Level 4 Completion Journal

Perhaps a depressing thought, but work for the average person is never complete. Even as I close out my time with my second job in a few weeks, my work won't be close to done. There is still the necessary work of being a good husband. There is still the necessary work of being a good father. There is still the necessary work of fighting for justice in a country* that is making a stronger and stronger case that it is morally bankrupt. I want a better life for my kids. I can't throw in the towel. I can't retire just yet. I must return to the plow.

I know this is a wild juxtaposition with a smug looking Mario congratulating me in Japanese on beating the 4 main levels of his Picross game, but I will tie this together.

Work is constant and relentless. So we must find joy in the work. We must so we are able to push forward. So we messy miracles of people do just that. We find joy in providing for our families. We find joy in scrubbing dish after dish, after changing dirty diaper after dirty diaper, after taking the verbal abuse of another projecting client. It's like magic. We convince ourselves what is widely understood as bad as good. The context (for me) of family allows for that little magic to occur.

Picross performs a little magic of its own. When you truly break down what the puzzle is, you're basically doing long addition problems and reconciling your sums with other addition problems. When you look at it this way, Picross seems like Tedious Accounting: The Game. But the context makes it great. The dumb little pictures and the near endless sense of completion make a task that sounds menial feel joyful. It transforms what could traditionally be understood as work into something pleasant.

Picross is more than what it is. It is what it does. And it makes an overworked, somewhat jaded, 30 year old dad who is exhausted feel a sense of rest. It is nice and peaceful intrinsically. It succeeds at solace in a way other games where your character is on an endless vacation just can't mimic.

Picross is good work.

Apparently I unlocked more levels. IDK. Maybe later.

The rest of my work/Picross musings.

Level 3 Completion Journal

As my life has grown increasingly complicated, I've increasingly craved simplicity. I wear basically the same outfit to work everyday (white oxford dress shirt, black slacks, black slip-on shoes), I eat the same breakfast everyday (oatmeal with brown sugar and blueberries), and I engage with the same easy entertainment everyday (Mostly podcasts now- Comedy Bang Bang, Easy Allies Podcast, and cough cough, my own podcast...). The simple repetitive routines are a respite from an otherwise chaotic and tiring life.

I think that's why my favorite games as of the last few years are light on plot with relatively simple mechanics. I like the bouncy easygoing fare of the Steamworld games. I've gravitated toward games with the label of simple to learn but impossible to master like Into the Breach. My overly busy life has pushed me toward the simple joys of Picross.

The levels are getting harder, but I find I am making less mistakes. My skills are growing quicker than the game's difficulty. But frankly, that's fine. I just need a distraction and this game offers that. The music is joyful and energetic, the design is charming, the mechanics are simple. If I need to zone out for a bit, this is perfect. And for two more weeks, I need to zone. I'm glad Picross is offering the assistance.

My other journal entry thingies featuring Picross

Level 2 Completion Journal

I think a big reason I've been able to work so much is because my jobs are menial, but in hindsight I have found every job I've worked to be menial. I'd like to go a step further and say all jobs are menial, but I haven't worked every job, so I guess I can't say that. Maybe just that we* lionize work in a way that isn't healthy. I used to do that. Elevate work. I remember once correcting someone about how I was working two jobs instead of one. My friend was unimpressed. "Weird flex, bro." He was right. Why was I proud of doing double the thing most people are trying to do less of?

Menial work doesn't necessarily mean bad. I would consider Picross menial. I could probably have my 1st Grade daughter complete some of the more simple Picross puzzles given enough time. Anyone can do them. Its quality however doesn't come from who can do it (anyone) but instead from what it does to the player. Games can function as escapism, and Picross is escapism in its purist form. I forget about my worries for awhile, my brain shifts into a calculator, and I just go. It's the kind of "work" one can lose themselves to. The kind of work you like doing.

I don't know what these Wario levels are but I'm very excited.

*Americans

Here are more Picross/Work musings

Level 1 Completion Journal

I've been working 80 hours a week for almost a year. We were in financial dire straits, and my wife was six months pregnant. So I picked up a second job and just didn't look back. 12 months, 1 child birth, 3 loan payoffs, and a global pandemic later and I'm finally cutting back on hours. I told my second job I'm gunna switch to part time hours. I just can't hack the stress, and I paid off the loans that put us in this awful financial situation.

Would I recommend working 80 hours a week? No. I don't swear* so please read between the lines when I say heck no. But if you must work 80 hours a week: find things that (A) destress you and (B) prioritize having fun. Picross is mostly that first section but also a little of column B too.

Picross has a Zen like quality where the necessary math to solve its puzzles doesn't even qualify as equations. They're computations a brain in flow automates. I forget I'm doing math. I'm just making chunky pictures of penguins and boats for Mario. I solved most of these level 1 puzzles in a minute which means I'm constantly receiving the intrinsic reward of completion. It fires off the dopamine in my brain quickly and invites me to take another hit. I immediately want to dive in to level 2. Here I go.

*On this site.

Here are more Picross/Work musings