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Learn how to design experiences that spark genuine insight, using principles from cognitive psychology, puzzle craft, and game design. Designed for all attendees.

Great puzzles, lessons, and games hinge on a single feeling: the moment when scattered pieces suddenly click into place. This session explores how to intentionally design for that experience instead of hoping it appears by accident. Drawing from puzzle-hunt design, classroom practice, and cognitive science, we’ll examine how solvers build mental models, why misdirection sometimes delights and sometimes frustrates, and how to tune difficulty so insight feels earned. Participants will dissect real examples, diagnose why they succeed or fail, and practice reshaping a weak challenge into one that guides discovery without giving away the answer. Leave with practical tools for crafting clearer clues, cleaner feedback loops, and more memorable “Aha!” moments in any learning or play environment.

• Event Type TRD - Trade Day Events
• Game System —
• Rules Edition —
• Day Wednesday
• Start Time 11:00 AM
• End Time 12:30 PM
• Duration 1.5 hours
• Location JW
• Room White River Ballroom J
• Table —
• Age Required Everyone (6+)
• Experience Required None (You've never played before - rules will be taught)
• Min Players 1
• Max Players 99
• Cost Free
• Tickets Available 99
• GM / Organizer David Tomczyk, Jim Tomczyk
• Group —
• Tournament No
• Round 1 of 1
• Materials Required No
• Materials Details —
• Website —
• Email —
• Special Category none
• Last Modified —