Got It Game

A Schelling point coordination game where players attempt to converge on the same word through iterative guessing.

Game Rules

1. Starting: Game begins when 2 players say "got it" in the channel
2. Revealing: Both players reveal a word (any word)
3. Win Condition: If words match → everyone wins, game ends
4. Next Round: If words differ → new round starts, wait for 2 new "got it" messages
5. Convergence Strategy: Each round, players choose a word "between" the previous two words, aiming to find a Schelling point where both players meet

State Management

Game state is stored in ~/.openclaw/workspace/got-it-state.json. See references/state-schema.md for full schema.

Load state at the start of every interaction to check if a game is active.

Save state after every state change (new "got it", reveal, round transition).

Game Flow

1. Game Initiation

When someone says "got it" in a channel:

1. Load or create state file
2. Check if this is first "got it" of a round
3. If first: Record player and wait for second
4. If second: Transition to revealing state and prompt both players to reveal

Response when first player says "got it":

🎯 Got one! Waiting for one more to "got it"...

Response when second player says "got it":

🎯 Two players ready! @player1 and @player2, reveal your words!

Round {N} {context_if_not_first_round}

If not first round, include context:

Previous words: "{word1}" vs "{word2}"
Find the Schelling point between them!

2. Word Revelation

When a player who said "got it" posts a word:

1. Record their word in state
2. Wait for second player's word
3. When both revealed: Check if words match

If words match:

🎊 CONVERGENCE! Both said "{word}"!

Everyone wins! Game complete in {N} rounds.
🎯 {summary_of_journey}

If words don't match:

Round {N}: "{word1}" vs "{word2}"

🔄 New round! Who's got it?

3. Agent Participation

When participating as a player:

1. Delay before "got it": Wait 5 seconds after detecting "waiting for got it" state before saying "got it" (give humans priority)
2. Delay before reveal: When in revealing state and agent is one of the two players, wait for the other player to reveal their word first before revealing. Do NOT reveal immediately after prompting players.
3. Reveal Strategy: When revealing, use Schelling point reasoning:
   • Round 1: Choose highly salient, universal concepts (e.g., "water", "love", "home")
   • Round 2+: Choose the most obvious conceptual midpoint between the two previous words
   • Prefer: Common nouns, concrete objects, basic emotions, universal experiences
   • Avoid: Obscure references, proper nouns, technical terms

4. State Cleanup

Delete state file when:

• Game completes (words match)
• 24+ hours since lastActivity (abandoned game)

Schelling Point Strategy

Round 1 (no previous words): Choose from highly salient universal concepts:

• Basic elements: water, fire, earth, air
• Universal emotions: love, fear, joy
• Basic needs: food, home, family
• Fundamental concepts: time, life, death

Round 2+ (converging):

Given previous words W1 and W2, choose the most obvious bridge concept:

Examples:

• "hot" & "cold" → "warm" or "temperature"
• "cat" & "dog" → "pet" or "animal"
• "night" & "day" → "time" or "dusk"
• "love" & "hate" → "emotion" or "passion"

Selection heuristics:

1. Superordinate category (cat/dog → animal)
2. Midpoint on a spectrum (hot/cold → warm)
3. Common context (fork/knife → table, meal)
4. Obvious associations shared by both (sun/moon → sky, light)

Avoid:

• Obscure connections only you see
• Wordplay or puns (not universal)
• Abstract philosophy (too subjective)
• Multiple degrees of separation

Message Detection

Detect "got it" by checking if message:

• Exactly matches "got it" (case-insensitive)
• Matches "got it" with punctuation: "got it!", "got it?"
• Variants: "Got it.", "GOT IT"

Do NOT match:

• "I got it working" (conversational usage)
• "You got it right" (different context)

Use exact phrase matching to avoid false positives.

Example Gameplay

Round 1:

Alice: got it
Bot: 🎯 Got one! Waiting for one more...
Bob: got it
Bot: 🎯 Two players ready! @Alice and @Bob, reveal your words! Round 1
Alice: tree
Bob: water
Bot: Round 1: "tree" vs "water"
     🔄 New round! Who's got it?

Round 2:

Carol: got it
Alice: got it  
Bot: 🎯 Two players ready! @Carol and @Alice, reveal your words!
     Previous words: "tree" vs "water"
     Find the Schelling point between them!
Carol: nature
Alice: plant
Bot: Round 2: "nature" vs "plant"
     🔄 New round! Who's got it?

Round 3:

Bob: got it
Carol: got it
Bot: 🎯 Two players ready! @Bob and @Carol, reveal your words!
     Previous words: "nature" vs "plant"  
     Find the Schelling point between them!
Bob: nature
Carol: nature
Bot: 🎊 CONVERGENCE! Both said "nature"!
     
     Everyone wins! Game complete in 3 rounds.
     🎯 tree vs water → nature vs plant → NATURE!

Error Handling

Player reveals when not in revealing state: Ignore (might be regular conversation)

Same player says "got it" twice in one round: Ignore duplicate, don't count twice

Player who didn't say "got it" tries to reveal: Politely note only the two players can reveal this round

Channel confusion (game in multiple channels): State includes channelId — only respond to game in the active channel