This comic was likely inspired, at least in part, by my Mom. Over six years ago I introduced her to the computer game “Bookworm” and she has been playing it ever since. Oh sure, there have been other things in the meantime (“Peggle”, and more recently some hidden object games) but Bookworm was her first big gaming fixation.

If she’s ever not playing it regularly, it’s because of the issue brought up by this comic; one day the pieces will fall into place and she’ll get a higher score than she’s ever gotten. Too high, she thinks. Impossibly high. And then in subsequent games she won’t even be able to get close. It’s funny and a bit sad to watch, because I’ve been in that place so many times — if you set the bar too high and aren’t even sure what you did to get there, what hope do you have of ever getting there again? [January 3, 2012]