Jenga

"And so it falls, harshly onto reality." "Alice?"

"Hmm?"

"What can I do if there are no more moves left?"

"... Ah, there's always a way to get around it... if you're fast enough."

"How?"

"Like, this!"

"... wow. I didn't think that was allowed."

"Well, I guess the rules don't really say you couldn't do that. Just that you can't take one from below an incomplete level."

"Wanna play again?"

"Mmm, you wanna ask mom if she wants to play too?"

"You want me to ask Selena?"

"Rayne, I thought I told you to call her mom from now on."

"Ah... sorry, Alice."

"There you go again, and what did I tell you to call me?"

"Sorry... sis."

"...Heh."

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, no, nothing eheheh..."

"Come on, tell me!"

"...You know, it seems like last week when mom came home with you. She carried you in like you were still a baby."

"I was. Are you changing the subject?"

"Were you? You could walk at the time."

"Quit stalling, make your move!"

"Rayne... mmm, you know, Jenga isn't just a game."

"It isn't?"

"No, you can compare it to an everlasting battle with only a handful of moves. Each block of the tower is either a safe move or a move that makes the tower crumble.

It's a game of tactics, where the best evader is the winner."

"Then I should always go first."

"Not necessarily."

"Mmmm?"

"If you go second, you actually have an advantage over the one who goes first. Sure, the one who goes first might be able to pull the first move, but that also means several things..."

"Like what, sis?"

"The individual who has the chance to make the first move, also has the chance to make the first mistake. You can also measure your opponent's patterns if you go second."

"... what? That makes no sense, don't you just pick a block, remove it and just stack until somebody loses?"

"What?! What do you think we're playing, a game?! This is Jenga, Rayne! It's tactical decision making!"

"Hmph... is... it...?"

"Look, every fight has rules. You disobey the rules, you lose."

"Ah so they're like the operation condi-"

"Yes, similar. Instead of blindly picking and removing blocks, you're allowed to tap at blocks to test for loose ones!"

"Ah, you're allowed to do that too?"

"Yes! But that's not all, after removing a block, one must carefully decide where to replace it."

"Eeeh?"

"By thinking about where you place the block, you are influencing where the tower will lean! This shifts the safety levels of blocks to your choosing."

"Wow, did you learn all that from just playing Jenga?"

"Hahaha, no. Jenga's just a game."

"..."

"... Pfffffttt.... Ahahahahahahaa!"

"I'm never playing with you again."

"Oh come on, Rayne, it was just a joke! You were so into it too!"

"Meanie!"

"Oh come here. Let's finish this game, I'll teach you a secret move that you can use to win every time... here you just hold it like this... and!... Ah..."

"It fell down."