The Smoke Signal, MSJ's Official Newspaper

Feature

DieHard TryHards Play Zoom Pictionary

by Staff Writers Sabrina Cai, Maggie Lai, Varun Upadhyay & Brooke Zheng

As shelter-in-place continues, groups of friends have been looking for innovative ways to replicate their cherished game nights on virtual platforms. The DieHard TryHards compete against each other in a game of pictionary, but with a crazy twist — they’re using Zoom’s whiteboard function and a randomly selected bank of both custom and standard words.

Before

Varun:

I’m pretty good at Pictionary, so I’m not too concerned about the rest of the competition. Over the hundreds of hours I’ve put into the game, I’ve been able to finetune my guessing skills, which have never been better. Even though drawing on a computer with a mouse might be a challenge, I’m still confident that I’ll be able to accurately guess my competitors’ drawings, however poorly drawn they may turn out to be. This competition is definitely going to be a walk in the park, and I can’t see myself in any place other than first. Hopefully the others can at least put up some type of challenge so I won’t embarrass them too much after sweeping. I guess there really isn’t much else to say except for one thing: I look forward to winning!

Maggie:

Let me get one thing straight — my track record when it comes to competitions isn’t exactly the best and I’m definitely the last person you’d consider an artist. Zoom Pictionary might just be a turning point for me though. I’m not expecting too much, but hopefully, the one game of skribbl.io I played three months ago will land me in second or first place. I also kind of wish I had more practice for this, but oh well — here’s to winging it! Aside from that, I’ll just be manifesting a somewhat decent outcome for this competition.

Brooke:

First off, my drawing skills aren’t that great. Neither are my guessing skills. But hopefully the hours of practice playing Pictionary with my friends in Chinese school will pay off. Actually, now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve ever won a game before and the other contestants keep saying how good they are at Pictionary, so I’m just hoping I’ll get a couple words and come in third. Worst case scenario I completely embarrass myself by not guessing a single word and drop out of my undeserving spot in Honors English.

Sabrina:

In reality, I’m pretty confident in my skill level, having played many rounds of both Pictionary and skribbl.io. My friends can testify to these wins and my competitive nature. I’ve even perfected my trackpad drawing abilities and exercised my pointer finger for maximum efficiency when given a word. Now that I think about it, I’ve prepared more for this competition than I do for most of my tests, so I’m either expecting first place or taking this as a sign to not study and to wing my tests.

After

Varun:

I’m incredibly disappointed in my performance, and I did not expect to come in tied for last at all. I didn’t eat breakfast, my Wi-Fi was bad, and it overall just wasn’t a good day for me. The only reason I lost must’ve been the lag on the Zoom call, as there’s no other feasible explanation. What makes this loss even worse is the fact that I’d boasted so much beforehand, fully expecting to win. That being said, I also wouldn’t mind having a rematch to try and redeem myself, and next time, I’ll be sure to try my best and win. 

Maggie:

Well, what can I say? Manifestation worked. I surpassed my own expectations by miles, and to be completely honest, this is my biggest flex in a while and I’m wholeheartedly satisfied with this outcome. My drawing skills are still lacking, but it turns out I’m a pretty speedy guesser. This also goes to show that a humble mindset, rather than overconfidence, is the way to go when it comes to competitions, unlike some of my fellow competitors. I’m pleased that I placed this well though, and I’ve even developed a new-found love for Pictionary now! 

Brooke:

Well that took an unexpected turn. I’m not going to lie, I had sweat dripping down my forehead, and my hands were actually shaking the first couple of rounds. Turns out those hours of playing actually did pay off and I totally underestimated my ability to randomly blurt out words. I just want to say though, some people *cough* Varun *cough* really need to work on their artistic abilities. That quidditch drawing was pretty ugly. But all in all, I truly exceeded my expectations with how I did and am very happy with my co-first place finish. Now I finally have something to brag about and hopefully this wasn’t just purely luck so that I don’t look like an egotistical fool when I play against my friends again. 

Sabrina:

I got second. Kind of disappointing. I guess I’ll swallow my pride and admit that I wasn’t as amazing at Pictionary as I thought I was. Though, I am confident that I said “breakfast” first so… take that as you may. I do think my drawings were phenomenal though. I mean, who could draw a better fishing pole? Regardless, my biggest takeaway from this drastic turn of events is that I’m better at winging it and preparation is for losers. With this realization, I’m calling for a rematch and I’m confident that I will win next time!

Cover Graphic by Feature Editor Ian Park

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