On Hues and Cues Back to Journal →

Sunday, November 30, 2025

Every year, Kileen and I visit my parents in Connecticut for Thanksgiving, which is always a blast. In past years, we’ve tacked on additional places like Rhode Island, where we used to live about 10 years ago, to make the trip a mini-adventure around Southern New England.

One of the surprise highlights of the trip was a board game my sister brought called Hues and Cues. The rules are simple. Someone gives a clue about a color, everyone else guesses. The fun part is realizing how quickly confidence falls apart when everyone is picturing something slightly different.

A few rounds in, the trick becomes obvious. The clues are not objective, they are personal. "Ocean blue" or "Barney purple"1Barney had very defined periods of different costume colors throughout the series. depends entirely on who is talking. Age, memories, and references all quietly shift the color without anyone noticing.

By the end, the game is less about color and more about translation. You stop hearing the word and start hearing the person. Which is a useful reminder that most misunderstandings are not about being wrong, they are about seeing the same thing through different lenses.