Game

Mention tennis or backgammon, and the term "zero-sum game" will come to our mind. That means a situation when I win, you lose; if you win, I lose. 

But that's not the rule in the novel The Wishing Game, in which four contestants compete against each other in a one-of-a-kind competition on a fantastical island. They are working hard to win the only copy of a new book written by a reclusive bestselling author. To win the book that is supposed to sell more than one hundred thousand dollars, a contestant must score ten points. And if no one scores the requisite ten points, the book will go to the publisher. 

That's somewhat like a competition of Rubik's Cube. Everyone is competing against the clock. If nobody can beat the clock, that's it. The end.

Don't think that you can go online and search for a YouTube tutorial. If the contestants are caught using the landlines, smartphones, computers, or any internet-connected device on the island, they will be immediately disqualified.

If we have more games like this in the real world, that would be a true meritocracy.