In 6th grade, I was part of my school's Enrichment Program. It was a group of roughly 15 intelligent students who administrators felt weren't being sufficiently challenged in the classroom. One period a day we would skip class and go to the Enrichment room, where we'd undertake an activity that better expanded our developing young minds. Most of the kids chose to read novels or complete extra-credit assignments. Some played board games or chess.

My friend Dan and I didn't do any of that crap. Instead, we invented a game called "Ruler Hockey." We sat at opposite ends of the room, each...