Heat is not difficulty. This is the distinction the whole depth rests on.

A harder task than the last one is still the same kind of task. Encounter is when the strategy that normally solves this entire category of situation stops being sufficient.

The person reaches for what has always worked. Analysis. Performance. Charm. Control. Endurance. Withdrawal. Speed. The correct answer. And the situation stays open.

At Recognition you can see the pattern. At Encounter the pattern stops finishing the job.

The design problem is holding enough uncertainty that another move becomes possible, without forcing that move. An Encounter engineered toward a predetermined outcome is a lesson with extra steps. And if you supply the replacement response too quickly, which is the most common instinct, the Encounter dissolves.

This is also the first depth with a real cost. Duration goes up. Throughput goes down. Some people will refuse. The route out has to preserve their dignity and it cannot require an explanation, because an invitation where the only dignified answer is yes was never an invitation.

What play looks like here

Play looks like staying interested when the known move stops working.

Without play, uncertainty becomes threat quickly, and the person grabs for a rule, an explanation, control, withdrawal, or whatever answer somebody in the room appears to want.

With play, I don't know yet can stay alive long enough for something else to appear.

This is the same thing that happens to an unfinished idea in a meeting. Some ideas have to be played before they can be judged.

Try this on your own work