I Can't Stop Watching This Kid Try (And Fail) to Stack Cards on Twitch

When Twitch formally added IRL (in real-life) as a category late last year, allowing people to stream far more than video games, it's given video creators a broad canvas to paint with. Some folks have used it to provoke their own viewers and revel in notoriety, while others, like streamer mnr61894, have focused on tasks far more mundane: trying (and often failing) to stack cards really high.

"I started stacking cards because I had cards lying around and I enjoyed the challenge of creating card towers," said mnr61894, whose primary language is Japanese.

Granted, it's more specific than just stacking cards; mnr61894 wants to get himself in the Guinness World Records, and he's starting out by trying to build a 15-story house of cards.

I stumbled upon mnr61894 after seeing a clip of a very public failure mnr61894 had while trying to accomplish that goal. As he was nearing the end of building his 15-story house of cards, one of them began to fall. It's unclear what happened, as mnr61894 didn't tap his elegant structure. It could have been the wind, it might have been a misplaced speck of dust. Whatever the case, it all fell down.

Amidst screams, he collapses to the floor, presumably in the same pile as the cards.

"[I was] both frustrated and sad," he said. "Frustrated because I seemed so close to completing it, and sad that it had collapsed and I had to rebuild the tower.

He was frustrated and sad, but, uh, I laughed. A lot. In fact, I watched the clip over a dozen times, and started sharing it with other people. But whatever karmic points I had lost for indulging in his humiliation were offset by my newfound interest in hoping to see mnr61894 succeed at his audacious task. I'm not one to put Twitch streams on in the background while I work, but since mnr61894 mostly speaks in Japanese, it ends up being a form of white noise. Every once and awhile, I tab over to see mnr61894's progress, and maybe cheer him on in the chat room.

"I find it strange to stream my success and failures on Twitch," he said, "However, I am able to communicate with people from foreign countries as well as Japan. I also want more Japanese people to watch Twitch."

My patience paid off a few days back, when mnr61894 achieved his 15-story house of cards. When the last card was put into place—and, importantly, the structure stayed intact beyond the placement—he looked into the camera, his face a mixture of defiance and pride, and pumped his fist to the audience. He slowly pumped the other first into the sky, while trying to control his emotions. (You could tell he wanted to scream, but worried about it might ruin everything.)

The moment got to him, though, and mnr61894 ends up sitting down and sobbing.

"Never give up," reads the clip's description, grabbed by one of mnr61894's few but rabid fans.

"I cried because I had finally achieved the personal satisfaction of completing the tower after so many failures," he said. "I finally achieved my goal."

I'm happy for you, buddy.

What's next? A bigger house of cards, of course.

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