The Innkeeper’s Memory

An innkeeper served travelers on a busy road. Most travelers came through only once. With them, the innkeeper was merely adequate — fair prices, clean rooms, nothing more.

But when a merchant who traveled the road monthly checked in, the innkeeper brought his best wine, his freshest bread, his warmest room.

A servant asked why the difference. The innkeeper explained: “The one-time traveler will never return. I’ll never see the reward of treating him well. The monthly merchant will come back. Every kindness I show him is an investment in next month’s business.”

The game changes when the players know they’ll meet again.