to the computer version of Monopoly. See, as an only child, I loved board games, and even had a few, but never really got to play them, unless you did the utterly pathetic right hand against the left hand sort of thing. (And yes, I did have some friends, but then the board games I liked were a little odd, like my Bicentennial history or Bermuda Triangle game, Clue, or Scrabble...I could usually only get other people to play Trouble, Sorry, or Don't Break the Ice--games that didn't require much thinking or strategy). We did play Yahtzee as a family, and we had a 3D chess game, so I did learn the basics, although I've mostly played computers, since I've only known one person who liked chess. My mom taught me solitaire, although it was a sado-masochistic version and I didn't realise it untili I started playing on the computer. In her defence, she taught me the game she was taught, where you couldn't move anything once placed and lost if you missed putting an ace up. The couple of times I played Trivial Pursuit in the dorm led to me being banned because I had a head for trivia and won both times. Thankfully, I have friends now who like board and trivia games (and we're nicely even in ability and have different specialities, so trivia games work well). But Monopoly takes so long in real life, most people I've known have gotten bored somewhere in the middle, so it's nice to have the computer version.
My favourite current real-world game is Cranium. We played it over at N's house on New Year's Eve, and it had a great balance in terms of type of thinking...it's not just knowledge-based. It uses charades, acting out, drawing out clues (I'm apparently good at doing this with my eyes closed), humming, or sculpting. The only trouble with it is that you need a lot of people to play. Oh, and never give the tone deaf person the humming one. :) It also makes you act very quickly; you often have just a few seconds to answer or convey the answer.
Okay, having bankrupted the computer, I'm heading on to bed. Have a good week.
| Unshelved | by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum |
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