game time

sunrise:  7:12          blog time remaining:  5 posts

We have had three very beautiful mornings for a sunrise walk.  Now it looks like there's some weather moving in.  With two kids traveling in the next two days, I am a bit uneasy, but we'll see how it goes.  I wish safe journeys to all travelers out there.

I have 24 hours left with a full house, children in every bed.  One last day to clear out the refrigerator before everything goes bad.  I whipped up a double sized pan of coffee cake and put it in the oven before posting today.  If I don't make it now, there will only be four, then three, then two left to eat it up.

The other thing we'll take advantage of today, while we still have a full complement of players, is the ability to engage in some game time.

We played two terrific games last night - Mad Gab and Ticket to Ride (Europe edition).  J strategically bought a few new games that can be played with a group, or only with 2 people, so he and I will still be able to have some fun after the kids have gone.  Ticket to Ride is from an amazing game store in Belfast, ME.  You build train routes all over the world and try to complete destination tracks.  It was so fun.

We have been big fans of Boggle, Scrabble, Spades, Bucket of Nouns, Cranium, Pictionary, Fictionary, Poker, Samurai, Quest for Camelot, Frog Juice...to name a few.

Our family history of game playing has had its rocky moments.  Too many strong personalities, the usual dynamic of jockeying for control, stubbornness, and a powerful streak of competition in many of us.  Learning to play games together is a hugely useful skill, however, and in the end is incredibly fun.  Mad Gab was particularly hilarious, and works with two teams.  Hoopla is another great game that decreases competitive strife since it's the whole group against the clock.

When you are battling for world dominance, which seems to be the goal in many games, the risk of tyrannical winners and disgruntled losers seems to increase.  But that's life, isn't it?  Learning how to play the game.  You can play to win or just for fun.  You can be ruthless or easygoing.  You can win with grace or gloating, lose with humor or sulking, and then reap the results of your choice.  No one ever said playing is easy.