What Games Reveal

When I was in high school, Mom and Dad hosted a croquet game in the backyard.  I don’t remember the exact rule, but Dad was presented with the option to either a) proceed toward a wicket or b) wallop an opponent’s ball across the yard. He chose option b. The opponent, Bob (Mom’s best work-friend), immediately left the party, outraged.

Games seem to be designed to reveal a person’s deepest personality flaws. Dad was competitive beyond all reason. Bob .. I didn’t know him well, but I imagine that perhaps he took things too seriously. 

Gary and I played our game today in an epic four hour session. We won spectacularly, but the journey to the finish line was ugly. Our worst traits were revealed in the stress of the game.

I am impatient. Gary could not find the cards quickly enough for me, given that they were in alphabetical order. I would say ugly things like, “The Pocket Watch card is under the P’s,” and then sigh deeply. Every time. 

Gary casts blame. There was one door-opening move I chose not to take, and it cost me, because  Gary then prefaced every move with, “Well I wouldn’t have to do this if you had opened that door. What were you thinking?” He was relentless. 

We had to have a little tiff about it, and then I shut up about alphabetizing and he shut up about the damn door and then we enjoyed the game again.

Comments

[Ernie]

So true. I am competitive but I am capable of flipping an internal switch to opt not to care. This after years of torment by my competitive to a fault brothers. Um, my father in law has a competitive screw loose. We once played Scattegories (I think). My mother in law held a buzzer. She had to/got to buzz him for saying the wrong word. Let's just say it didn't end well. He threw the game and stormed out of the house. Oh that sweet, sweet buzzer.

[TheQueen]

Ernie - when my Dad played Trivial Pursuit, if he had to move his pie token in to the same square as your pie on his way to some other square, he would “stomp” your token, squashing it under his token and grinding it into the board. Fun times, fun times.

[KC]

There are people I will not play games with, because: no. I like to think that those sides of their personalities are *only* applicable to games, but perhaps not...

Congratulations on beating the game, though! (is it timed such that finding Pocket Watch quickly actually matters, or is it just annoying to wait?)

[TheQueen]

KC - just very annoying to watch. Since then we have almost won another that was rated as highly difficult. We would have won but Gary couldn’t leave one of the characters behind to drown.