I got a lot of fun feedback on the article I wrote about the fights that break out while playing Monopoly. Apparently my family is not alone in its inability to play a game peacefully. Here's some other complaints people have. The names are withheld to prevent violence and grudge keeping.
Chess: The biggest complaint seems to be that people take too much time to make a move. Everyone wants to appear to be a brilliant strategist, but there is no true correlation between how long it takes you to make a move and how brilliant you are. It seems that half the people who play chess know this and half don't and somehow one person from each side of this divide manages to pair up every time to play chess, creating a miserable evening for both. Drinking while playing this game makes things worse. One Islander told me that his brother, who thought thinkin' and drinkin' went together, got so angry when he lost that he lined up all the chess pieces on a rail and shot them all with a BB gun, well, he missed most actually, but it's the thought that counts. Perhaps Chess is best off when it's used as a designer piece, like on a movie set. You know, you buy an expensive Chess set and set it up so everyone can see it, and just for a special effect, you move one piece...
Life: The game of Life is fun. You sit in a little car and fill it with pegs as you go through life's passages. Everyone seems to like this game, in part because you can share all your personal experiences as you go. When you hit 'marriage' it costs you nearly nothing to get married. But when you hit 'divorce', it costs you a small fortune and you can end up in the 'poor house', just like real life. I think it's a kick that the game has gone high tech and done away with paper money, you get a reloadable debit card for money now.
Yahtzee: Poker with dice. Simple and still a favorite game by all reports. Can be played drunk or sober by all reports. Simple math, such as adding the totals on the dice required. Complex math, such as adding all the totals in all the columns to find out who won required. Multiple math, such as having more than one player add the totals because you cant trust the first person also required. Not recommended for those who imbibe in herbal cigarettes because there seems to be a lot of trouble adding even the dice totals and no one can remember if they're taking turns by going to the right or left.
Parcheesi: An old favorite of mine and really fun if you play by the rules inside the top of the box. Game strategy is important, so play sober and no one will get hurt.
Go: The ancient Japanese game that I think all strategy games are based on. A simple painted grid on a wooden board and two bowls of black and white round pieces, minutes to learn, forever to master. Not too popular in the US except for the a group of enthusiasts like me. I agree with one man who says the problem is the pieces slide on the board too easily. One bump and they all slide all over. I never saw that as a problem, it was my way of getting out of losing game. One accidentally well placed knock from my knee and I was spared humiliation.
Othello: A very popular small variation of Go. Othello is easy to learn, lots of fun, can be played sober, drunk or high since the question of who's winning is apparent all the time, either there are more black pieces showing or more white. No need to worry about whose turn it is since it's a two person game. Even a very high person, by process of elimination, can deduce whose turn it is next. Bonus; if the loser gets mad and tosses the game, the pieces are the size of quarter and very easy to find not that that has ever happened of course.
Cards: I never met a card game I didn't like. Card games are still very popular; mostly variations of Poker, and many enjoy Spades and Hearts. I didn't hear anyone talk about Bridge or Canasta or any of the more complicated games. Cards are still best for game with company and playing on a boat. I always wished I could master one of those fancy impressive shuffle. I'm a hacksaw shuffler. I just slush them together until someone makes a comment about how long it's taking me to shuffle. One thing to remember, if you lose a few cards and replace them with cards from another partial deck, check the backs to make sure the designs are the same. I had three blue Bicycle brand cards mixed in with a pack of red Bicycle cards and it didn't seem to take long for everyone to memorize what three cards those were, putting players at a distinct advantage or disadvantage depending on the deal. But hey... it's just a game.
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