Games

I have never been very good at games. Chess is a mystery to me. I don’t understand Poker. Solitaire I can understand and most of the card games, board games have set rules and the games that kids play have rules that are pretty fluid. I either don’t care about these games or I don’t understand them.

 

I do know how to play Chess; I know how each piece is supposed to move around the board. I know that the object of the game is to put the King in a situation where he can’t move without putting himself in jeopardy. I know that the white side always gets to move first. I don’t know why the white side always moves first, I just know that it does. I am aware that Chess is a game of strategy and people have spent their lives learning the different tactics and moves. I am aware that I need to plan several moves in advance in order to win the game and I can do that without any difficulty at all. Unfortunately, my opponents have never made the moves that I thought they should make, ever!

 

Poker is another game that I understand without really understanding at all. I can never seem to get people to bet on a hand when I have a good one. I will bet when I know the other guy has a good hand. I thought that was what a polite opponent did. Even when I am bluffing, everyone seems to fold for some reason. I must have one of those extremely readable faces. Stupid game!

 

Some board games are okay. Most are just not fun to play for more than ten or fifteen minutes. I can remember playing a game of monopoly for about two weeks one summer. Two weeks of mind numbing boredom. The same goes for Risk, Life and any number of those complicated, games. I guess what I am thinking about is that who cares if you win a board game? I care that I wasted a few hours of my life when I could have been wasting it in a much more enjoyable way.

 

I know that a lot of people love to play these games and some of them really get caught up in the strategy and outcome. Again, who cares? I have played Trivial Pursuit and one of my opponents was nearly in tears when they lost. Why? I got lucky with the random questions and how the dice landed. There was little or no skill. Yes, I am a bad winner and perhaps that was what made it a less than positive experience for my opponent. I do need to work on my winning attitude.

 

I have some young friends that play those complex computer games. I wish I had the patience and intellect for that. My daughter’s husband and his friends used to pick hockey teams and have their own playoffs. I could never figure out how to get the puck, let alone score a goal. I worked with a fellow that had been playing the same game for eight months and when I asked how long till he finished the game, he looked at me like I was an idiot. “The game is never over.”

So, the game is only over when you die. Isn’t that life? What level are you on?