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?
