Wednesday, January 24, 2007
In A Pickle
Last night for Family Night, we played a game new to us: In A Pickle. It's really a simple game. Each player gets five cards with nouns of them - some are concrete others are more conceptual.
Four cards are placed on the table. During a normal turn, each player must place a card before or after a card on the table and state that one thing fits in the next. An atom fits in Vitamin C, for example.
You can change the meaning of the word with each turn. For example, "Atlas" can fit in a doorway if you mean that it is a book of maps. But many things can fit inside Atlas, if it's the man who is holding the world on his shoulders.
Once someone places a fourth card, we have a pickle round. Each player has one chance to trump the largest card. It's amazing what can happen during this round. But what's so much fun is hearing everyone's justifications. A quick thumbs up or down decides whether any ify cards can be played. It's hilarious.
It occurred to me while we were playing and laughing that this is one of those games that's more fun to play than to win. Sure, it's nice to win, but that's not the most important thing. And I doubt that anyone who was playing felt like a loser after the game.
Contrast this type of game to say, oh, professional poker. Yes, I'm sure these pros enjoy the game. But winning is everything. And to lose can be very bitter, not to mention expensive.
Of course, it doesn't have to be that high stakes for losing to be disappointing and to overshadow the joy of just playing.
My Granny was a huge game player. She loved domino games and card games and Yahtzee and just about anything you could play on a table. Her favorite was progressive rummy. She had the ability to play for the love of playing. She never, ever appeared to be upset by losing. Her attitude allowed her to go with the flow if there was a mis-deal or something forgot to call out "Uno" on time. She was delighted with every opportunity to play.
I suppose she started a legacy in our family. My mom is a huge game player, and my sister and I love games. Mom tests out all of the family girlfriends on the game table. If they want to play, they're probably alright! I'd better warn my girls that Grandma will probably test their boyfriends, too!
I love a particular game company - Cranium. They have made a series of games that are much more fun to play than to worry about who wins. We played one of them last night, too: Whonu. There's also Cadoo, Conga, and Whatiff, among others.
The really good thing about these games is that you learn about the people you play with. They are non-threatening. They cause a lot of laughter. And the games don't produce any real losers, though there's always a winner. The most common response upon finishing is, "Let's play it again."
I can't say that I've always attended rabbit shows with the same attitude that my Granny played games. Usually, but not always, and that's a shame. It's something I want to work on. It will take a shift of focus, I think.
Now, I've never taken the professional poker attitude towards rabbits. But I have let myself feel disappointed on occasion. A friend of mine pointed out to me once that I had let the disappointment on the table ruin my fun time at the show. And she was absolutely 100% correct.
I think back to show B last weekend. Sure, I ended up with the BOB, but that happened during the last few seconds of the show. I still had a fantastically wonderful time with my friends before that moment, even though I was obviously not taking as many classes as usual.
That's how I want all shows to be, full of fun and laughter - whether or not I end up with what I refer to as a "party favor." Those party favors would be legs! They're something to take home after having had a good time.
Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry “Home Of Grand Champions”
Precious Pet Rabbits
Affordable Web Site Design
¶ 9:08 AM
Four cards are placed on the table. During a normal turn, each player must place a card before or after a card on the table and state that one thing fits in the next. An atom fits in Vitamin C, for example.
You can change the meaning of the word with each turn. For example, "Atlas" can fit in a doorway if you mean that it is a book of maps. But many things can fit inside Atlas, if it's the man who is holding the world on his shoulders.
Once someone places a fourth card, we have a pickle round. Each player has one chance to trump the largest card. It's amazing what can happen during this round. But what's so much fun is hearing everyone's justifications. A quick thumbs up or down decides whether any ify cards can be played. It's hilarious.
It occurred to me while we were playing and laughing that this is one of those games that's more fun to play than to win. Sure, it's nice to win, but that's not the most important thing. And I doubt that anyone who was playing felt like a loser after the game.
Contrast this type of game to say, oh, professional poker. Yes, I'm sure these pros enjoy the game. But winning is everything. And to lose can be very bitter, not to mention expensive.
Of course, it doesn't have to be that high stakes for losing to be disappointing and to overshadow the joy of just playing.
My Granny was a huge game player. She loved domino games and card games and Yahtzee and just about anything you could play on a table. Her favorite was progressive rummy. She had the ability to play for the love of playing. She never, ever appeared to be upset by losing. Her attitude allowed her to go with the flow if there was a mis-deal or something forgot to call out "Uno" on time. She was delighted with every opportunity to play.
I suppose she started a legacy in our family. My mom is a huge game player, and my sister and I love games. Mom tests out all of the family girlfriends on the game table. If they want to play, they're probably alright! I'd better warn my girls that Grandma will probably test their boyfriends, too!
I love a particular game company - Cranium. They have made a series of games that are much more fun to play than to worry about who wins. We played one of them last night, too: Whonu. There's also Cadoo, Conga, and Whatiff, among others.
The really good thing about these games is that you learn about the people you play with. They are non-threatening. They cause a lot of laughter. And the games don't produce any real losers, though there's always a winner. The most common response upon finishing is, "Let's play it again."
I can't say that I've always attended rabbit shows with the same attitude that my Granny played games. Usually, but not always, and that's a shame. It's something I want to work on. It will take a shift of focus, I think.
Now, I've never taken the professional poker attitude towards rabbits. But I have let myself feel disappointed on occasion. A friend of mine pointed out to me once that I had let the disappointment on the table ruin my fun time at the show. And she was absolutely 100% correct.
I think back to show B last weekend. Sure, I ended up with the BOB, but that happened during the last few seconds of the show. I still had a fantastically wonderful time with my friends before that moment, even though I was obviously not taking as many classes as usual.
That's how I want all shows to be, full of fun and laughter - whether or not I end up with what I refer to as a "party favor." Those party favors would be legs! They're something to take home after having had a good time.
Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry “Home Of Grand Champions”
Precious Pet Rabbits
Affordable Web Site Design
¶ 9:08 AM
