Playing Games

I own a lot of games.  Several years back I discovered the joys of thrift store shopping, and when I need self care, or just something to do in an air-conditioned building, I will often stop by a nearby Goodwill, Savers, DI or other thrift store.  And I usually go straight to the games section.  And, on occasion, when I find a game that interests me, that I don't already own, and that costs no more than about $2, I buy it.  Accordingly, I have a rather impressive collection of games.  My most recent acquisitions include Mad Gab, Harry Potter Scene It, and a game called "Group Therapy: Is it a Game?".  (Just for the record, I like the box more than the game itself on that last one.)

Lately, I've started playing an old acquisition, Scrabble...with myself.  It may be kind of pathetic, but I like to think that it is endearing in a nerdy sort of way.  I play once or twice a day when I need a change of pace from other activities.  And since my days are rather unstructured, I have played almost daily for the past week or so.  And there is a system to how I do things.  So I'll delineate some of that here.

First, I decide how many players will be involved.  Will I distribute tiles for two, three or four participants.  Lately I've been opting for two to maximize my potential for high scores.  Then I pick a tile for each to determine who goes first.  Then I distribute tiles.  I've recently forgone taking the time to lay out all tiles with the letter side facing downward and instead just select tiles directly from the bag.

I also keep score.  I don't reckon I would be as interested in regular play if I didn't track my scores.  I also have names selected for each "player", dependent on which side of the board I keep the tiles on.  For the player in front of me I use the name "Me" (the first person pronoun).  For the player on the right side of the board, I put down "RA" ("Right Allison", but also a throwback to being a Resident Assistant and Research Assistant--clever, I know).  For the player on the left side of the board I write "Al" ("Allison Left"; but also a nickname of mine that is commonly used by my family).  And across from me I write "Ace" ("Allison Across/Center").  And then I proceed to play.

Well, that is enough about me and my nerdy (but endearing) game-playing hobby.  Oh wait...I'll also mention that I sometimes play an arithmetic came called Krypto with myself.  I've had that one since elementary school and love it.  It involves five numbered cards in each player's hand and another numbered card in the middle.  You add, subtract, multiply and divide with the cards in your hand (using each of them once) to come up with the number in the middle.  To keep the competition element alive, I use a stopwatch to time myself with each hand to see which is fastest and thus determine a winner.  And I usually choose a hand to root for before I start.  Yup.

As a side note, if any Arizona people are ever up for playing games, feel free to give me a call.  I'm game.