This Christmas, my mother gave Daughter #1 a game of checkers, and they played many matches over our holiday visit. When my mother visited us over the summer, she wanted to play checkers. We went to the store, and believe it or not, they didn't sell checkers. They had dozens of Ants in the Pants and Cootie, but no checkers. Both my mother and daughter were disappointed.
So, now we have checkers. Over the weekend my daughter and I sat down for a match. She's a smart kid, so I was prepared for a good beating. We played three games straight, and I kicked ass. I yelled King Me! every time I got my man to the back and insisted the top checker be crown side up. It was a fluke, as are most of my successes. Beginner's luck.
I am not technically a beginner, having been raised by a checkers champion. My mother is sly at the game, as she is with most games. She sits in her chair, hunched over the board, rattling her opponent's losses in her hands--click, click, clickety--throwing the opposition off with mumblings about being stumped and not knowing what to do next. If you aren't careful, you'll believe her, and you'll have a false sense of confidence in your next move. You slide your man over a square, and zap--she has jumped three men in one swoop and landed in your back row--hah, king me! It's a brutal game, checkers with my mother. She got it from her father, my Granddaddy Maner who could clear a board in three moves before you even get a man out of the gate.
Daughter #1 and I played another couple of games on New Year's Day (we know how to have a party), and I lost miserably, stuck in the corner with no place to move. I may never win another game, like I will never win at Pente or any other game that involves forethought. But I don't mind--it's the playing that makes it fun (spoken like a consistent loser).
So, now we have checkers. Over the weekend my daughter and I sat down for a match. She's a smart kid, so I was prepared for a good beating. We played three games straight, and I kicked ass. I yelled King Me! every time I got my man to the back and insisted the top checker be crown side up. It was a fluke, as are most of my successes. Beginner's luck.
I am not technically a beginner, having been raised by a checkers champion. My mother is sly at the game, as she is with most games. She sits in her chair, hunched over the board, rattling her opponent's losses in her hands--click, click, clickety--throwing the opposition off with mumblings about being stumped and not knowing what to do next. If you aren't careful, you'll believe her, and you'll have a false sense of confidence in your next move. You slide your man over a square, and zap--she has jumped three men in one swoop and landed in your back row--hah, king me! It's a brutal game, checkers with my mother. She got it from her father, my Granddaddy Maner who could clear a board in three moves before you even get a man out of the gate.
Daughter #1 and I played another couple of games on New Year's Day (we know how to have a party), and I lost miserably, stuck in the corner with no place to move. I may never win another game, like I will never win at Pente or any other game that involves forethought. But I don't mind--it's the playing that makes it fun (spoken like a consistent loser).
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My grandad was an ace chess and draughts player and taught me chess up to decent club level and draughts up to "win drinks all night in the pub, bastard" level.
We have shops over here that sell nothing but chess and draughts boards and pieces (and I don't mean those tacky sci-fi "figurines"). There's an ace one in Paddington where I got my last set.
Oh well. There goes the afternoon. Now you've brought the subject up I've got to thrash my Mac (not a euphemism) before I'll be able to do anything else …
Sounds like a good day. You beat your child. Nice mommy.
Utsav, happy new year to you too. The idea of an entire year of stories and ideas seems daunting, but one day at a time...
oh and i love Monopoly.
I think my all time fave board game is Othello.
Yonks ago I wrote a web version. try it here. It seems to run a bit quickly and therefore it might be difficult to follow what's going on, (and Java is now a bit out of fashion for web applets, so you might need a plugin) but if it works and f you know the rules and if you can follow what's going on, then it's pretty easy to beat. As with all board games, it's probably more sociable and more fun to find someone with the board game and play against a human friend!
Peahen, I don't remember the rules for Othello, but I tried your game on my pc laptop. It seems to work, although I lost because I have no idea what I'm doing. I'll read up on it and give it another try.
I suck at most games that rely on anything but dumb luck.
Lynn, I laughed so hard at your comment, mainly because we all seem to be teasing Dive, and he doesn't appear to be around to defend himself.
I can't play chess, but I'd love a game of checkers! Be prepared to win.
There's a copy in my bathroom, but then you knew that already.