The world is but a canvas to the imagination...
Henry David Thoreau

Thursday, December 4, 2008

The Game


This box with the stylishly dressed gentleman is not just any old game...In Shon's family, this box represents an excuse for some good old fashioned legal bloodshed. To say that they are cutthroat is an understatement! Pirates who gleefully and fearlessly plunder the sea, would quake in terror when the plotting and take overs start. I don't really get this because I don't usually play games in any form...computers, cards, board games...but I'll give explaining it a shot. Basically this is a game where you try to Acquire a majority of the hotel shares on the board to make money. (Shon is so seriously in love with this game, that he just got heartburn from reading my carelessly stated, inadequate description!)
This is my sweetie with one of his favorite games ever! A couple of years ago, Shon found a 1970's copy of Acquire at a garage sale, still in the shrink wrap. You may not believe that it is so, but a 6 foot man can dance gleefully like an elf if he is happy enough. He was happy. Very happy. He was so happy that I am not sure that the good folks who held the garage sale have recovered yet. :-) Sadly, since I enjoy being married, and I am not a cutthroat person, I refused to play the game with him. Did you know I could be that heartless. Quite frankly, he scares me when he plays games. Can we say VERY focused on success? Can we say just a little bit competitive? As a result of his mean wife's decree, the game lived on a shelf, in vintage condition for years until Kelli and Darren entered the scene. Kelli is Shon's cousin and she and Darren are as into the game Acquire as he is. It was a special moment when he slit the shrink wrap and they broke apart the tiles. I wanted to take a picture, but I was afraid to "break" the moment. Did I tell you how focused they all are?


Kelli and Pumpkin
Darren practices his evil mogul look, while Kelli threatens to beat him up if he looks at her tiles. Shon, Kel and Darren taught me to play, patiently explaining rules and strategies until my head spun.
I told you they were serious about this. Every move was well thought out....I took all of their advice when it was my turn and filed it away. I thought about using logic, but it is a fairly foreign concept in my life, so I went with what was tried and true. I picked my hotels by the colors I liked the best. They humored me because it was my first game....

Shon plots and plans...ponders and counts....At the end of the game.....

Yep! that is right! Pretty colors win the game! Doesn't Shon look happy for me!?! :-) I know that I resisted playing Acquire, but we had a great time. Competitive or not, all of them are great sports. I don't think that they will give me any advice next time though....

2 comments:

Joan said...

I used to watch Wayne and all his family play this game and was glad I was not a part of it. Shon loved to play then too. I would sit on the couch and read while insults and laughs pierced the air. Oh the memories.

Amy said...

I always root for the underdog so I am very glad that you won! Call it beginners luck or maybe even karma! I am like you, I don't like competitive board games. They bore me and I just end up getting mad at the people playing because I think they are greedy and mean! Don't even get me started on Monopoly!