Friendly Games

Last night, our Friends' Meeting's Connections Committee, aka the Party Committee, hosted a games night.    We did a lousy job of publicizing it (because the Recording Clerk did not get the minutes out in a timely fashion and Oops, I'm doing it again THIS month!)  So we expected that we and our significant others would be the only ones in attendance.  We were happily surprised!

Those expecting to play "Kiddie" games were disappointed.  Cribbage, Cranium and Bridge - BRIDGE!! - carried the evening with a lot of laughter and groans.  Some people played with the mind game "Stargate", a deck of cards that are supposed to help the user solve problems and clarify matters of concern.  It looked fascinating but I was re-learning the art of bidding in bridge.

Other games that were opened that night included Apples to Apples, and Scrabble.  It was a lot of fun!

And this reminds me of The Cardturner by Louis Sachar.  I know I mentioned this book during the Battle of the (kids') Books but it deserves another mention.  The idea of writing a Young Adult novel about the game of bridge seems ludicrous.  Now, up the ante.  The book isn't about party bridge.  Oh NO!  It's about tournament duplicate bridge, which is a world of its won.  Duplicate Bridge has its own ethics, its own language and its own hierarchy.  Drop a 17-year-old boy, whose only reason for being there is that his Great-Uncle, who is blind, needs someone to turn up the cards and tell the uncle what they are, and then play the cards that the Uncle wants played, -  yeah, stick him into this rarefied world.  And why is he there??  Because his Great-Uncle has a great deal of money that the boy's parents hope to get their hands on if they, excuse the pun, play their cards right.  There is so much more than bridge in this book.  But if you are even a little bit interested in this game, which is absorbing and requires concentration, The Cardturner will make you want to take a trick or two.  Maybe even play a full rubber.  Read it and tell me if that isn't so.

Oh and there are a couple of romances in this novel, some stolen identities, a road trip of epic proportions.  Just read the book. 

And find some friends and play some games - offline for a change.  It is so much fun.