Games People Play
I have always been a game player. I think it must have started with my very first board game-Candyland which mushroomed into a collection of assorted board games: Sorry, Trouble, Chutes & Ladders, Payday, Monopoly, The Game of Life (which by the way turned out to be a big boring disappointment after the novelty of the wheel of fortune spinner, the hills and shrubs and little pink and blue cars with little stick pegs that were supposed to represent people wore off),Go to the Head of the Class, Scrabble, and my all time favorite Clue are some of the earliest board games I remember having or playing. I was a checkers freak for a while and got real competitve with the nerdy kid across the street. I love sporting games. I love brain games. I love Video games-but mostly the classics like Pac-Man, Centipede and Frogger. I even love drinking games-I know it's a stretch, can you believe it?
If I analyze why I love playing games the best I can come up with is because they're fun. Others may answer that same question in other ways, like for instance they play games because of the challenge of competition and to kick the asses of all of their unworthy opponents. The truth is that I'm really not that competitive of a person. Yes, I'm a first born sibling, so I do have overachiever tendencies when I'm not being too lazy, which is an interesting paradox-I know. But honestly when playing games I sometimes cheat, but not the way you might think. Like for instance, I won't play a particular card in Uno because I don't want to stick it to my opponent. And those of you who are parents probably engage in this practice occasionally so your children will get a taste of winning, unless of course you're a hard ass parent who believes that the best way to teach your kids in the school of hard knocks is to knock them down because they have to learn eventually how tough and unfair life really is.
This all makes me wonder why some people are so downright competitive and others not so much. I really think that I must attract competitive people. In elementary school I recall the 1980 presidential election and sparring with my best friend over who would win. My candidate won, but we all really lost in that election when looking back in hindsight. What can I say, I hadn't taken the "What is your political party affiliation quiz?" yet which would finally solidify my liberal leanings in 11th grade. I dated a boy in high school who hated playing computer Jeopardy! with me because he could never answer the questions as rapidly as I could. So I found myself dumbing it down a peg and letting him ring in every once in awhile. Afterall, it's just a game and he deserves to feel a little superior because he answered " Who is Samuel Taylor Coleridge?" when asked the author of the Rime of the Ancient Mariner-even though you only know that answer to that question because of Iron Maiden and not because of a true appreciation for Romantic British Literature. And my husband when we were first dating used to have temper tantrums when we played tennis. With all due respect, he has evolved from that immature behavior and now only throws the tennis racket across court instead of directly at me when he loses.
I really don't understand why this is. I mean I don't rub it in when I'm winning. I don't taunt and brag. In fact I try really hard to be a good sport and gracious winner, and loser for that matter. Life is too short to get upset by things like that. And what's the purpose of a game but to entertain and have fun with family and friends after all? When things get too wicked and competitive then the fun is drained out of the experience and it's not as enjoyable. Don't get me wrong a little gentle teasing and taunting is tolerable but that should not overshadow the fun of game playing.
So, I will keep playing my games and enjoying them while I do it. I'm just really glad I'm not playing the Dating Game these days.
To quote a wise and insightful man, Homer Simpson: "U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! IN YOUR FACE FLANDERS!"
If I analyze why I love playing games the best I can come up with is because they're fun. Others may answer that same question in other ways, like for instance they play games because of the challenge of competition and to kick the asses of all of their unworthy opponents. The truth is that I'm really not that competitive of a person. Yes, I'm a first born sibling, so I do have overachiever tendencies when I'm not being too lazy, which is an interesting paradox-I know. But honestly when playing games I sometimes cheat, but not the way you might think. Like for instance, I won't play a particular card in Uno because I don't want to stick it to my opponent. And those of you who are parents probably engage in this practice occasionally so your children will get a taste of winning, unless of course you're a hard ass parent who believes that the best way to teach your kids in the school of hard knocks is to knock them down because they have to learn eventually how tough and unfair life really is.
This all makes me wonder why some people are so downright competitive and others not so much. I really think that I must attract competitive people. In elementary school I recall the 1980 presidential election and sparring with my best friend over who would win. My candidate won, but we all really lost in that election when looking back in hindsight. What can I say, I hadn't taken the "What is your political party affiliation quiz?" yet which would finally solidify my liberal leanings in 11th grade. I dated a boy in high school who hated playing computer Jeopardy! with me because he could never answer the questions as rapidly as I could. So I found myself dumbing it down a peg and letting him ring in every once in awhile. Afterall, it's just a game and he deserves to feel a little superior because he answered " Who is Samuel Taylor Coleridge?" when asked the author of the Rime of the Ancient Mariner-even though you only know that answer to that question because of Iron Maiden and not because of a true appreciation for Romantic British Literature. And my husband when we were first dating used to have temper tantrums when we played tennis. With all due respect, he has evolved from that immature behavior and now only throws the tennis racket across court instead of directly at me when he loses.
I really don't understand why this is. I mean I don't rub it in when I'm winning. I don't taunt and brag. In fact I try really hard to be a good sport and gracious winner, and loser for that matter. Life is too short to get upset by things like that. And what's the purpose of a game but to entertain and have fun with family and friends after all? When things get too wicked and competitive then the fun is drained out of the experience and it's not as enjoyable. Don't get me wrong a little gentle teasing and taunting is tolerable but that should not overshadow the fun of game playing.
So, I will keep playing my games and enjoying them while I do it. I'm just really glad I'm not playing the Dating Game these days.
To quote a wise and insightful man, Homer Simpson: "U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! IN YOUR FACE FLANDERS!"
posted by amyd | 12:30 AM
1 Comments:
that's why we play well together. neither of us cares about winning. and there is always lots of beer (or tequila).
Post a Comment
<< Home