Good Times

Recently I have discovered a treasure- Monopoly Electronic Banking. This has all the joy of monopoly with credit cards. I love it. When Wendy and Harley were visiting they played with us. I was quickly eliminated and it was a tight race until John finally (and surprisingly I thought) beat Wendy. The Kings told us we were their favorite game partners. Of course this is very positive and I was thrilled. When Harley was like- I just want to play games I could have shouted out loud with happiness.
So I wish I was playing games right now. I don't like playing games with everyone I've discovered. At my birthday party they had a survey style quiz about me and one of the questions was "what is Janae's favorite game?" I didn't know how to answer. Kent MacKay aptly put the answer "whatever game she wins." Isn't that everyone's favorite game? Since majority won instead of my answer I think Kent was right in this case- and he really is. But I don't like always winning- well I should rephrase that- I don't like it if I think I will win. I like there to be a challenge. With Jen and Steve I know I won't win ticket to ride because Steve ALWAYS wins that game.
I was starting to suspect that I might be too intense for some people. I have always liked a little banter- it doesn't have to carry over to real life. Once we played games with someone who said they "hated when people took everything so personally in games." We asked for an example and they said "like when they say they hate you in a game." I didn't fully understand how that was taking things personally- In the end that person was actually saying they took it personally. Since that time I occasionally just randomly tell the people that I am playing with that I hate them. I told Harley I hated him and blamed him for my loss in electronic banking. Just to say it.
Another pet peeve- people who say they don't want to win. They pretend they aren't competitive and then do everything they can to try to let their spouse win. I used to be sad when John wouldn't favor me in games, then one day he was like- you know it isn't fun losing. I am pretty confident that John does a good job in games without me. Gideon Burton once explained that the reason that Shakespeare did such a fantastic job in theater is that he lived in an extremely critical environment. The average Londoner went to the theater often and had lots of critical knowledge. Without this criticism he never would have achieved the greatness he did. People don't strive for perfection in artistic endeavors and theater for an uneducated audience. Similarly, the people who are always being supported by their well meaning spouse are never very good game players. Usually the opposite is true. It should insult their intelligence when their spouse thinks they can't win in a fair fight. Maybe they should take that more personally.
Being a married woman doesn't put me in the ideal demographic for gaming. I think if I was a 16 year old boy I would be more likely to like the games I tend to gravitate toward. Danielle is a big reason for that- she just wants to eat what we are playing with.
It's always difficult to find gaming partners. Sort of like it's difficult to find couple friends- it seems like you like one and not the other. Or one wants to play Rail Baron and the other will only play Skattergories or the Game of LIFE. Wendy and Harley and Jen and Steve are both great couple friends. With gaming couple friends you also need an equal interest in winning the game. What if one spouse just isn't good at the game? You can't have a regular gaming relationship with a couple where one spouse is just bad at it or grouchy.
Well tonight I would like to be playing a game with a competitive and competent couple who likes to trade and talk trash. We could play Monopoly Electronic Banking. Where is Ryan Hansen when we need him?