Fun & Games

On the Jukebox: "Girlfriend in a Coma" by the Smiths
Mood: Playful
Quote: "All people make around here are balloon animals and enemies." ~ Pushing Daisies
Flair: Talent

What do the sort of games we like to play tell us about ourselves? Does it reveal our hidden strengths and weaknesses? (Pictionary proves I can't draw!) Do we like games of chance or strategy? Do we like being on a team or playing as an individual? Does playing a game bring out our competitive nature or our spirit of cooperation? Are we are a gracious winner or poor loser or something in between?

It is a little ironic that the games I most enjoy have a lot in common with the games I least enjoy. For example: I love to play Balderdash because it increases both vocabulary and bluffing skills and I like to play Scattagories because it forces creative thinking. However, I detest Scrabble and Boggle even though they are word games because they make me feel dyslexic and play upon my weakness of misspelling common words. I like Settlers of Catan but dislike Risk although both are similar in strategy. I like Phase 10 but not Yahtzee even though they are essentially the same. I'll kick your butt at Scene It and other trivia games but I don't necessarily like to play them because they tend to reveal that I spend way too much time watching TV and surfing the Internet.

Confession: I like to cheat sometimes. Not because I want to win, but because I think it's funny how no one suspects me. It's part of the game to me. I don't cheat at all games, just certain games. I even try to be obvious about it. Sometimes I have a co-conspirator, sometimes I'm on my own. I never win when I cheat, so if I have cleaned your clock at something... I did it based on skill and luck.

Games I love to play:
1) Balderdash
2) Scattagories
3) UNO Hearts
4) Settlers of Catan
5) Phase 10
6) Scene It
7) Pictionary

Games I love to 'cheat' at:
1) Dominoes
2) UNO

Games I detest:
1) Boggle
2) Scrabble
3) Trivial Pursuit
4) Risk

Games I never play correctly:
1) Cooties
2) Mousetrap

Games I've just learned to play:
1) Gang of Four
2) Blokus
3) Apples 2 Apples

Video games I like:
1) Tetris
2) Dr. Mario
3) Yoshie's Cookie
4) Adventure for Atari