The subject is Solitaire and other games

[hyphenate]

This guy I know is rather odd in that he has never played any card games in his life, either Solitaire style or multiple player games. I'm not exaggerating--we were talking about it at dinner, and I tried to explain to him how to play, I shit you not, Freecell. He couldn't understand why I would play such a "mindless" game.

And he has rarely played board games, either.

Is this odd or am I odd, thinking that it's odd?

Our family always played games of one sort or another. If it wasn't solitaire, it was gin, runny 500, lady's long, old maid, go fish, crazy eights, and my all-time personal favorite, canasta.

It's amazing to me to see someone who has never participated in card games, and has no desire to do so, either.

Despite all the time I spent watching TV, I find memories filled with such get-togethers, and now, after talking to this friend, I realize that perhaps I was lucky, despite not feeling so much at the time!

Board games as well--how often did my siblings, cousins and I fight over a game of Monopoly or the Games of Life? Or even into adulthood, playing Candyland and Chutes and Ladders?

If this friend wanted to lead a very lonely life, he certainly has it (in my view) if he isn't interested in a lot of these very simple, memorable pleasures. There are even instances from small parties playing, or attempting to play, Twister. I found out early I wasn't a human pretzel.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

1. I think he is odd, but what do I know. I grew up playing all kinds

of card and board games.

[hyphenate]

2. Exactly!

I don't know what I would have done without that as a child. How does one, as a child, spend one's time if it isn't with a deck of cards or someone to play Monopoly with?

He was an only child, so I am sure that has some bearing on it, but even without siblings, there were always adults to play cards with.

:shrug: I just can't imagine life as a single child. Many "fond" memories of youth with sibs. Especially with my brother who is 10 mos younger than me. I swear for the first 25% of our lives we were inseparable.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

3. I sort of feel sorry for this guy.

My family always played games of all kinds. As a teen-ager we would have all-nighters playing spades and hearts. Good Times. Board games, too. Remember Clue?

[poiuytsister]

4. I am completely addicted to Freecell

I have a handheld electronic game (okay, 2 of them) and I play to relax. It is the last thing I do before lights out at night. My mother and her mother were both Solitaire players too.

[hippywife]

5. We played cards and games

constantly. Even when I wasn't around my sibs, my grandmother played cards and board games with me for so many hours. She taught me almost every variation of solitaire and almost all the card games I ever knew. Many wonderful hours just spent having fun with her.

I don't think he's weird, just not as lucky in one way as we were. I'm sure he probably had advantages in other areas that we might lack.

[ThomCat]

6. My family very rarely ever played any games with us when we were kids.

Games were something adults did away from the kids. It was a very social thing for adults, and an anti-social thing for the kids. :(

Now, as an adult, I've learned to enjoy games and I like including kids in the games when I can. It is a very nice, social way to pass time. :)

[supernova]

7. I didn't play a lot of games

growing up, mostly because I was so much younger than my brother an sister. They were teens when I came along. By the time I was old enough to play, they were married and or off to college.

I enjoy them, but I just don't play very often. It's not a big part of my childhood.

I was more inclined to find a book and and a quiet corner to read.

But I do play with my nieces and nephews when I get the chance now.


edit: I'm kind of glad that I didn't. As an adult, I don't have a lot of patience for the winner/loser dichotomy. I'm not at all competition oriented.

[yellowdogintexas]

8. we played Rook, Canasta, Michigan Rummy, Spades and Solitaire

my mom taught all of us to play double deck Solitaire with her as soon as we were old enough to figure it out.
We would have marathon Monopoly games with the neighbor kid..when we would get snowed in he would call after he did his morning chores on the farm and ask if he could come over, and soon he showed up tromping in from the snow and we would play Monopoly until he had to go do his night work. Many times we left the game set up and continued the next day..my mom, middle sister, Steve and me.


later we learned Shanghai Rummy and that is our family's favorite game now. When I am with my sisters we always play.

[krispos42]

9. It's odd. Games are about socializing with people.

I used to play Double Solitare with my granny, War with my grandma, Risk with my uncle and brother, and Monopoly with an assortment of people. Scrabble, too, although I'm not particularly good at it.

We played Trivial Pursuit over Thanksgiving, I believe... granny, her sister, and my uncle on one side, me, my mom, and my brother on the other. That was fun!

And my family would play either poker or Michigan Rummy during most holidays.

[buzzard]

10. Some of my fondest memories are those lazy days at the cottage playing endless

games of monopoly with my siblings and cousins, we graduated to scrabble and card games as we got older, sometimes the parents would play with us kids and sometimes they played their own card games. When my kids were younger we always played board games as a family sometimes to their protest but now as teenagers and beyond I find they often pick up a game to play with their friends. I always thought every family did this but I realize now they didn't.