Game Time

For my rapidly retreating recent birthday, I received a gift of cash, which I finally found time to spend on myself a couple of weeks ago. Yes, mama did get a new pair of shoes! 2 pair, in fact. Plus some other clothes - yea! After my shopping spree, I had a handful of dollars left in my pocket, not enough really for a 3rd pair of shoes, and I have been contemplating what to do, what to do. Today, as we took an impromptu stroll through our local bookstore, I saw the perfect cherry on top to complete my birthday gift....

A little game I have been eyeing for quite some time now. A cute little game that comes in a little yellow zippered pouch shaped like a banana. BANANAGRAMS! I brought the little yellow banana-shaped pouch home and eagerly anticipated playing it with my kiddos.

--thud--

That was the sound of my hopes and expectations for a new family favorite hitting the floor. Don't get me wrong - I love it! But I quickly realized (helped along by my daughter's whimpering, frustrated little face) that it is a game that might just be more fun when the players' skills are more evenly matched. Me vs. my 8-year-old (and my 11-year-old, for that matter) was a little lopsided in the skill department.

Eh. We did what we could. I'm sure we'll amend the game to suit our needs (specifically my need not to make the kids cry.)

Which brings me to my next board game tidbit. One of our current favorites is Apples to Apples. The kids love it, mostly (I suspect) because game time is the time that Daddy breaks out the silly voices and the silly comments and we all break out into general silliness. Plus, the game itself is fun. But we have begun a new tradition recently with the game that everyone looks forward to nearly as much as the game itself.

At the end of the game, each player is left with about 6 or 7 Red Apple cards. Each person takes a turn trying to weave their cards into a coherent sentence/story. For example, if your leftover Red Apple cards were: Airline Food, Vampires, Noisy Neighbors, A Flat Tire, Baby Showers, The Beatles, and The Green Bay Packers, your sentence/story might go something like this:

The Beatles were living next to some Noisy Neighbors, The Green Bay Packers, who kept throwing Baby Showers for Vampires. So they tried to get away, and on the way to the airport they got A Flat Tire, which saved them from eating Airline Food.

Results vary, depending on your cards, but are generally good for a chuckle if not outright hysterics (like the time we played with my parents and my mother had us in stitches!) Recently one of us hit the jackpot with the cards: Bill Clinton, Waterbed, and Glazed Donuts.

Want to play along? Here are a few randomly selected Red Apple cards for you:

Hockey, Brain Surgeons, Nicholas Cage, Girlfriends, Country Music, Elvis Presley and Toasted Marshmallows

Ready .... GO!