Cardiogirl revved up my mental engine yesterday by bringing up the topic of card and board games. Since I am a game enthusiast, I wanted to write up a post about some of my favorite games. However, my brain is feeling addled this evening. Plus, when I began to search for images of some of my favorite games (the ones I have played, but somehow fail to own at this moment in time), it led to lots of interesting trivia.
For tonight, I will merely focus on what is considered the most popular board game of all time: Monopoly. This was certainly a popular game in our household, while growing up. Many of my family members displayed their cut-throat competitive natures while playing this game. Still, all of my memories are fun - even the ones of games where arguments broke out (for example, my older brother believes it is unfair and unethical to skip paying rent merely because the person whose property you have landed on is not paying attention and doesn't call upon you to pay up - I believe, during that particular game, I begged to differ!).
However, I don't really remember enjoying the length of time required to play this game. Too stinkin' long! For a while, it was a favored game with ES, but we primarily played a computer version of the game. The computer cuts down on lots of wasted time, moves the game along more quickly and handles all those touchy questions about "house rules." Still, I can't really say that it is my absolute favorite game to play. Many others edge this one out.
But, it was interesting to learn some new information about the game. The first thing I discovered was a "Mental Floss" article concerning use of the game to deliver maps to POW's during World War II. I had never heard this fascinating information before. Several commenters doubt the veracity of the article, but it does sound plausible to me.
Next, I discovered that the game of Monopoly has gone into space. In June of 2007, several game pieces (specifically made for a "Here and Now" version) went up with the Space Shuttle Atlantis. These pieces were miniatures of various popular things these days. They included my parent's model of car, my mother-in-law's favorite brand of walking shoe, my sons' favorite fast food fare, and the type of dog I wish to own (when I am up for the challenge of adding a dog to our fast-paced mix).
And if I thought the game, as I've played it, goes too long, imagine my surprise when Big Site of Amazing Facts taught me that: " The record for the longest Monopoly game played by four players was set from December 26, 1974 to January 5, 1975, for a total of 264 hours!"
I can't think of any game I would be willing to play for 264 hours. I may have to use this tid-bit of trivia on my husband next time I am trying to convince him to engage in a family game. He is not interested in games at all. Surely, he should know that I'm not asking very much of him when we want him to play a short game of Yahtzee or Scrabble. After all, there's no way in the world that those games will go anywhere near 264 hours long. Those must have been gaming enthusiasts EXTRAORDINAIRE.
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