Growing up in Canada, crokinole, a finger-flicking table-top game of strategy and dexterity similar to marbles, shuffleboard, and curling was a staple at our family holiday gatherings. My parents gifted our home with a game board this past Christmas and it’s provided the fodder for a special two-in-one blog post.
First, on New Year’s Eve after the kids went to bed, Laura and I played three rounds, each to 100. Never one to show mercy, the combined score was 300 for me, 0 for sweet, naïve Laura.
At one point, after I’d made a particularly useful shot, she looked up and asked…
Laura: How are you so good at this. Did you guys play a lot of games when you were a kid?
Me: Yes. Yes we did.
Second, this particular crokinole table is multi-functional in that on the flip side there is a both checkers and backgammon board. A few days into the new year Finn asked me if we could play with Grammi and Poppie’s new game…
Me: Sure buddy. Do you want to shoot the white pieces or the brown ones?
Finn: Both. But can we work together to shoot the monster’s mouth?
Me: What do you mean?
Finn: Look! Right here! (He said pointing at the backgammon board.) These are the monster’s sharp teeth and we need to shoot him in the mouth.
So we did.
And I can picture it now… someday Finn’s special someone will look up from an intense game and ask if he killed a lot of monster’s as a kid. To which he, of course, will reply in the affirmative.