Playing Cards

Day 237: Playing Cards
The days of board games and playing cards may be numbered, but in our family, we still play games with three-dimensional game boards and real game pieces, at least sometimes. When Sam was younger and we had strict limits on "screen time," he wanted to play games every night. Clue. Simpson's Monopoly. Othello. Connect Four. Don't Break the Ice. Backgammon. Star Wars Triviat Pursuit. Checkers. Chess. They're all still in our game cupboard. Even now that he's 16 years old and mostly hangs out in his room, it isn't too difficult to convince him to come downstairs for a match or two.

Cards we generally reserve for visits with Jane (or Gramma, or Janerd, or Sweet Little Mommy, depending on your perspective). Our favorite card game, Beardie, was imported by my sister-in-law, Sylvie, who played it on camping trips on the beach in the south of France, back when she was a kid. The idea is to take as few points as possible, and the rules change and the stakes go up with each hand:

• First hand - each trick is worth five points
• Second hand - each heart is worth five points
• Third hand - each queen is worth 25 points
• Fourth hand - the King of Spades (aka "Beardie") is worth 90 points
• Fifth hand - the last trick is worth 100 points
• Sixth hand - all of the above (fortunes change drastically!)
• Seventh hand - a communal solitaire game with the first person to go out having 350 points deducted from their score, the second person having 150 points deducted, and the third, 50 points

It's a very silly game involving significantly less strategy than, say, euchre, which Rich and I used to play as a doubles game with my in-laws before Bill died. Or bridge, which can actually bring grown men to tears. (I know, I've seen it.) Or even hearts, because of passing the three cards. But anyone can play Beardie, even a seven year old child, and it's fun, and silly, and a chance to remember Bill, who would reliably say, each and every game, always with the same look of wounded surprise, "What? I caught that with a two?"

Board games and card games are a way to connect with each other in real time, with real physical objects, around a real table. Still, I find I don't actually need eleven complete decks of cards. I'm sticking with the box of eight packs, many unopened, which I believe my father got for Sam as part of a poker set. I'm hoping another family can make use of these decks to make their own connections around the holiday table.