Dear Neighbors:
After spending a fun afternoon playing board games with my nephews, I thought about the kind of personality required to win at these games. While playing Monopoly, my 5 year-old nephew Evan exclaimed, 'I'll take it!!" every time he landed on an unsold property. He knew that when he had all of the properties of the same color, he could start buying houses. So he doesn't get the concept of money yet; if he did, he'd win every game. He's that good.
I've played board games with men I've dated and I've found that I can tell a great deal about a man by the games at which he excels. For example:
Cranium: This game, if you haven't played it, is a mix of trivia, charades, drawing and modeling with clay, all with a partner. A man who wins at this game is intelligent, spontaneous and not afraid to make a fool of himself. Christine and I once played this game with a couple of men on a double date. They didn't get it. Things became awkward. That's all I'm going to say about that.
Monopoly: If the object of your interest is buying up properties, building hotels and is still sitting on a stack of money, you may want to pay closer attention from now on. Clearly he plans ahead, is good with money, and thinks in the long term. Of course, when you're paying rent to him because he owns every property on the board, you might be a little disappointed that he can't just let it go. In 2001, I was seeing a nice guy who played a game of Monopoly with my nieces. My older niece was the banker -- and a cheater -- but my boyfriend just looked the other way and teased her about it later. Sigh.
Sorry: In order to play this game, you must establish up front that nothing is personal. Otherwise, feelings could get hurt. I'm just saying. So you draw cards and try to move all of your pieces around the board without having another player send you back to start. If a player draws a "Sorry!" card, he or she can move you back to start and take your place. If he's sweet with the sorrys, you're good to go. If he's just a bit triumphant, doing the "Sorry!" dance and singing....well...you don't have to sleep with him.
Uno: This is truly a take-no-prisoners game. In order to play, you must commit to win. Otherwise, you'll sit there with a handful of cards looking clueless. Trust me on this. You get seven cards and the goal is to get rid of all of your cards. Other players can force you to draw more cards, and if you can't play any of your cards, you draw until you can. There's a strategy required to win at this game and if your date can figure it out, he's a keeper. If he can't, he's a champ for hanging in there with thirty cards in his hands.
Scrabble: I have saved the best for last. As you most likely understand by now, I'm excited by an impressive vocabulary, flawless grammar and a mutual distaste of the overuse of the word, "like". A man who has all that is usually good at Scrabble. A man who actually has the game...oh, boy! I dated a man who not only had the game but beat me repeatedly at it. I didn't mind at all. In fact, I think I learned a few words.
I didn't intentionally leave out Twister. How you play that game on a date is your business.
Putting houses on Boardwalk and Park Place,
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