Family gaming across the country...

So I've been playing Ticket To Ride Online for a few months now. Since I've been back visiting Mom, we 've probably played 10-12 real live games. I expect at least two more live games before I leave tomorrow. My sister actually decided to install the game on her computer and that prompted me to install it on my mother's, as well. Two nights ago they played against each other in different towns and my family was hooked.

Next step: get my brother to download it in Victoria so the four of us can play against each other. I imagine some late nights as I'll be three hours ahead but it'll be worth it just for us to play TTR again in four different cities in two different provinces. Very cool.

The ones left behind....

When I moved from BC to Ontario three years ago, I had to say goodbye to a LOT of games. I gave some away that I never played and stored the rest at a dear friend's place where they have stayed. So every visit home is a bit of a gaming pilgrimage. I bring one big suitcase with me and leave with two. This trip I grabbed a few favourites like Mississippi Queen, Union Pacific, San Marco, Through the Desert, and the fantastic Tonga Bonga.

However, this barely made a dent in what is left. I still had to leave such great games as Star Wars: Queen's Gambit (which is worth a ton now!), Tyranno Ex, New England, Medieval Merchant, and the great Civilization. I'll just have to leave these ones till next time....

Gaming memorial....

This past weekend my extended family on my mother's side got together for my grandmother's funeral. My mother has had a rough two years as my grandfather passed away last year as well at the ripe old age of 82. He was an ornery, stubborn old bastard who died the way he lived: on his own without the help of others.

One great memory I have of grandpa are evenings playing Rummoli at the table in is his lttle home in Riondel, B.C. If you haven't played Rummoli yet, don't. It is a bland, entirely luck-based mix of poker and rummy. It fails to excite and it lacks all control, HOWEVER it can be played with money. And this is why I remember it so fondly as a kid. The different pay pots would fill with cash and when you played the right card you would gather all the cash. When we played, grandpa would seed these pots with real money instead of just pennies. Loonies, toonies, and sometimes these disgusting licorice all-sorts that we'd trade with our mother for cash (she was the only one who liked them).

This past Saturday night, my sister organized a memorial game of Rummoli with us and the relatives. We didn't really get to say goodbye to grandpa so this worked just fine. She bought the licorice and brought the pennies and just to celebrate the old man, she seeded the pay pots with shots of Crown Royal - his favourite. Everytime someone went out first or collected a big pot they had to share a grandpa story before they downed the shot. Strange but somehow it seemed appropriate. It's funny how these classic games seem to tie families together, whether it be Yahtzee or Rummoli or even Ticket To Ride. The point, I suppose, is that despite him being gone, we still play on and the memories remain in the cards.

Then the next day we buried our grandmother beside her parents. Lovely woman who I remember having a fondness for jewellry and little plastic horse. May they both rest in peace.

That's all for now, I'm gonna go spend some quality time with my mother who is happy to have family around right now. We're gonna play Ticket to Ride, her favourite....