We're game, are you?

The spread

I probably wouldn't want to know what the game geeks were thinking when Marc and I doddered in on Game Night to the mall store, a pair of senior citizens wanting a piece of the action.
I think the only thing that saved us from total humiliation and complete ejection was that we came in packing a brand-new copy of "7 Wonders," the game that was already on their table, awaiting play.
They could hardly refuse us.
And our copy had been opened so it was evident that at least we'd done some homework.
See, we got this game from Marc's oldest daughter and her husband and we've tried to figure it out since Christmas.
We knew it had something to do with building wonders of the world, building up military strength and trading cards to the people on either side of you.
But beyond that, we were so lost we needed professional help.
The owner of the game store had told us we could come in and watch others play and be taught.

The cover

So when we had a moment coming back from a grandchild's concert in Spanish Fork, we took the opportunity.
We walked in, found the geeks at the back and parked ourselves down, feeling really out of place.
The table was filled with spicy pizza and a ragtag group of serious game-playing guys and one girl (who won every game, by the way).
To give them credit, they were nice.
They let us sit down. They didn't condescend.
They explained that the best way to learn was to just play a game through and off we went.
Cards were a'flying and Marc and I just tried to keep up.
We asked questions.
We tried to pay attention.
We for sure slowed down the game for them. I don't think they're often joined by 60-year-olds.
But we made it through.
Marc did pretty well.
I managed to lose bigger than anyone and I think I had cards in play that were illegal. (You're supposed to pay for goods from your neighbors. I don't remember paying for any of my stuff!)
We're counting it as a success. We now think we can manage on our own.
And we have the game geeks to thank for it.