Little Gamer

January 13, 2007

A week or so ago, Katie told me that she wanted more games. In particular, she wanted a Hi Ho Cherry-O! game, like the one the kids were playing at one of the recent Christmas parties she had attended. And, because it's now a quick trip (2.6 miles away), the two of us went to the Wal-Mart and purchased that aforementioned game, plus a Chutes and Ladders game.

I had never before played Chutes and Ladders. Amazing, I know.

Back home, we broke out the Cherry-O game and played it again and again. She loved it. I then convinced her to give Chutes a try, to which she agreed. We played it a couple of times, but she didn't love it like Cherry-O.

For the next three or four days, it seemed like we were in a Cherry-O marathon. With some tweaking of the rules to benefit Katie, she regularly kicked our tales.

Then, Melissa suggested that we give Katie's newly acquired UNO game a try. Even though the game was the children's version, I thought she might still be a bit too young for it. But after reading the modified rules, it seemed that she might just be able to understand it.

Turns out that I underestimated her. Turns out that Katie LOVES Uno.

We play a version of Uno that is undocumented in the official game rules. After dealing the cards, we play with them face up on the table. Yep, as in everyone can see everyone's cards. It has taken Katie a few days to understand some of the most basic game concepts and strategies, but as she becomes better at comparing her hand with the discard pile - which dictates how the game is played - then we'll graduate to actually holding the cards.

Barely inside a week of gaming, the Cherry-O marathons have been replaced with Uno marathons, but the three of us are having a lot of fun sitting around the kitchen table and doing one of the things that happy families do.