Hi everyone! As you see we have author Michelle Beattie visiting with us today! She’s another author here because of twitter! Yay!
Let the Games Begin
Hello. My name is Michelle Beattie and I’m a gamer. Not video games, though I do kick butt in Mario Kart for the Wii, but board games, card games, action games. Growing up in the pre-video system decade (well, some of my friends had a Nintendo 64 and we played ‘Burger Time’ when I visited) and living in the country with a party line and only 3 channels to choose from, we had limited entertainment.
Okay, that’s not entirely true. We skated on the sloughs, rode snowmobiles, built massive snow forts in the ditches (we had more snow then) and built impressive treehouses in the summer. However, on cold winter nights or rainy summer days, we occupied our time with games.
We played Sorry, Pay Day, Gambler, Clue, Bonkers, Michigan Rummy and Ratrace. I remember when Trivial Pursuit first came out and only my dad could answer the geography questions. My dad taught me Cribbage and to this day my brothers and sister and I still enjoy it. Christmases and family get-togethers were spent playing Barouche, a French card game of suits. As teenagers we played spoons (lots of skin shed on that one) and Asshole (a card game of social status). My sister and I played Speed, Double Solitaire, Crazy Eights. Some Sundays we’d go to town, stock up on Mojo’s, penny candies and one chocolate bar, often a Cherry Blossom. Then we’d go home and play Bingo. The Cherry Blossom was the bonanza.
There’s no doubt our childhood influences our adult life and I still enjoy games today. I’m a competitive person, but while I like to win, it’s the process I enjoy, the gathering around and laughing that usually accompanies this.
Thankfully my daughters and my mother in law (who lives nearby) also like games and we spend many hours playing and ribbing each other. We’ve added some new favorites to the oldies but goodies in my game closet. Two new ones came this summer thanks to friends in Australia: Perpetual Commotion (a high-flying, very fast paced card game) and What (kinda like Balderdash, a real hoot to play with a bigger crowd as you try to guess who said what).
Of course I haven’t even mentioned playing lawn darts (the real ones not the ones they sell today), pool, bowling, shuffleboard, curling, golf. And the list goes on.
I’d much rather play a board game than a video game and am always looking for new, exciting and fun games. Do you have a favorite or one you’ve recently discovered? I’d love to hear about it.
Ms. Beattie has also very kindly offered up two prizes. One person will win an e-copy of Another Chance and another lucky commenter will win an e-copy of Love by Accident. You can find out more about the books (and their blurbs) here. And of course you don’t have to leave a comment solely with winning in mind. 😉 So go on and get chatty!
My father’s side of the family has played a card game played Shanghai since long before I was born. I don’t know how to describe it quickly and simply but you try to get “sets” and “runs” like poker (I guess it’s kinda like Phase 10?). It’s kind of a right of passage in our family to play Shanghai, various relatives have played but the regular crew currently are my father, two of my uncles, one of my aunts, my grandmother, one of my cousins and me. It usually takes us around 2 hours to play a full game. We’re all very competitive but like you, I love getting together and visiting even when I’m hearing a story that my uncle has told over and over (sometimes that very night)!
I also love playing board games and video games. I love Trivial Pursuit (I have it on my Wii and iPhone), Monopoly, Clue, Cranium, Uno, etc…
I actually grew up playing video games like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Banjo Kazooie with my Grandma. She took care of us and when we got home from school we’d play video games with her. She’s got an DSi today!
Thanks for your post and giveaway!
I confess to not knowing many of the games you mentioned, but I’m very curious about them. I grew up playing Monopoly and Life for board games and UNO for card games. In the winter, we always had a big thousaand piece puzzle set up on a folding table in the family room, too. In high school, “the” game to play was Euchre. I never did get the hang of it. My daughter and I play UNO all the time now, it’s fun to have something that’s just us. Recently she HeadBandz and it’s just the silliest guessing game and we always have a blast with it. It’s fun to read about how others played the same things I did…getting to be on a Trivial Pursuit team during the annual Thanksgiving game was a real right of passage. Great post – welcome! – and thanks for the giveaway.
Interesting interview – thanks for sharing. I too enjoyed board games growing up but especially loved word games. Now I play word games on facebook. I haven’t read your books before but enjoyed the blurbs and look forward to reading them. I enjoy finding new authors to read.
myrandaroyann
I get that card game you’re talking about. We call it Frustration Rummy or It. The first level is a set of 3 then a set of 3 and a run of 4 and so on. Yeah, that can take hours!
Thanks for sharing, you’ll have wonderful memories to treasure!
Lis, I’ve seen Headbanz in the store, it does look like fun. My daughters and i also play BArbie UNO and I LOVE jigsaw puzzles. I can’t have them around though or I’ll never get any writing done! Thanks for the comment. Good luck on the draw.
JoAnne
I love Facebook word games. I’m sad they took out Wordtwist, that was my favourite. I enjoy Scrabble and Boggle as well. I hope you give my books a try and if you enjoy them (or not) my email addy is on my website, I’d love to hear from you afterward. I also have an author page on Facebook you could post on.
Thanks for coming by!
Limecello
Thanks for hosting me today. I’m enjoying the conversation and looking forward to more comments!
This post took me way back.
I used to play Monopoly as a kid. It would become an all-day affair. The other board game my cousin and I played was Backgammon…while eating chips and dip and drinking Coke. These days, I don’t have a “gaming” partner, so I do jigsaw puzzles.
Read both your books, Michelle. Your lucky winner is in for a treat.
OMG. we used to play lawn darts — with the REAL darts — too. We had Friday night games when the kids were young. we would play board games and card games until the wee hours of the morning. we still play when they are home, but now the grandkids join in. the favorite card game of the kids was Mille Bornes. It is a French card game based on a road race. there are hazards like flat tires, out of gas, etc — and you give the hazards to try and block the other players from gaining miles. lots of fun. I would love to win a copy of either books. have not read anything by you yet. Thanks for the giveaway.
Oh Michelle! Your post is like a walk down Memory Lane! Mojos and Cherry Blossoms, snowmobiling on frozen fields and sloughs, playing speed and rummy with my cousin. I played a lot of war with my 3 brothers (both the card game and the action figure simulation with G.I. Joes and Barbies where my Barbies often ended up as casualties of war – decapitated). Our favourite family card game was canasta. We also played a lot of Stock Ticker and Monopoly. But I loved Clue and Sorry.
Although we live in the age of video games, we still try to play board games at home with our girls. My daughter’s current fave is Trouble, Go Fish and Cranium (family edition).
Thanks for a great post!
Donna
Thanks for the compliment! Nothing better than all day game days! I remember me and my sister playing double solitaire and eating Doritos (we called them cheese nachos back then!) thanks for stopping in, Donna!
Trish
I’m french, I know all about Milles Bournes! We played it camping as kids. We loved that game! And shouldn’t they make the REAL lawn darts again??? The new ones are lame.
Good luck with the draw!
DL
Thank YOU for the comment. I loved clue too. I’ve only played Kanasta when my friend from Australia comes up, though we didn’t this year. I love the family memories, too. So special.
My girls and I play Sorry too but my 9 year old gets mad when I send her back to start!
The only board games I play with hubby are scrabble and Yahtzee. He always thinks he can beat me at scrabble..but I think we’re pretty even. Especially since he likes to try and make up words..Like I’m gonna fall for that.
No need to enter me in this contest.
Mary
Have you ever heard of Power Yahtzee? I bought it for my mother in law a few years ago. Hard to find but worth it, a nice change to a classic game. Also Super Scrabble is good. Double of ever letter, even the Q, a bigger board and quaduple letter and word scores.
thanks for the comment!
So funny you should mention all these board games, Michelle. This past weekend, we were cleaning out one of the closets and came across a bunch of these games, It was fun going thru them, trying to remember whose game it was, when it was bought or given as a gift.
Every Christmas eve, the boys come home and we spend the evening playing Yahtzee. It’s our favorite family game.
LOL Michelle,
We had Atrari–the pingpong game with two speeds–really slow or really fast. ‘Course my eye-hand coordination left little to be desired. My older brother always won. We, too, though played card and board games. And to this day dislike Monopoly.:-)
Sheila
Sounds like a treasure trove of memories! I love Yahtzee too, and you should try to find Power Yahtzee. It’s usually only around at Christmas, at those game kiosks in the mall, but it’s well worth looking for it.
Thanks for coming by!
Suzanne
Ha! I remember that. Sad part was back in the day, that game rocked! Now look how far electronic games have come?
Monopoly isn’t a favourite but I have played Disney Monopoly with my daughters and that’s fun (doesn’t last as long either)
Nice to see you here!
Hi Michelle! I haven’t played games in years, and miss them. I loved Monopoly, Scrabble, Cribbage, Password, and Penuckle.
I love board games. Some of my favorites are Blokus, Sorry, Trouble, and Bingo!
Cathy, my dad taught me Cribbage when I was about 12. Special memories there. Thanks for coming by!
Jen
Trouble is fun! Love the popping noises. Good luck on the draw
I love Apples to Apples…we just don’t allow anyone to know who laid what card to make it more interesting for us.
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