Uno, the tie that grinds

            Friday has become something of a haven for me.  I look forward to it all week as the night I get to enjoy with my boys.  I enjoy playing games with them although they tend to be a bit disconnected on what they want to play.  As they get older, they diverge so much that I am unsure exactly where to go sometimes.  I enjoy the time together and what we get to do, but it is always a bit difficult to hash out what to do when i have 4 boys all wanting to do something different and not one willing to compromise.  It usually takes a bit of cajoling to get them to play a single game and then we have to change games.  It almost isn't worth it.  I said almost, we always end up having fun and enjoying ourselves.  That makes it all worthwhile.
          This brings me to a question.  Is there any particular game that brings you back to your childhood that you think of fondly and still enjoy playing?  I can think of a couple, cribbage and Uno for example.  I look forward to the day my youngest can play by himself (he still has a little trouble recognizing numbers), but he's 4 and my other boys didn't really get it until they were about 5.  The truth is, we always have fun when we play, we just have to get the the point of dealing out the cards first. 
        That is really what it comes down to, isn't it? Not just dealing the cards, but playing with what you get dealt to you as well as played on you by others.  Amazing how one little game can teach you so much about interacting with others and still grab your attention for more.  There are other games that do this, but i suggest you sit and watch a game of Uno sometime.  Watch how the players interact and how they play.  In every group you will find a few distinct players.  There is the planner, the one who picks a specific order in which to play his cards for the best advantage.  The flash, the one that grabs the first card in his hand that can be played.  The evil mastermind, this is the one that holds onto that "special" card for whoever played that draw two on him.  Then you have the joker, this is the guy that is all of the above at any given time (me usually). 
          As they play you will find that the interactions also reveal just how competitive the players are.  The more competitive the angrier they get at the pile of cards they hold.  This is especially true when sitting next to the evil mastermind since this is also most likely the most sadistic of all the players.  It gets ugly really fast when someone is not only competitive, but sensitive as well.  That's when sitting him beside the sadistic and cruel evil mastermind is down right wrong.  The mastermind will keep every nasty card he can until he can play it on his hapless victim until that victim is so traumatized that he no longer wants to play.  This is usually what happens to our number two.  The thing that makes it funny, is that it is our number three who is the evil mastermind with a sadistic streak.
           Then again, maybe I am over analyzing the whole Uno thing.  Maybe my boys just play to have fun and don't actually enjoy tormenting each other.  One can hope.
           Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.