Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Bargaining and Vocabulary


A few years ago, Mike, Paul and I were sitting around eating pizza and complaining about our lack of girlfriends. After exhausting every resource of entertainment we had on hand, we resorted to playing board games. While one of us set up the Monopoly board, another complained about how he wanted to play Scrabble instead. One thing led to another and we ended up placing the Scrabble board on top of the Monopoly board. When we realized that they the Scrabble board fit almost perfectly within the inner boarder of the Monopoly grid, we knew that we had to make rules and guidelines for this incestuous hybrid. Scrabopoly was born. The rules are quite simple. The game is played just as a normal game of Monopoly is played except that every time someone passes go or free parking they must spell a word on the scrabble board. After you calculate the point value of the work, you multiple it by 10 and slap a dollar sign on it. This is the amount of money you earn. This income replaces the standard $200 that you would receive when you pass go. It is in this way that the game is not completely left up to chance. Playing the two games simultaneously, although confusing at times, ends up being a more enjoyable experience than either game on its own. Maybe this week I'll make a training video for anyone at home that would like to enjoy.

My friend Paul died earlier this year while serving time in the United States Military. Although I don't agree with the war, I am incredibly proud of those who are risking their lives over in Iraq for something that they believe in.

The composite photograph pictured below is something I threw together in my Junior year of High School. Paul modeled for me a lot during the few years of my life that I devoted to photography. Don't let the picture fool you. It was Paul who wanted to make every picture contain a hint of melodrama.

Speak easy,
Neil

1 comment:

Selina said...

What a great game idea! You were such a great photographer. Do you still take photos?

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