BWL and BillD, you're men after my own heart. I don't care for gambling. One brief visit to Las Vegas was enough to convince me that there are people who can use my money much more than professional gamblers and corporations that have the odds stacked against me to begin with. And I don't care for those kind of contrived games Bill described. I sat out one of those in a "retreat" some years back when we were supposed to be getting in touch with our biases and learning teamwork, because I knew the game and didn't like the way it was meant to "teach" by involving an outcome that made people feel bad about themselves.

The destination may be interesting, but it is the trip that makes it worthwhile. The game has to be a good one for it to interest me in the first place. I concocted a version of Scrabble that I still play with my kids on occasion. I designed it so they'd enjoy playing together by letting them gang up against me (they pooled their letters and took turns putting out words as long as they could manage). Rude words, proper nouns, everything was allowed, including playing off of the edge of the board. We have a double set of letters we use for this game.

As we play the kids get closer together. After a while they sit with their heads together and rearrange letters amid gales of laughter as they look at me and speculate if I'll react to some really naughty word they've come up with. They earn extra points for courtesy, such as offering to bring back a glass of water for others when they get up for themselves, and they have lost points for non-cooperation, but that doesn't happen often. I pay for points to the winning team if they win, a penny a point, so I'm not out a lot, but it was one more incentive to play the game when they were small. The effect of this game is noticable for several days after we've played.

My cousin gave me this idea, because her daughters, who are both grown and in their own careers and lives now, are the best of friends. My cousin worked hard to arrange this kind of love and respect and enjoyment, and told me about her plan long before I had my own children to do the same with. I have a relatively peaceful household with two teenagers. We're still on that journey, the game is afoot. Who cares about "winning" if it means one person defeats another?

SRS