A Rousing Game of Hearts

If your family is cool enough to like games, which they hopefully are, then there's a favorite game you always gravitate towards.

We go through phases.  When I was a kid we played a lot of Monopoly.  There's So Many Versions!!!  You can never own too many.  Then, in my young twenties, we discovered Ticket to Ride and Pirate Dice from Pirates of the Caribbean.  Good times.  And then there was Shadows Over Camelot.  My Mom always got super competitive with that game.  Recently I discovered The Resistance, an awesome card game.  Everyone I've played the game with has LOVED it, and my parents even got really into it, making all these accusations and getting quite excited.

But out of all the games we play, there's always one we go back to: Hearts.

We played it as a family New Years Eve.  My brothers were off at a friends party, which I skipped because I was still sick (I'm finally better!!), so it was myself, Grandpa R, Aunt Tam, Mom, and Dad.  My Grandma A watched from the end of the table, amused.

We played several rounds until someone finally reached 100 points, which took us 9 turns, after which I only earned . . . 6 points!  And I miraculously "Shot the Moon" once, much to everyone's dismay. Heh.  The funny thing was I never intended to Shot the Moon, and my Grandfather even tried to spare me the Queen of Spades, which was nice, but the next round there was nothing he could do, the Queen ended up in my point pile.  I kept leading, getting hearts, until it was realized midway through that I could do it!  I could Shot the Moon!!  "She can't do it" "Does anyone have high cards?" "We have to stop her!!"

I looked at my hand: Kings, Queens, and a ten.  I could do it!  I was leading, and I did the best I could to hide my smirk.  Heh, it was pretty Epic.

Then my Dad had had enough.  He had decided earlier that day that watching Sucker Punch with the sound system boosting was the best way to spend New Years Eve.  That movie is a guys paradise --_--;;

He had 99 points, just 99 points by the 8th round, and when he saw his hand he started a great big chuckle of a laugh, convinced he could get that final point to end our game.  He bragged, but I later countered, "I can take the hit," boosting, everyone still reeling from the 26 point gift I gave in abundance.  I got 2 points that round, but my Aunt was the true hero, and mission "Prevent Dad from getting a point" was a success.

. . . 6 whole points :0)