Didn't We Agree That It Was Next Week?

Have you ever extensively prepared for dinner guests only to be informed at the last minute that you had gotten the week wrong?

If anyone in Jerusalem is hungry tomorrow night (or the next or the next), stop by for some food.

Tichu

Instead, Friday night dinner was just myself, Rachel, Saarya, and Tal. Since it was a winter evening, which meant an early dinner, we also finished early. I tentatively proposed to Rachel that we all play Tichu. She usually only plays Puerto Rico, which Saarya and Tal don't play, but she has occasionally played Bridge.

To my surprise, she agreed to try it, seeing as it was quick, she was in a good mood, and it would include all present in a mutual activity. Saarya had played once before, and Tal had played President and was certainly capable of playing this.

I only asked Rachel to play one hand to see if she liked it. After one hand, which was mainly working out the rules and kinks, she asked to play again. After that one, she said that she was finally getting it. We ended up playing four hands in total.

Tal liked it, and Rachel did, too. Not crazily, but enough that, at the end of game night if there is not enough time for Puerto Rico, she may be willing to be roped into a hand or two of this.

On the flip side, I think I've pretty much "got" the game at this point. While I foresee that I will continue to enjoy it, as I still do Hearts and so on, I don't know how much more "game" there is for me to learn about this game.

There's still no partnership card game like Bridge.

Zertz

The next day before lunch I tried Tal out on Zertz. She took to Yinsh, didn't take to Dvonn, and, like me, was not particularly intrigued by Gipf.

After two games, both of which I won fairly easily, she's not too keen on playing it again, and I'm still interested in learning more. My victories were, in both cases, more a result of her not seeing what I was planning than in any deep play that would ensure me a victory. I need to play some better players to see how deep the game really goes.

Game News

A year and a half ago bradley's almanac covered this game in a blog post, but for some reason it only showed up in RSS today. The game is What Shall I Be?, the exciting game of careers for girls, and it's quite instructive. There was a boy's version, too.

An article in Reuters about Go on the Internet. I'm not sure why that's new news.

And lastly, I want to share with you this advertisement from our local Jerusalem Anglo mailing list:

For Sale - Ideal for anarchist or revolutionary

Bedframe and several matresses for sale.

The frame is metal in good condition unfortunately,
but the paint has peeled off and there are some
encouraging signs of rust. There is a choice of three
mattresses, a spring mattress which sags in the middle
and two foam mattresses with somewhat torn covers.

This bed is ideal for an anarchist or revolutionary or
any anti-establishment sorts. A couple of nights of
sleeping in this bed will ensure a completely
different outlook on life, leading to greater world
peace.

I am willing to sell for a nominal fee, or will barter
for any books written by Marx or Engels, or anything
published by the Free Democratic Republic of North
Korea.

Thank you.

Yehuda