Monopoly

I don’t remember exactly when I first started playing this game but I do remember that during my childhood maybe when I was in 2nd or 3rd my brother and I used to play this with my dad’s friend’s sons who were our age. I was more of a number counter than an actual player then. My brother and our friend who was closer to his age used to run the game and me and my friend who was my age used to be the dummy’s who would obediently roll the dice when asked to.

However, the following years we sort of caught on ourselves and started contributing more towards the game as a player. The concept of money and real estate never hit us then, it was just a bunch of cards, green colour and red colour houses and hotels and of course paper money.

I have always loved board games and I still continue to do so. I get ragged quite a lot for buying them even at this age and stuff but I know for a fact that the “raggers” themselves are secretly vying for an invitation to play these board games.

Well since Edinburgh, though a lovely city, does afford us huge amounts of free time during the weekends, I decided to get back my lovely board game. So last week we picked up one.

Yesterday night when our movie plans fell through we (Shaiwal, his friend and wife and I) all trooped back to my place and set up the game. We had already played it once before but then no clear winner had emerged, yesterday was massacre night however. Shaiwal played the game in its true spirit and bankrupt-ed each one of us. While the rest of us quite vociferously rued his luck he claimed it was pure “Strategy!” :)

What I love though in the game is what it teaches you. This time around I was observing the players and their decisions than the game itself. I am myself a quite cautious player I do not put my neck out on the line, however I do take calculated moves and try to silently figure out my strategy while others are busy. Shaiwal’s friend is a very shrewd player, he tries to act laidback carefree while furiously trying to make money behind the scenes and worst of all he hates to loose. His wife is “Bindaas” she just doesn’t care, she is happy with what comes in and goes about without any plans. Shaiwal strateg-izes yes, however he is willing to take risks without any safety nets.

As business persons, I guess I might do well with small time businesses with long term growth plans, Shaiwal’s friend perhaps would make a good business person with high BP and cholesterol issues, his wife might be better suited as the operational person than strategy and Shaiwal himself would make a good business person but perhaps if he were to be as ruthless in real life as in the board game he might make a good business person but he might turn out not to be the person whom I love. :)

Like I said Monopoly is an interesting game.