Carcassonne

Justin and I spent last New Year's Eve eating Tommy's Sushi with my brother Erick. Sushi-eating was followed by Justin and Erick playing a combination of video games on Xbox well into the morning, while I dozed in and out of my typical sleeping habit. Apparently, this is when Justin and my brother discovered a game called Carcassonne.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meeple

Every once in awhile, Justin and I walk down State Street and find ourselves at Game Seeker, a store that sells board games. One day we walked in to find a family playing a game with the Irish guy who works there. Justin realized he had played this game on Xbox and right then and there, the Carcassonne addiction began. The instant I saw the medieval-looking castle on the box, I couldn't wait to dismiss myself from participation. Justin and my brother decided that they would play together, and I was off the hook. But somehow when we got home, Justin talked me into playing the first game.  I blame it on the cute little Meeples*.

The three of us have become so obsessed with this game that we have already made numerous trips downtown to buy expansion packs that we have yet to use. Each expansion pack seems to make the game increasingly complex and I am not looking forward to that. Not only have we made it a point to obsessively buy expansion packs, but it has become a household competition. One day I suggested that the person in last place should wash the dishes. I lost that game, and I haven't wagered dishwashing since. Our dining room table only has two chairs which required one of us to sit on a stool. My brother and Justin usually exchanged turns on the stool as I assumed that being a girl would exempt me from it. The being-a-girl excuse no longer works as we have now progressed into making this stool the "loser's stool." The stool and I have become very good friends.

 

Erick and I are definitely behind in victory points and Justin has proven to be somewhat unstoppable. I no longer play in hopes of first place. I now play for the claim of a real dining room chair.

*Meeple: the wooden game pieces