Yahtzee meets Craps

There's an awful lot to be said for sitting around a table playing games. Over the holidays Willi and I had the occasion to play some games with his mom and children. It was great fun, but more importantly it bridged the gap between the generations, and also the miles that keep us apart for most of the year. Talk became easy and meaningful, and family ties were strengthened once again.

Willi's mom brought a cool game with her from Texas and we all learned how to play. You may have played it yourself. It's called Farkle and has been described as a cross between Yahtzee and Craps. There are as many sets of rules as there are stories of the game's origin. The most interesting story I have found was that it began with the Farkleberry Tree. Yep, there really is such a thing. Supposedly early settlers coming to Texas carved hardened berries from the Farkleberry Tree into dice, thus the name of the game. You need six dice, paper and a pencil to keep score. As many can play as can fit around the table, or you can play with teams. Here are some rules to get you started, but if you Google the game you will find many variations.

Although table games were not a big part of my growing up, Willi shares tales about learning to count by playing Dominoes with his grandad. The more memorable part was the banter between a boy and his grandfather as they drew playing pieces from "the boneyard". Back in the day, I learned some pretty important life lessons playing outside with my friends. In a day and age where technology tends to encourage a somewhat solitary existence, it feels good just to turn everything off, throw some dice, and visit.

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In a Nutshell

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4. If, growing up, I had any trouble with my dad, it was in this area: I honestly don't ever remember having trouble with my dad except for one time when I was in junior high. My mom and dad were both working by then, leaving me home alone until they got in. Of course the rule was that there were no boys allowed. None. Not even on the front porch. Zip, zilch, zero. How silly was that rule? So, whilst baking cookies one afternoon in the kitchen, I visited with my friend Dale as he sat at the kitchen table. To help you visualize the predicament we found ourselves in; the kitchen, dining room, living room and hallway are laid out in a circle with a wall in the middle. You can walk from the kitchen to the dining room, then through the living room and hall, right back around into the kitchen. I thought I had the timing pretty well down, but alas my dad got home earlier than expected. He came up the stairs into the hall just quick enough to see Dale step into the dining room. It looked like a scene from a Marx Brothers movie! As he headed for the dining room, Dale came back around the other way and headed down the stairs and out the door. You know my dad never said a word to me. And I never had a boy in the house again without permission. He was so disappointed in me, but not as much as I was in myself.

As a side note, Dale gave me my very first kiss. It happened when we were ice skating on the creek behind the house. We were just kids and it was just a sweet little peck. I will have to post sometime about Dale and the neighborhood kids. What a lot of fun we had growing up.