In Which The Game Lasts Less Than Sixteen Hours

Strategy is the name of the game. If there is a game with strategy, I can personally guarantee that Pat will love it. Chess, Stratego, Axis and Allies probably top the list. The longer and more involved the game, the more Pat enjoys it.

Case in point: last year we went on a three day trip to a cabin out along a scenic river in the middle of nowhere. It was right around this time of year, but the weather was actually NICE and it was really MILD. As in, we barely needed long sleeve shirts. I find it hard to believe that warm breezy time actually happened in January in Virginia. But it did. The river was beautiful! There was even a big tire swing that was pretty amazing. There was an area for picnicking, camp-firing, walking the dogs, running, beautiful porches with SWINGS for reading and enjoying the scenery, areas to throw a football and much much more. But. Do you know what we did the majority of that trip?

We played Axis and Allies. I am talking about at LEAST sixteen hours, not including meals or breaks, of this game. And guess what! That was just PART of ONE game. We never even finished it, to the everlasting chagrin and frustration of Pat. In an effort to appease him, we took detailed notes and pictures of the game board so the game could be completed at one point in time. But Pat was not appeased and stated his conviction that finishing the game "ain't gonna happen!". We did everything to convince him otherwise . . . (for the record, at this time, about a year later, we haven't yet finished the game, so hat's off to you, Pat. You were right).

There were several other times that we again drug out the game, set it up and played. We never managed to complete it a single time.

BUT with all these home-bound days after his tooth surgery, Pat was just itching to pull out his favorite game. So he called up Stephen and invited him over. Stephen came over, and after spending about two hours reading the official rules online (yes it took almost two hours, that is NOT an exaggeration), they finally were ready to play. Turns out the rules Pat had been playing by were somewhat different than the official rules, and Stephen, always careful to know the rules and the game inside out, made sure that the correct rules were the rules played by. When they finally started the game, I was preparing myself for hours or potentially days of checking in on them to make sure they were still doing necessary things like eating and taking antibiotics (Pat).

As you can tell, Pat took the game Very Seriously, and even wore his grandfathers WWII hat.

Stephen contemplating his next move.

After a few hours, they ordered pizza. And a little while after eating, I snapped this shot . . .

Can you tell who's winning?

And, you will not believe this (I still barely do!), the game was finished, completed, dunzo at 8 pm, which means it only took five or six hours. Crazy, definitely not expecting that after our previous experiences with this game! I think Pat was happier that he actually completed this game at long long last than that he won! And, for the record, Stephen wants to be the Allies next game, as the Allies get three turns to every two turns of the Axis. So methinks there will be a rematch one day soon. Time will tell how long that game will take!