A Different Rainbow

One key to happiness – GAMES

Compliments to Yehuda for his interpretation of meeple colors. My family is a little different from his descriptions.

From the time we began playing 5-player games with our five adult family members, each of us has used the same color of playing pieces for each game. Our favorite colors for games are red, yellow, green, blue, and black. Most 5-player games offer these colors. Occasionally, white or orange is substituted for one them, usually the black choice. In our 6-player games, we often see purple, and some games have brown or gray options.

Here is our lineup: red – Katrina; yellow – Sue; green – me; blue – Dan; and black – Mason. When Natalia began playing some games with us, she wanted to be red (like her mom), and Joel always wants to be blue (like his dad). So, for some games, Katrina and Dan have to remember that they are using substitute colors. Since Natalia rarely plays a game with color assignments, it is usually Dan who has to “sacrifice” his “lucky” color. He gets the gray meeples in Carcassonne and Hunters & Gatherers (borrowed from the Carcassonne game). In Settlers, he has brown. Poor guy has trouble with multiple game personalities, I think. But, he certainly wins his share of the games, so that doesn’t seem to be a major handicap.

If I consider the game-playing personality of each person, this would be our descriptions of the meeple colors.

-- Red: This game takes too long. Whose turn is it? {rhetorical question designed to induce play by someone else} I don’t think you mentioned that rule. Wait, I have to get my pieces arranged in the proper feng shui design. {and modify it as meeples are used} Oh, yes! I finally won that game!

-- Yellow: Now remember, I shared that city with you. Okay, I’ll play here, rather than block your track. Maybe we can work together in this area. I didn’t realize my play would harm you – sorry. Oops, did I do that to you, again? Don’t do that, or you’ll regret it. . . {and I WILL regret it} NO MORE WHINING!

-- Green: I can’t believe you took the exact card I planned to take! I can’t believe you built exactly where I planned to build! I can’t believe you put the robber on me, again! I can’t believe you won just before I would have won! Okay, okay, you won – let’s play something else. Oh no, not Settlers AGAIN! Let’s play a new game, please……

-- Blue: I like everything we play. I haven’t figured out the right strategy for this one (yet). I LIKE this game! Sure, I’ll play a new game – what have you got? I thought that strategy would work, and it did.

-- Black: {silence} {more silence} Is the hockey {football, baseball, basketball, golf, etc.} game on? I’ll sit here, so I can watch TV. Let’s play Settlers. {after he wins the majority of the games each day – more silence, but there is that sneaky little grin, like the cat that ate the canary}

That’s our family rainbow of meeples and the game personalities that match the colors.

--- Gerald … near Denver, Colorado; April 2006
aka gamesgrandpa -- A grandpa who is a mile high on gaming