As far as hobbies and pastimes go I have a few that vary over time:
POKER is currently a game that I’m right in to (particularly Texas Hold ’em).
As a child my parents were among very few Samoan families to settle in Christchurch, as such most were known to each other and many of those families and individuals would come to my family home in the weekends if only to be around other familiar faces. Invariably these weekends would develop in to card playing evenings that would often evolve into poker-weekends. It was our job as kids to keep everyone fed and “coffee’d” through the weekend.
Often, as people sat cross-legged on Samoan mats in their card schools, they would eventually tire. If this happened they would simply shuffle back (creating a space in the school) and we’d provide a pillow for them to lie and sleep, meanwhile someone else would sit in their space. Occasionally this would continue from Friday evening to Monday morning – a continual rotation of card players, all laughing and joking their way through the weekend until it was time to return to the weekly grind. The usual game of choice was SWEEPIE (it’s very popular in Samoa – I once found a game called CASINO that was similar but have never seen it played outside the Samoan community) but with that number of card players in one place I suppose it was inevitable that sooner or later poker would enter the fray.
I remember with clarity my older brother sitting me down and explaining the workings of MANILA – I was instantly keen to play more. From that point on I have had a keen interest and enthusiasm for “parlour” games.
CHESS is another game that enthralls me.
I was 9 years old when I first stated an interest in learning how to play Chess. One of my brothers took the time to show me how the pieces moved but it wasn’t long before he stopped having time to play with me (maybe I should have let him win more often). My father took the time to play with me but he eventually gave up as well.
CHECKERS
Dad preferred to play CHECKERS or MU as it is known in Samoa. There are 2 significant differences between Mu and Checkers (or DRAUGHTS as many people call it). In Mu once a piece is promoted (or King’d) it gains the ability to not only move backwards but also to move more than 1 space at a time which makes it very difficult to hide from. The other difference in Mu is that you’re not allowed to take time to think about your move. Mu is Samoan for burn; as such the idea is that both players are required to make their moves very fast (almost to the point where the pieces are on fire they are moving that quickly). I once took 2 seconds to think about my move and Dad threatened to tip the board up.
I gained much from this style of play:
- I learned to evaluate situations quickly
- I learned to develop “evolving” strategies
- I learned that “losing” does not make one a loser, it merely gives you a point from which to develop improvement.
The downside to this style of play is:
- because of the brevity of these games it is hard to develop the mental stamina that games such as Chess and Poker require
I’m also a fan of BACKGAMMON especially when played at speed, but in truth there aren’t many boardgames or card games that I don’t like
I’m a big fan of chess, myself, but for years now I haven’t had anybody to play with. I get in a game every few years. And I persuaded my Chinese teacher to teach me Chinese chess, but once I figured out how the pieces moved, I started beating her, she got upset at losing, and refused to play. The only other Chinese chess players I know have been playing all their lives (growing up in NZ instead of China puts me at a huge disadvantage here), and I’ve never found anybody at an appropriate level to help me improve my Chinese chess skills.
Anyway, good to see a new addition to the blogtown community. Welcome.
Hi wangbo – thanks for the welcome – I haven’t given much time to this yet (just adding bits here and there as time permits) hence the delay in replying to your comment.
Years ago there was a late night cafe/coffee house in town called Leo’s. At the weekends it was mainly couples and annoying yuppies stopping in for a toasted sandwich and/or a hot chocolate after the movies – but Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights it was a hangout for “alternative” types. I popped in there by chance one Wednesday night – in one corner there was a small group discussing various different religious ideologies and in another the discussion was more centered on politics especially with regard to Communism vs Western Democracy.
In yet another corner there was a guy with a board similar to a chess board except it was 9X9. He said it was a Chinese Chess board and he showed my friend and I how to play. As I recall, one of the major differences was you could “re-employ” some of the pieces you had captured from your opponent as your own. I was so enthralled with the game that the next day I made a board and some pieces as best I could remember them, unfortunately there were too many gaps in my memory of the rules for my friend and I to play. We made a point of returning to Leo’s every Wednesday night for about a month. We even went along on other nights, just hoping to see this guy again so he could refresh our memories. Unfortunately we never did.
As for Chess I get in a couple of games a week so I’m in pretty reasonable form at the moment, although I did play a few dozen games at Yahoo! Games when I started playing again just to get back in to the swing of things. Like yourself, I’d love the chance to learn Chinese Chess properly
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