Monopoly

They pushed the game board toward me, turning it so that the Jail would be near me. That's where I spent most of my time the last time we played, while they amassed their properties and bought their houses and collected their rents.

And this time, I was sitting in the jail again in no time at all, rarely passing Go, rarely collecting my $200.00. Yet the game was not an utter loss.

On one of those few circuits of the entire game board, I managed to buy Park Place, and my spirits soared as I held the blue card in my hand. And on another I bought Boardwalk, and with the money I had I bought two houses -- the first high-rent properties on the board.

For the first time in my life, I had them both! And houses, too.

Alas, I only collected rent once. For the two hours or so that I managed to stay in the game, with my precious properties arrayed before me, all the traffic just passed me by.

But when my money ran out and my three other properties were mortgaged, I still had those blue cards to keep my spirits high. It was a moral victory.

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