Zioncheck

Roommate Jenna introduced our friends to a progressive rummy card game called Zioncheck a few years ago. Her family plays a ton of Zioncheck during holidays and get-togethers. When Mare got home, one of the first things we did was play the 7-round game in our new place. We used to play constantly at cabin weekends, on random weeknights, and especially on breaks during college so it was nice to have a tradition to turn to as we asked her a ridiculous amount of personal questions. (At one point, when Mare was describing the food she ate, Em asked "Did you ever feel like a hamster?" It was FANTASTIC.)

"Did you bring cards to Senegal?" I asked. "Did everyone learn how to play Zioncheck?!" Life without Zioncheck would be a sad life indeed.

"Well, I mean, it was hard to find exactly 4 people. And to not exclude people when we were all hanging out. Plus it takes an hour and a half..."

It's true. It's really hard to hit all the requirements to play the game. Once, before BF was BF, I called him, begging him to play with us because we were short a player. Then, our girlfriend called and said she could play after all. So as not to hurt his feelings, I called him back to say that someone else had dropped so were weren't going to play after all. Then we played without him, and had a great time.

Z is for Zioncheck. It has strict rules for # of players, takes over an hour, and players often get so angry at one another mid-game that they hold the grudge until the last round. Also, it can cause you to blatantly lie to people with whom you might someday be in a committed relationship. Why do we like this game again?

... That's a wrap on this here blogging challenge. THX again, KC and LH!