Games People Play

Crossword Puzzles.

The Globe and Mail has a great Saturday crossword puzzle on the computer, but you have to pay for it. So I usually head for our little corner store first thing Saturday and buy the Saturday G&B. Sometimes they're sold out, and sometimes they have 20 of them. They charge 50 cents less than the service station across the street. The puzzle is carefully cut out to the right size, clamped to my clipboard and with a real pencil (eraser on the end, for sure) I happily muddle away with this for the rest of the week be it in the bathroom, bedroom or car. But this is the only crossword I do on paper. Computer crossword puzzles are just as much fun. Skill levels are "master" and "regular". With "master" you're on your own. With "regular" your mistakes are colored, so you know immediately that you have to find another word. I usually choose "master" - just to add a handicap. The fun part comes at the end. I switch from master to regular and see how many colored letters appear. If there's only 2 or 3 colored letters, I'm happy. "For an old lady - not bad at all!" I say out loud to my invisible audience as they applaud.

Bridge.

I play it for real once a year when my sisters and I get together for our annual visit - two of them play bridge all the time at various ladies bridge clubs, so they're really good. My younger sister is like me - plays just this one time a year. But we hold our own, enjoy our glass of wine, laugh and have a good time. On the computer, I play with funny looking avatar partners and turn off the sound so I don't have to listen to their silly comments. They never make mistakes, though, so I try to keep out of trouble. The odd time, I'll bid 6 spades and if I pull it off, I'm ecstatic. As far as adding to your skill at a game, I would say computer bridge is at the top.

Mind Games.

The New York Times has mind games: - Improve the health and function of your brain", it says, "with the right mental workouts." Having concentration problems playing piano, I think "Ah Ha!" - this will fix me up. No change so far, but these little workouts really do force you to pay attention. I have just discovered these, so how often I'm back there remains to be seen. My gut feeling is that I will like this.

Jigsaw Puzzles
Got a Frank Lloyd Wright puzzle for Xmas. Glass art design. Frank wintered in Phoenix for years. Last month while we were there, we visited his home and were told that his glass wall is part of the hotel lobby just down the street. It takes up a whole wall! Fascinating to see the real thing after looking at the picture on the box. Spread out on a table upstairs, it's already being put together. Good solid puzzle with very bright colors. Difficulty? I'd say about medium. Something interesting. I can listen to podcasts on my computer and work on the jigsaw with equal concentration. They are obviously in completely differing parts of the brain. The brain waves never cross each other's paths. I have decided to have a jigsaw puzzle on the go always. Very satisfying.

Scrabble.

The only frustrating thing is that the computer has access to an astounding dictionary. They can beat you with a word you're never seen before. But this works both ways. I can't tell you how often I have tried the most unlikely word, and like a miracle, the computer tells you it is a word! Sometimes I even get big points for my weird looking word. I tell the story to anyone who will listen. My granddaughter is an amazing Scrabble player. She posts her high scores on Facebook, and I'm going to start doing that too.

When I'm sleeping badly, I reach for my computer. Immediately, my frustration and discomfort disappear. I get busy with a game and within the hour, I'm back to sleep.