Tag Archives: Family game night

Word of The Day: Zipola

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Zipola: Slang. Nothing at all; zip; zilch.

A monster has been created.

Almost ten-year-old Angel Boy 2.0 has become a rabid Scrabble player. Zipola is a word he used to gain a triple word score.

It’s a valid word in SOME Scrabble dictionaries, but not all. However, no one was going to take that pride and joy away from him, that’s for sure.

In fact, last night he surpassed 400 points in a one-on-one game, winning against his PhD literature professor dad, and it’s one of our proudest family moments.

It’s bad enough that I could NEVER win against the original Angel Boy; I can’t imagine the future as a total loser.

The Games People Play

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Joy was my primary emotion when Angel Boy 2.0 brought out the Scrabble board and wanted to learn how to play.

As soon as he grasped the basic concept, he became a fierce competitor. When his Dad wanted to create teams — my two Angel Boys– son and grandson — against ME, I knew I was doomed to never again win.

This is deja vu, history repeating itself in real time. I have never EVER won a game of Scrabble with my brilliant child. At this point I don’t even try because it’s futile.

This was only the second game we played. AB 2.0 was proud of MAX with no help from Dad, and because it was a double word score, he caught on really fast to the excitement of strategic placement.

When I play games, I do so for the joy of being together; when THEY play, their goal is to win.

We are not the same.

It’s a similar situation with Monopoly. I’m no fun to play with. This is a game where their Mom excels. I want to buy hotels and apartments to provide a home for the unsheltered, while everyone else tries to acquire money and real estate to build an empire.

We are not the same.