Last night, I attended a game night. One of the guys who works in my building down in Milton, Florida invited me to hang out at his place as he was hosting a game night. It was a Thursday night and I didn’t have anything particular to do in Pensacola. The Blue Wahoos season was over and I was already done with my graduate classwork for the week. My plans for the evening was to relax in my hotel room at the Hilton Garden Inn and munch down on some pasta from Jason’s Deli. So I decided to accept the invitation. It was maybe 25-30 people there and he games set up at 10 different stations. The ones that interested me the most were the stations that featured Scrabble, Phase 10, and Sequence. As I almost always do, I quickly put down my competition in Scrabble by getting an 86-point BINGO on my first play. I held my own in Phase 10. But I dominated in Sequence. It was the type of domination that made me a few new enemies. And the crazy thing about it is I feigned as if it was my first time ever playing. That brings me to this week’s moment in the Flashback Friday series: my introduction to Sequence.
How I first came across this moment? I first came across Sequence in the Spring of 2009, when I was living in Tokyo, Japan. The same guy who introduced me to Philadelphia cheesesteaks introduced me to Sequence. It was during one of our Sunday evening fellowships at Adrian’s apartment when he brought it out. After reading the rules and watching a game, I jumped in and the rest is really what they call “history”.
What it meant to me then? Sequence is something of an abstract strategy game. Because of my love for such games—chess, Battleship, and Connect Four amongst them—I instantly fell in love with the game and its concept. I started out by winning by first 21 individual matches and my first 8 team matches. Basically, I rose from novice player to a juggernaut very quickly. I really enjoyed the defensive aspect of the game. It was one thing to try to get a sequence for myself. It was a completely different thing to stop an opponent from securing their sequence. It was always a point of pride to block sequences. I did it with a bit of a flair for the dramatic too.
What it means to me now? Today, I still play. It’s one of the games I usually bring out when I go to cookouts or on the rare occasion I have several people over to my home. I still play the same way I did 6 ½ years ago. I still aim to control the game defensively. My poker face has gotten colder though. Now, I don’t show any emotion nor do I give the opponent any indication on how I’ll move.
