Game Nights and the game no one will play with me

I like game nights. I host occasional game nights at my house. They are usually pretty low key. Just a small gathering of us. I am better at certain types of games over others. I am better at trivia games. Not as good at games that involve some sort of strategy. I can be pretty lazy when it comes to those. I don't want to spend too much time thinking.

When we play word games like Taboo, Catchphrase or Dictionary, I have a tendency to shout out one word after another until I get the correct word. But trivia games, that's my area. If we have teams, you want me on you team.

I have been on a couple of game shows over the years that involve trivia. Several years ago, I was on a show called Clash! which was on the HA! network. What's that you say? What's the HA! network? Remember before Comedy Central both MTV Networks and Time Warner had their own comedy networks, one was called HA! and the other was called Comedy Channel? Well they didn't do so well on their own so they merged and became Comedy Central.

Anyway, I was on Clash! as part of a team of three. Our team won, but I was not the leading scorer eon our team so I didn't get to go for the final round. But I did answer all the questions in the speed round which is how the team won. The speed round went like this, they give you three categories (kind of like Jeopardy), you don't know exactly what they mean but you can get a fair idea. And then they give you three dollar amounts, $50, $100 and $150. You decide based not the titles which value you want to give to which category. Mine were Cops Shops and Flops. I knew immediately, Cops was probably TV cop shows, Flops was probably movie failures and Shops might have something to do with retail. All three ares of expertise for me. So I jumped right in assigned the dollar amounts and then the questions came and I answered all of them correctly.

Shops for $50, What NYC department store hosts the annual Thanksgiving Day parade?
Flops for $100. What 1980 box office failure was directed by Michael Cimino?
Cope for $150. What 1970s cop show featured three young officers?

Macys
Heaven's Gate
The Rookies

Bam! We each won a set of luggage, crystal ware (which I still have), and an electric typewriter (yes, typewriter that s how long ago this was).

After moving to Los Angeles, I was on Merv Griffin's Crosswords. It only last one season and I still can't believe I passed the test to get on. It was hard! Proven by the fact that I only attempted to answer a question once and I was wrong.

A year later, I was on Trivial Pursuit America Play hosted by Peter Brady himself, Chris Knight.
I went all the way and won $13,100. I was unstoppable! I could have gone for double or nothing and made $26,200 but I made a decision before filming began that if I made it to the final round and I had the chance to double or nothing, then I would take what I had and go.

So I know trivia. Especially, TV shows, movies, sports figures, Broadway theatre and popular music of my generation and the generation before mine. If you were to ask me about current things, I'm not so knowledgeable.

Anywho...all this to preamble. my game nights. For Christmas 1996, I was given a game called Nick at Nite TV Trivia game. It's a board game that looks like the different rooms in a house. Each player has a figure that goes around the room and you answer questions read off a card, each representing a different room in the house. If yo get the answer right, you get a section to place in your TV dinner tray. The first person to fill up their TV dinner tray wins. (See below picture)

No one ever wants to play this game with me. Why? Because its all about classic TV shows of the 1950s though the 1970s. The game came out in 1996 when Nick at Nite was airing shows from those eras. They hadn't even started airing 1980s TV shows yet.

I haven't played this game in years. I've never played it enough so that I even have read all the cards. But no one will ever play it with me because they know I'm going to win. It's not like I'll gloat or be ungracious about winning. Just no one wants to play because I WILL win. There's no contest so why bother. Jeez, if I felt that way about games, I would never play anything but this one. But I don't do that. I play whatever game my friends want to play.

Except Ticket to Ride. Cause my friend Tom always wins at that. Its too complicated for me. LOL

My Not So Secret Love Continued

Yesterday, I told you about my love for television growing up. Today, I give some details about how active my imagination was. Some of this is embarrassing so please kind. I know was a little weirdo.

When I was a kid I fantasized that Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore might be my real parents. I fantasized about being discovered by no less than Lucille Ball.  She would have me a guest star on her show and from that I would get my own Monday night sitcom on CBS...The Richard Van Slyke Show. I would have annual specials too so I had an opportunity to sing and dance of course.

In the Fifth grade, my friends Bob Pohl and Nick Mangus would play The Odd Couple during recess. Bob was Oscar, Nick was Felix and I was Murray the Cop. Murray the Cop. Really?  I fancied myself the star. Instead I'm the fat guy with the big nose? Great!

As I entered later high and into college, my favorite show was Guiding Light. This happened when it expanded from a half hour to an hour and pushed my All in the Family reruns back a half hour. So when I got home from school at 2:30 Guiding Light was just tarting. So I watched and it quickly became my favorite show on TV. I loved it! Rita and Ed. Holly and Roger. Alan and Elizabeth and Justin and Jackie and Mike Bauer of the core Bauer family.  Roger raping Holly. Holly shooting Roger and Roger "dying". The failed kidnap attempt of Christine leading Roger in full clown makeup chasing Holly though a carnival hall of mirrors while Enough is Enough played in the background? Awesome! The introduction of the younger characters, Nola and Kelly an Morgan. The episode that opened with 15 minutes of Kelly confronting Nola about al her lies that had been building for about a year and a half? Brilliant!

Late nights in my college years, CBN (now known as ABC Family) ran reruns of 1950s sitcoms and discovered Burns and Allen, My Little Margie, Private Secretary, I Married Joan.  Then Nick at Nite went on the air and boom! More 1950s 1960s shows.

Now, TVLand and Nick at Nite shows are from the 1990s and even more recent. And we have Retrotv Antenna TV and ME TV. But they are analog channels and without cable, who can get them? Plus they air the same old shows.

So now I collect DVD sets. A lot of DVD sets. I have the complete series of Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, Newhart, Family Affair, Hazel, That Girl, Get Smart, Green Acres, All in the Family, Rhoda, WKRP, News Radio, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Odd Couple, Soap, Will & Grace and selected seasons of other series.

Yeah, I think I may have problem!