Note Number 21…One for his knob…

“ Fifteen two, fifteen four and a pair is six…Oh and one for his knob,” I say
“Oh blimey are you two playing that game again?” says my daughter.
It’s me and The Man playing Cribbage. We do it all the time.

This is NOT a true representation of me or The Man…but I kinda think the look on her face might be reminiscent of the look on my face when I’m winning….

The Man and I have spent a great deal of time on our own together, which we like. We are happy in each other’s company. (Watch the comments section for a cynical reply!). When we were in Italy, we watched some DVDs but not much television but, we enjoyed and still enjoy playing cards. He taught me to play Cribbage which we love and whilst recently in Madeira we had a tournament, which he won 7 – 5. We usually decide the criteria of our battles and after the Madeira clash, on our return we did the End Of February, tournament. However, we didn’t have that much spare time so only three games. I won 2 – 1. Next one up will be the whole of March, The Spring Event which could be a lot of games – we’ll see. Rules and guidance for how to play here.

Cribbage: Cards, board for pegging, dealer button (we always need this because we forget who’s dealing) 

We rarely argue when playing cards but it does sometimes get a little heated. I think I’m a good loser but hate it if it’s a complete trouncing. He thinks he’s a good loser but as he doesn’t experience it that often how can we tell? Oh, yes I do remember once the table being thrust from underneath sending the cards scattering everywhere meaning I couldn’t add up the points to find out exactly how many million points I had beaten him by. That was in the early days, it never happens now…

Our well used Pack of Pinocle Cards

The other card game for two that we play is Pinochle, (pronounced peaknuckle) It’s an American game with two parts to it, melding and winning tricks and counting up the card values at the end. It’s played with two packs containing only the cards from 9 – Ace (Ace being a high scoring card). I like Pinochle, it has some strategy to it and isn’t just down to luck. You can see the rules and how to play here.

Burraco is probably our favourite game. We learnt it while living in Italy and it’s a very popular game there – it originates from Uruguay, but now I think the Italians have adopted it as their own. You can play with just two but it’s better with at least four. It’s a partner game and a complicated game to explain but suffice it to say, it’s a cross between Canasta and Rummy. It’s played with two packs, including the jokers, 108 cards in all. You have to learn the value of the cards and you have to make a run of at least seven cards of the same suit or, seven cards of the same value. These seven cards are called a Burraco. Twos and Jokers are wild. It’s a great game and the Italians play it with great passion to the point of being scary. Heaven help you if an Italian is your partner and you make a mistake!

The Guy on the Left is Obvioualy Italian…. 

When we first got back to England we missed our Burraco evenings with friends or at the club in Valmir. So, we’ve taught our new neighbours in Dorset to play the game and now play with them every week. We need to teach a few more people so that we can have a proper tournament every now and then. An early start is advised – this never happened in Italy. They have to have their supper before they arrive and the first game doesn’t begin until after nine-thirty! Many nights, The Man and I have travelled up the hill from Valmir to Petritoli at one-thirty in the morning feeling weary and Burracoed-out, sometimes having eaten a bowl of pasta around midnight. Rules for Burraco are here

Of course some of you out there will be Bridge players and no doubt swear that this is the only game worth playing. We’ve tried it, but couldn’t get on with it. Too many conventions and too many complications for my brain.

I think you’re either a card/game player on not. I would mostly prefer to play a game than watch TV – but I do enjoy a good drama series…Ooh, that reminds me, the new Broadchurch has started, will have to get stuck into that!