Games People Play

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have been thinking long and hard about what I can give you – the very appreciated readers of my blog – as a Holiday gift.

It isn’t easy – you are very difficult to buy for – so picky, I don't know your size and it seems that you have everything already. (And frankly, I suspect that you return everything for store credit anyway.) But then it dawned on me – what about a board game? The readers are fun people and they probably love to socialize. WOW……but which one….??

Then it hit me! I joked a few articles ago about inviting people over to my new house for games of Pictionary. Pictionary!!!! A classic game and one of my favorites! I rule at Pictionary. It is a fact. (For those who are not familiar with the game of Pictionary, it is like a game of charades, except that players draw clues for people to guess rather than acting something out.)

The Second Life version, called Primtionary (which was profiled on SLTV the same weekend I discovered it), follows basically the same rules but is not played on a game board or in teams. One person stands on a stage and is given a clue to build by the host. That person then builds something that will give the audience cues as to what the clue word is. The entire audience “shouts” out guesses to what the clue word is by typing their guesses into the chat bar. The first person to type in the correct answer wins that round and has the opportunity to build the next clue. There are several levels of building difficulty – and each individual builder selects the level they are comfortable with; Easy, Medium, Hard, Impossible and Evil. Each level requires a more advanced level of building skillllzzzz. You are also allowed to use textures and colors to flavor your builds – unless the texture is the clue itself.

The Primtionary event location is Asim Zahra (185, 179, 27). Join the Primtionary Hosts group to get updates and reminders about game times.

Get free, super sexy Primtionary t-shirts (This is the half tee - there is a regular length one also.) at the Primtionary arena!

So, how is it you ask? Fanflippintastic!

I have to admit, though, it took me some time to get used to building in front of people like that. The first time I went, I had planned on just sitting and watching. But, oh my dog, it soon became impossible for me not to guess. It was like my body was possessed. I begin to type answers furiously into the chat bar. “OMG! What am I doing?? Stop!” I told myself, “You are out of practice building!” Then, I heard a peel of bells indicating that the correct answer had been submitted. With mild trepidation, I looked the screen to see who had guessed correctly.

Crapola!! It was me. Of all times for my typing to resemble actual words!! “OH NO!” I shouted out loud. I quickly built a prim antiperspirant stick and a tiny, but powerful, valium tablet and took my place at the front of the arena. I had SL stage fright.

I selected the Easy level, took a deep breath and waited for the host to IM the clue to me. I got the IM. The word was……colon. Colon. My avatar and I stared blankly at the host in total disbelief. That was supposed to be an Easy level build??? How on Earth was I going to construct an intestinal tract out of nothing but cubes and spheres? OMG!!!

…until she IM’ed me that she meant the punctuation mark, not a body part. Whew! Heh.

During that first game, I seriously considered slapping on a gag ball and wrist cuffs in an effort to stop guessing. But, alas, I got another answer correct. In the end, I guessed four answers correctly and built clues four times. It isn’t that I didn't want to build – it is just that I needed to practice a bit more before I felt comfortable and calm. My first day was not the one to get up there.

But now that I know how much fun it is – and how gentle the players are to nervous and beginning players – I know that I shouldn't have worried so much. Since then, I have practiced. I have gotten faster at making little CC’s (for sounds like), arrows to point to specific parts of builds and plus signs to use when I am building parts of words. (Nothing may be pre-made – all elements of your build must be created from scratch on the stage.)

Actually, what I really should practice is calming down – I am a complete spaz up there. There is no reason for me to freak out. There is no time limit. You can be as methodical as you need to be. You can be a brand spanking new builder and take your sweet time. No one will pressure you. They may shout out “funny” answers in reference to the empty stage (void, emptiness, space, etc.), but Avatars can be quite cheeky, really. You don’t even have to pay attention to the answers being shouted out by the audience. The computer takes care of that.

For most games, the prize for a correct answer was $50L. But, no one needs to pay me to play Primtionary. In fact, the organizers might be smart to save up a few Lindens to bribe me to leave someday - after I have taken to attending every single event and sleeping on the SIM in a little tent so as not to miss any action.

Anyone who says that Second Life is all about deviant sex needs to attend Primtionary. Well…just not on Mature Theme Night.

YES!!! I said MATURE THEME NIGHT! OMG. All R, X, , XX, XXX, and Y words! (Yes! Y! It will be that naughty!) I can only imagine the absolute delight of being plopped in front of my PC with a chilled box of wine at my side and the stadium full of SL friends while we play together on Mature night. (I will post a note on my blog when I find out the schedule for the next Mature night.)

See the clue below? What do you think it is?

Obviously, it is a ‘dungeon’…. and that is what I guessed. And I was right. Of course, now I have had to suffer being teased about being a pervert ever since by f00 Barbosa, who had gone to the game with me. Hey - I can’t help what is top of mind for me. :-P

So, I hope that I will see you at a game soon! I’ll be the one in the ball gag.

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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