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Self Indulgent, Whiney Post With Little Content

Articles like this are the reason most blogs suck. Not yours of course, but... you know the ones... My teacher/boss/boyfriend was such a jerk today... That band/movie/reality show was the kewlest... Woe is me... etc.

A couple weeks ago I noticed that there were no pinochle reviews on Boardgamegeek. Now, pinochle is a topic I am familiar with. I decided to post a couple pinochle reviews. Since the games are significantly different I posted reviews of 2, 3 and 4 player, single deck pinochle.

I have played pinochle more than any game, probably more than every other game combined, literally. I have been playing pinochle seriously since I was 12 or 13. Before I was able to play with adults I watched and learned. I've been fascinated with the game since I was 7 or 8 years old. I could watch adults play for an entire evening without losing interest. Pinochle was basically the only game my parents played when I was a youngster, and they played all the time.

I played pinochle every day when I was a senior in high school. I played for thousands of hours when I was in the Army, frequently for 8 or 10 hours a day when we were in the field, and all weekend long when in garrison.

Most of my family plays pinochle. My wife plays pinochle. My wife's family plays pinochle. Both families routinely play pinochle at family events, as well as for fun. (Yes, family events and fun tend to be mutually exclusive, but not as mutually exclusive as fun and company parties.)

When I was in the DOD language school I gave a presentation on pinochle in German. I could explain rules and discuss strategy fairly well in two languages (although not anymore). I once taught the game to some Greeks who had a poor grasp of English. You would think I could explain the rules to English speakers.

I've played pinochle in a half-dozen different states. I've played the game with many different regional rules. I've played with 6 players, 4 players, 3 players, 2 players, and even two different forms of 5 player pinochle and no one is familiar with 5 player pinochle. I've played double deck pinochle and single deck pinochle.

I even invented a better way to play 2 player pinochle just to find other people around the country had been playing that version for years.

You would think I could write a good pinochle review, if not good, then better than one of my game reviews.

Not.

I am very disappointed in the reviews.

I think the problem is that I have too much to say about the game.

I tried to write a basic overview of the rules and I started going off on rabbit trails concerning strategy which I later deleted. It took a lot of energy to stick to the basic rules, and even then I ended up doing a very poor job explaining them.

Looking back on what I wrote I must say it turned out rather poorly. Embarrassing stuff. Maybe I will try to redeem myself with some strategy articles.

Good Gaming
Coldfoot