Chinese Checkers Champ

I'm sure most families have a favorite game like we do. For Rob and I there are two; Blockus and Chinese Checkers. I realize that Chinese Checkers is not one of those new hip games going around, but for some reason, Rob and I love to play it. One thing to note: I always win or at least I used to, until a new champ recently came to town.

This summer Alayna learned to play. Since she has bad sport tendencies (she's actually gotten a lot better lately), I told her from the beginning that I would only play her as long as she realized that she would never beat me; that it just wasn't possible. She agreed and we spend countless hours this summer playing three to five games a day. I taught her all my strategies and tricks. One day, suprise, she beat me. It was by one move, but she won. I was astonished because I did not help her. A couple of days later, she beat me again and then a third time. It was starting to annoy me except that I was totally amused by the thought of her playing her Daddy who was completely oblivious to her new skills at the game.

The next week, I casually suggested that Rob should play her a game of Chinese Checkers. He was all for it and I stifled a smile as I cleaned the kitchen and watched out of the corner of my eye. Sure enough, she beat him by about 7 moves. His jaw was on the floor. Rob is extremely competitive and as much as he loves his daughter, he cannot handle being beaten at his favorite game by a 6 1/2 year old! This brought on the obsession. Every night at the dinner table he would play her over and over and over and get so mad everytime she beat him. He couldn't beat her once.

Finally, after a couple of weeks of this, he figured out a new strategy and was able to beat her. Then of course, he wanted to try it out on me, and won again which was annoying. He hasn't played either of us since, but Alayna and I continue to play often. She has been beating me often now and I don't know which is more annoying, that I am not winning against her or the trash talk that she deals out (I don't mean foul language; I mean pure arrogance). This I did not teach her. I can guess who probably did.