As I've mentioned before, my wife and I love playing games. We're doing our best to pass that love onto our daughter. Unfortunately, I've learned that five year-olds SUCK at games.

Tic tac toe? They might as well throw darts at the board.
Go Fish? Major suckage.
Monopoly? You're lucky if they roll the dice right.

My goal with any game against my daughter is to let her win some of the time. I want her to enjoy the game and feel the excitement of winning, but I also want her to learn how to be a graceful loser. As it turns out, making her lose is pretty damn easy, but letting her win actually requires some effort on my part. I had never realized that there is strategy and subtlety to games like Go Fish that I was using without even thinking about it. For example, in Go Fish it is unwise to keep asking for the same card over and over again no matter how pretty it might be. This wily bit of strategy still eludes my daughter. Hang in there, sweetie.

I look forward to the day when I can lose at Hungry Hungry Hippos without having to secretly tip the board so that the marbles roll towards her hippopotamus. Let all the hippos have a fair chance at the tantalizing white marbles they so hungrily covet.

I can only dream of the day when I can guiltlessly kick my daughter's butt at Scrabble.