International Gaming

M*, James, Manuela, Michael and Tialda gathered around Settlers of Catan.

We finally hosted our first gathering. Two of M*'s classmates and their partners came over for a meal--including my (very popular) GF chocolate chip cookies--followed by a game of Settlers of Catan. We played in groups, and M* and I were at a strategic disadvantage: the others could plan their next moves by speaking in a language only they could understand. Tialda and Michael devised in Dutch, and Manuela and James schemed in Spanish. M* and I had to whisper softly while keeping the interchange hidden behind our hands. This reminded Manuela of a joke:
"What do you call someone who can speak three languages? Trilingual. Two languages? Bilingual. One language? American."

M*, James and Manuela had played the game once before. I introduced them to it in December--I was the victor then, most likely because I had previously played Settlers three or four times. Michael had never played before, but Tialda pulled their team to victory as she is a seasoned Settlers player. She's even played Seafarers of Catan. We're scheduled to play again in three weeks, and we may even break out the Settlers of Catan 5 and 6 Player Expansion.