Game Report: Shut-The-Box after a feast at Green Field
Last night my Dad took our family out for a big dinner to celebrate my birthday, and we went to the Green Field restaurant in Rockville. I'd never been there before, but I've heard it was a great place, and wow, it's my new favorite. It's a Brazilian steak house (aka "that skewers of meat place") where the waitrons walk around with these huge skewers of freshly-grilled meats, and if you have the indicator on your table set to GO, they'll stop and carve you off a chunk of whatever they've got. So instead of having to choose between a sirloin steak or a rib-eye or a prime rib or whatever, you get as much as you want of any of those plus chicken and sausage and lamb and turkey wrapped in bacon. Even after we were feeling stuffed they kept bringing out new cuts and types of meat for us to sample. And then came the dessert cart! It was an awesome meal. Thanks Dad!

As soon as we got home we tried out the new game Dad & Mom had gotten me, one which I'm surprised I've never run into before, since it's actually an old classic (from olde English pubs) called Shut-the-Box. It's a very quick and simple dice game with a clever scoring mechanic I've never encountered. I like it a lot, it's fun. We played 13 rounds, with Kristin and I winning every other time or so and Alison suffering a horrible streak of bad luck, winning only once. Even so she had a great time and kept wanting to continue playing (always a strong indicator of good gameplay). And that was all without even trying the gambling rules! (I also got a really nice travel chess set from Howard-Leslie-Eric but I haven't tried using it yet.)

Anyway, it was a great night. Thanks so much to all!!!