A Very Quelf Christmas

Yesterday we picked up my brother from the airport in Oklahoma city. One would think that getting from Bloomington, Indiana to Oklahoma city, OK, a trip that would take less than 12 hours by car, would be less than an Odysseus ordeal. After Tay finished his last final Friday night, he caught the last shuttle to Indianapolis and spent an uncomfortable night at the airport. The next morning, he flew to Chicago where his flight was canceled due to mechanical issues and then his next flight was delayed by several hours. So. Tay finally arrived in Oklahoma pretty tired around 3 o clock in the afternoon. 

We took him home, hosed him off and dragged him out to Jeff's house for the Perkins pre-Christmas reunion. My uncle Jeff and Aunt Ashley decided that we fragmented Perkins clan should at least see each other often enough to remember faces, so we were all invited. Jordan, Lauren, and Olivia were all invited, but couldn't make it, coming from Kentucky. But we did get to see a lot of other Perkins- Jeff's family, Josh and his fiancee Andera, Dustin, and his family (I havn't seen Dustin in maybe fifteen years) and dad's cousin and his family (I forget his name.) Lots of little ones running around. 

Jeff's house was filled with Christmas decorations- two trees, several manger scenes, scent of cinnamon and pine in the air. They baked two giant lasagnas and chicken strips for the kids, and lots of wine and beer. We all exchanged small gifts in front of the tree and the giant screen with the Call of Duty 3 playing on it.

As the party wound down, Karsten demanded that we all play Quelf. As Tay shot me panicked looks, I took in the way-too-contemporary "fun" graphics on the box, like it was from a hot new cereal brand. Not good. My first impression of Quelf was that the game designers liked Cranium but found it way too cerebral and structured and productive and creative. It's basically a party game. My brother tells me that its bears a suspiciously close resemblance to a drinking game called "Kings Cup" where playing cards have certain rules or tasks associated with them. Sounds like some game designers decided to turn a cheap buck with some flashy graphics. 

I was not impressed- the game seems to be made for people who feel like they need permission in order to "get a little wacky." Cards assign rules such as "place your shoe on your head" and "place your car keys on your head." Oh, how wacky and unpredictable! The bane of dad's night was a card that ruled he had to play peek-a-boo with anyone who asked him a question. At least we got through the card with Karsten shouting at the playing pieces over with quickly. Overall though everyone seemed to really enjoy playing it, and I'm sure it was most people's highlight of the week. I was advised going in that its much better with a beer- I think the next time I play I'm going to need a six pack, and definitely something stronger than the 3.2 beer available in Oklahoma. 

It was fantastic to see everyone though, and to reconnect with relatives I never knew I had and ones that I've not seen in over a decade. I'm really lucky to have them.