When Games Matter: The Uncomfortable World of Quelf

When Games Matter is a weekly exploration by Drew Dixon of meaningful moments in games. Operating under the assumption that games do in fact matter, Drew seeks to highlight those moments that have much to say to say about who we are and the world we live in.

I have only known Sam a few months but we are holding hands while his wife Misty is sitting underneath my dinning room table. My pregnant wife is jumping up and down and shouting, “I’m a chicken! I’m a chicken! I’m a chicken!” My telephone rings and everyone, minus Misty who is still bunkered under the table, stands up and says, “pizza is here!” Laughter erupts and I slap my knee and say, “Waka waka waka.” Misty then proceeds to recite a poem about a man with five arms.

I have only scratched the surface of what transpired Saturday night when my wife and I played Quelf with our new friends. Quelf is a game of rules, insanely random rules. Rules that often seem designed to annoy its players and the results are wildly funny. Too funny in fact because one can only stomach saying “waka waka waka” so many times.

This isn’t the first time we have had Sam and Misty over to our house. They were there when we failed to save the world in Pandemic and we have hung out with them in numerous group contexts. And yet Jennifer count them dear friends. After all, how else would I have been able to hold Sam’s hand while Misty was sitting underneath our dinning room table.

Truth be told, Saturday evening’s game left us wondering what  just happened? For the record, I was the winner but only because my friends were gracious enough not to enforce the waka-waka rule. Its hard to say what skills are honed in Quelf or exactly just what lessons one learns. What can be said is that Quelf will make you uncomfortable but there is a good chance that you and those with whom you play will know each other better for it.