Crossword crossed off!

Mar 27, 2011 - ARUP KAVAN

The magnetic Crossword game from Hamleys retails at a modest `399. The brush steel matt finish steel box is all elegance. Inside lie four transparent classic crossword grids. And two thin printed magnetic sheets with 180 letters to be painstakingly peeled off. With some bending one way and the other, the letters came off

without much difficulty. The transparent game grids were another matter. The last sheet was stuck to the bottom, and some of the black printing got left behind, leaving me holding a decidedly worse for wear crossword sheet. If this was not irksome enough, the promised ‘full game instructions inside’, weren’t inside! While Hamleys store brands presumably fetch them better margins, it’s irresponsible to let slip shoddy workmanship and incomplete packs. When I am in Chennai next, a visit to the Hamleys store is in order, and real time exposure to their policy on defective products sold, and the nuisance value caused to disappointed customers!
Hamsini, her young man Prasanna (still in a Holi bhang-induced stupour), and Aditya (apparently being set up with Neha), came over the other day. We rollerskated, and then settled down to board game after board game, and when I finally got to bed at around 4 am, I realised I’d found an unlikely bunch of game enthusiasts. We ended with a long session of Stratego, played in teams. Everyone was tuned in, which made battle strategy and the gory outcome that much more riveting. Aditya coldheartedly treated his scouts as cannon fodder. And when an effective miner who had defused several bombs was sacrificed, intoned that a medal might be awarded posthumously! A thoroughly satisfying session, and I look forward to more once Neha starts working in Bengaluru.
The illustrious Science recently published a paper on magnetic resonance imaging studies. Board games provide an opportunity to study mechanisms underlying cognitive expertise. I think there are several possible future lines of study the authors might want to consider. Will regular gaming sessions keep Ayappan happy? Will Prasanna play better when not under influence?
— The author may be contacted at arup_kavan@yahoo.com

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