Reposted with kind permission from reader DrObviousSo. The original is here. (This reader  also posts as The Hermit on the “ZoD“.)

My wife and I have a competitive conflict. GK is very, very competitive. At her best, she’s driven to win, at her worst; she’s a mean spirited, vindictive meany. At my best, I’m a cooperative, socializing team player. At worst, I’m a wishy-washy looser.

We’ve always had a hard time playing games together, and I know this really bugs her, because she comes from a family that enjoys a lot of competitive game playing. Trust me; you don’t want to play Sorry with any of them. I, however, prefer social, cooperative games like RPGs.

I’ve always like poker, however, and have finally gotten around to introducing GK to the game. I think the fact that it’s as much a social game as it is a game of chance attracts me to it. I know what attracts her. We’ve had a couple of nights playing in the last couple weeks, and it’s been a lot of fun. We’ve either been playing for single denomination chips, or the quarters we have for laundry. Tonight, we decided that the looser had to get the other one a bowl of ice cream. Don’t ask me to explain it, but this is always something we’ve pawned off on the other. I think having these little favors attached to winning will give me enough motivation to be as competitive as GK will want, and it will attach greater social meaning to the game for me.