Thanksgiving Tsuro

Of the many things I'm thankful for this year, among them is the time and good company spent playing games with people I care about. This Thanksgiving gave Mom (white), Dad (red), Yume (green), and I (blue) more of that when we sat down to play another round of the artful Tsuro: The Game of the Path.

Taking turns, starting with the oldest player, you choose a patterned tile from your hand of three, lay the tile, and then follow its path to the corresponding edge. The goal: be the last player still on the board. The danger: being forced off the board, or helplessly colliding with another player (eliminating you both).

Here's how we sat after two turns…

…then after three.

The pivotal moment: rather than eliminate anyone too soon, I opt to play a more dangerous "long game," resulting in Mom, Dad, and I sharing the same tile.

For my efforts, I'm sent packing to the high side as Dad and Mom veer toward fertile grounds.

That's when Yume decided to strap a time bomb to her chest in the upper-lefthand corner. 

Cleverly, Yume avoided the untimely death, only to be done in by me. (At this point, I knew I had a way to avoid the corner and veer south, but no idea whose hands I'd be placing my fate in.)

Only one of us was getting out of this jam…!

And so it was Dad took this one, with a fair share of luck, a sound strategy, and eyes to follow the circuitous path; I gratefully tipped my cap!