Phone a Friend

INGRID THOFT

Remember that trivia app I mentioned in Wednesday’s post?  HQ trivia?  Over the holidays, various family members would gather together to call out answers while the millennials and teens selected the answers on their phones.  The idea was that if you have enough knowledgeable people in the room, someone would know the answer to the question.

No doubt we played better as a collective than individual players, yet we still didn’t win.  The experience reminded me of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” and the option to “phone a friend.”  It made me wonder, who would I call if a lot of cash was on the line, and I needed to tap into a wealth of knowledge?

This is a tough one.  My husband knows lots of things, but he does not keep up with popular culture (hence the reason he constantly asks me when we’re watching TV, “where do I know her from?).  Putting marital loyalty aside, I would choose my friend Lauri.  Smart and well-read, Lauri knows all kinds of things and would do well against a ticking clock.  And she’s used to “phone a friend.”  I call her all the time seeking her advice!

So tell me Reds, who would you choose when it came time to “phone a friend?”

HALLIE EPHRON: I remember that. It was like a life line. I'm like you Ingrid, first instinct: my husband. He's great on history, geography, science, outdated sports trivia, but goose eggs on popular culture. For that, dialing my daughter Molly. Unless... can you "call" Google? I think the Jungle Reds, as a single entity, would slay.

Hank looks like she knows stuff, right?

LUCY BURDETTE: I'm pretty sure I would instantly call Hank. She has her finger on every pulse and seems to have heard things well before anyone else does. If she didn't answer (Hank, really, you're screening me out?), I'd call my friend Steve. He reads every source of news and popular culture online and knows it all before we even think to ask the question. Unless it was about politics, then I'd go with my son Andrew:).

JENN McKINLAY: The Hub. I refuse to play him in any variation of Trivial Pursuit because he mops up the board with me. A musician, book lover, history buff, sports fanatic, and gossip mag reader (no, not kidding), he knows more about everything than any person I've ever met -- and he can remember it all. Truly, I think I've gotten worse at remembering because I know I can just ask him - he's my Alexa. 

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Jenn, my sister drives all over the DC metro area with her boys and back before GPS, she would frequently get lost. (Anyone who has tried to navigate through a city in a minivan with two small boys in the back can sympathize.) She used to call her husband, Dan, and he would give her directions - either from memory, or from his computer screen. She called it her "Dan-Star" service.

RHYS BOWEN: I used to be quite good at Trivia (I did win Sale of the Century after all) but like the rest of you, I now find myself woefully inadequate on pop culture. I can't tell you the name of one hip hop artist. I'd probably call my daughter Clare. She is super smart, so smart that she reads books on string theory for fun, and she has 3 teenagers so should be well up on things like Justin Timberlake and Pokemon.

Justin Timberlake, in case anyone was wondering.

JULIA: No question - I'd call my sister-in-law Julia, who was an actual contestant on Jeopardy! Not only is she the family's Queen of Trivia, but she also has a calm, reassuring demeanor, which I would need, since I assume with a million bucks riding on an answer, I'd be a total wreck.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Hey, I am thrilled.  Thank you, Lucy/Roberta. I am so honored! And yes, I know a certain amount of  ridiculous unnecessary stuff from a certain era. In the old days, I was great at Trivial Pursuit. It kind of drives me crazy, because I always worry that all of it is taking up room that otherwise would have been used for important stuff. And more and more, for current "celebs," I have absolutely no idea.  Who would I call? Depends. Jonathan, for many big-deal things. However, the other day I mentioned Mr. Ed, and Jonathan said: Who? When I explained, he still had no idea. But we all have our specialties. That's what friends are for.

Hmm. Now I'm worrying about who I'd call. Bueller? Bueller?

DEBORAH CROMBIE:  Oh, I love trivia. But too many choices here! Science and engineering questions, I'd ask my husband, although I'm pretty good at science overall, and geography, too. Classic TV and music? Him without a doubt. Literature, drama, and history, Gigi. General knowledge and pop culture, my daughter, Kayti. But sports, ack. That was always my downfall in Trivial Pursuit. We are a useless, unsporting bunch. (Unless you ask me about ice skating or rowing...)

Your turn!  Who would you ring up if you had to "phone a friend?"

This post was up briefly on Thursday due to a technical error.  If you commented then, your comment should appear today.

Get a Clue — Board Games in the Video Age

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: We’ve recently decided that Friday is pizza and board game night (no electronics of any sort allowed). The Kiddo is just the right age for one of my favorites, Clue. (Does anyone remember it? It was created in 1949 and has just kept on going…) Anyway, I went to our local game store to buy it— and was delighted to hear the owner say sales of board games are up. 

Huzzah! Are we turning back to actual games, played by actual people, with actual snacks? 

(The last part is of utmost importance here…)

As a mystery writer, I love Clue — a grand British manor house, lots of questionable characters (I’m always suspicious of Professor Plum), and
a murder to be solved. 

Last night, it started to rain as we played and the Kiddo declared, “This is perfect! ‘It was a dark and stormy
night…’" 

And so I ask my fellow
Reds — do you remember Clue? 

What were your favorite
board games as a child? 

And do you ever play board
games now?





RHYS BOWEN: My family has always loved board games. TABOO has been a favorite for a long while (you have to 

describe something without using a list of words. The grandkids are really good at it). 

But we used to love Clue when the kids were growing up. Scrabble, Boggle... anything with words these days.

I also belong to a board games group at my local AAUW chapter. Very therapeutic with lots of laughter. Our favorite is Cranium (see, we're brainy ladies) and also a card game called Quiddler.

HANK (MISS SCARLETT) PHILLIPPI RYAN: Oh, CLUE! 

Kidding me? We loved Clue and we played it ALL the time, with much delight, and I attribute my entire career to it.

Well, not really, but I am still enchanted, seriously, thinking about how it made us all think, and how it was different every time, and every time I hear the word "conservatory" I wonder if there's a secret passage.

I used to look back at the used score sheets, and remember how the stories turned out.

I scarfed up Miss Scarlett, wouldn't  play, I fear, if I wasn't her.  Funnily, now, I would pick to be Colonel Mustard, because he's the iconic one, right? Mrs. White, boring. Who was blue and black? Trying to remember...

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: Dear Hank, er, Miss Scarlett — Blue is Mrs. Peacock and then there's Mr. Green. No black. (Or anyone Black, as Noel and Miss Edna would say.) So funny you loved Miss Scarlett (who doesn't?) and are now a Jungle Red! Did you all do funny voices? We do. Our Miss Scarlett sounds like Marilyn Monroe.



JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I love, love, love CLUE, although it's a bit of  hard sell sometimes with my family - I tend to win a lot (okay, almost always) and they say I have an unfair advantage. I always play Mrs. White, my son is Mr. Green (apparently Rev. Green in the recent updated game) the Smithie is Prof. Plum and Youngest is Miss Scarlett. The movie is an absolute hoot as well, if you haven't seen it.

We also love Monopoly. I don't think we've ever actually finished a game, but we always dissolve into shrieks of laughter and in-jokes during play.

Ross and the kids challenge each other to chess (which I am hopeless at.) Ross's favorite game is RISK, which is a bit too much like history class homework for me. The one game we two can agree on is Scrabble. He trounces me.

My favorite board game as a kid? THE GAME OF LIFE. Who didn't love getting assigned a career, collecting a spouse and children, and driving the tiny plastic car up hill and down on your way to retire in either Millionaire Acres or a refrigerator box?



DEBORAH CROMBIE:  Oh, I love board games! So does my daughter, but hubby HATES them, so daughter and I only play occasionally. Not sure about son-in-law--will have to find out. I loved Clue, and Monopoly, and Risk, and Scrabble. But my all-time favorite was Trivial Pursuit. Does that count as a real board game? I'm always tempted by the new updated versions, but don't know anyone except my daughter who will play with me.

Hank, of COURSE you were Miss Scarlet! 



SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: Debs, we have the Disney Trivial Pursuit game! Love it!

Lovely readers, do you remember Clue? 

What were your favorite board games as a child? 

And do you ever play board games now?