I know what *I* would do with those small pieces...
Today was a good day at work. The customers were very pleasant and nice, and didn't huff and puff with impatience while waiting in line. But there was this one woman who I just wanted to punch. She was on older woman, maybe in her 60s, but hard to tell, as it looks like she has aged badly. She was dressed in bright red pants and a bright yellow jacket, with bright red lipstick smeared over her lips. Now, I like red and yellow, but she looked like fucking Ronald McDonald! It took a lot of self-control not to laugh. But her appearance is not the point.
She and her husband were looking for a game for an 8-year-old and 10-year-old boy (her grandsons, I suppose). Every single game I showed them had "too many pieces." I would show Ronald McDonald the woman a game, and she'd say, "The mother doesn't want anything with too many pieces." Every single fucking time! OK, I can understand that maybe Blokus has a lot of pieces, but come on! One or two dice and a few cards is not "too many pieces!"
It annoys me when someone is buying a toy for a 7-year-old, for example, but isn't keen on my suggestions because of the small parts, because there is an infant in the house. Understandable, but frustrating. It's not fair for an older child to play with something that is baby-safe, just because the mother doesn't understand the concept of playing with the toy at the table during the baby's naptime. But this wasn't the situation. And the woman didn't say that the kids were retarded and ate small pieces, either. I think it was just a case of the mother being a fucking moron.
I showed her a trivia game that I thought she would think is suitable; it had big, thick cards (maybe no more than 20 cards), that were about 5"x4", and had one die. Can't get much simpler than that, right? Still, it had "too many pieces!" I was polite, but I finally said, "Well, I'm sorry, but I can't think of anything else to show you. Unless you are buying something for a two-year-old, everything will have a few pieces. I'll just let you look around," and I walked away. During this mind-numbing experience, I think the woman realized that she was being incredibly stupid, because a couple of times, she said to her husband that I was doing a great job showing her items, etc.
Anyway, a few minutes later, my co-worker ended up helping her, and found a game that Ronald liked. It was Rivers, Roads & Rails, a really fun game, but it has 140 small cards!
She and her husband were looking for a game for an 8-year-old and 10-year-old boy (her grandsons, I suppose). Every single game I showed them had "too many pieces." I would show Ronald McDonald the woman a game, and she'd say, "The mother doesn't want anything with too many pieces." Every single fucking time! OK, I can understand that maybe Blokus has a lot of pieces, but come on! One or two dice and a few cards is not "too many pieces!"
It annoys me when someone is buying a toy for a 7-year-old, for example, but isn't keen on my suggestions because of the small parts, because there is an infant in the house. Understandable, but frustrating. It's not fair for an older child to play with something that is baby-safe, just because the mother doesn't understand the concept of playing with the toy at the table during the baby's naptime. But this wasn't the situation. And the woman didn't say that the kids were retarded and ate small pieces, either. I think it was just a case of the mother being a fucking moron.
I showed her a trivia game that I thought she would think is suitable; it had big, thick cards (maybe no more than 20 cards), that were about 5"x4", and had one die. Can't get much simpler than that, right? Still, it had "too many pieces!" I was polite, but I finally said, "Well, I'm sorry, but I can't think of anything else to show you. Unless you are buying something for a two-year-old, everything will have a few pieces. I'll just let you look around," and I walked away. During this mind-numbing experience, I think the woman realized that she was being incredibly stupid, because a couple of times, she said to her husband that I was doing a great job showing her items, etc.
Anyway, a few minutes later, my co-worker ended up helping her, and found a game that Ronald liked. It was Rivers, Roads & Rails, a really fun game, but it has 140 small cards!