Just call me Mrs. Pickle Feather

After a break for Christmas, we got back in the swing of Tuesdays family fun nights last night by playing Quelf.  Amy got the game for Christmas, and since Sean and I had never played, it seemed like a logical choice.  Logical, yes; the jury’s still out on whether it was a wise one.

When I asked for a basic explanation of the game, Michael said, “It’s like Candy Land for adults who don’t mind being humiliated.”  At this point I was ready to switch to Scrabble.  Sensing my concern, Amy rallied, “The game is simple: roll a die and move ahead the number rolled.  You land on a colored space and choose a card of the same color.  If you do what the card says you stay put; if not you go back spaces.  The goal is to be the first to the winning space.”

Well, that’s not so bad.  But within a few moments I knew Amy’s description may have been accurate but Michael’s was spot-on.

Mrs. Pickle Feather and the playing board

For starters, they made me Mrs. Pickle Feather.  I was not pleased with that choice until I saw the other options: Queen Spatula, Batbilig Chinzorig, Super Ninja Monkey, The Dude, Biscuit Farmer, Mr. Lugnut and The Platypus.  Mrs. Pickle Feather it is.

I had just gotten over that when I took my first turn and drew a purple card, the Showbiz category.  And here’s what it said:  Sing the following sentence four times: “Remember when the heart would beat blindly with the delight of a pigeon’s twitch.”  Use each of the following vocal styles once: Rap, Opera, Country, and Gospel.

You have got to be kidding me.  But if I didn’t do it I had to go back three spaces.  So sing I did.  Oddly enough, the rap version came most naturally.

I got off easy, though. Sean had to act out a one-eyed mime trapped in an invisible box with four rabid ferrets. 

For an hour we all took turns making fools of ourselves.  Mr. Mime with the Ferrets ended up winning, and quite honestly, after that performance he should have.  But as we were cleaning up I remembered Michael’s initial assessment of the game – Candy Land with a side of humiliation – and decided he was correct.   But if you can’t act a fool with family, where can you?