Written by Katie Killeen.
In fall of 2009, my freshman year at GC, I learned the truth behind Madonna’s warbling tune, “Music makes the people come together.” Everyone had a musical practice to run to with a case or sticks in hand: Lab bands practiced in the Blackroom, Vespers bands in the depths of Whitlock, and serenading solo artists chanced jam sessions on Scott Field. Meanwhile I sat swaying in the corner of the room or the picnic blanket; after only a smattering of piano lessons, the only musical inclination I still held was the first verse of “A Whole New World.” Though my number one strength was WOO, I was out of my element on a campus where strumming was of greater value than chatting. I had to adapt and figure out how to get five friends in the same room without a drum set. My new “thing,” I decided, would be games. Over the past four years I have composited quite the game list, a game for every season and reason.
Sleep—A game to make suitors swoon.
This game I learned from my cousin’s Spanish exchange student, whom I spent a week with on the squeaky beaches of Grand Haven, MI. Like the Spaniard from a thick paperback, he fluttered his thick eyelashes and lisped his “s” in ways which made all the Killeen women swoon. That summer our family had Sleep tournaments every rainy day, but only a few lucky cousins actually got to look across their cards to the sparkling eyes of the Spaniard who won every tournament. Since that summer, I have fluttered my eyes and won over many a friends and suitors with this fast-pace, high-stakes, two-person card game.
Supplies:
Deck of Cards
Players:
2, though tournaments are always a blast.
Game Cousins:
This game is almost identical to Speed, though I’ve always found it to be a lot more fun as it has a couple of twists.
Set up:
1. Deal out the deck completely. Each player lays out five cards in front of them so the other player can see it as well. This is each player’s hand. Unlike most card games, the hands will remain on the floor or table for the entirety of the game so players can see each other’s cards. The remaining cards dealt out are each player’s individual deck.
2. For now each player should only have five cards in front of them, but when the game begins, players can layer doubles (e.g. two Kings may sit on top of each other so the player may pull another card from their deck and add it to their hand).
Playing:
1. The game begins when players, in unison, pull the top card from their own deck and place it in between their two “hands”.
2. From there, the game looks a lot like Speed. As fast as humanly possible, players then discard their hands into the two piles chronologically. E.G. on top of a four you can put a three (which is the card below four) or a five (which is the card above a four). Players can discard into either pile.
3. While feeding their hands into each discard pile, players must also refurbish their “hands” from their individual decks. Remember, each hand holds five cards unless you have doubles.
4. If neither player can discard from his or her hand, then both discard an unknown card from their deck in unison (as they did the first turn).
5. The final rule employs the title of the game (though I still do not understand the title itself). If the two discard piles have matching top cards (e.g. two queens), then a player can slap the decks, calling out “sleep.” Their opponent must then add the two discard piles to his or her deck. Oh what a rule.
6. The first player to empty his or her deck wins!
All photos by Shawn Patrich.
