Creating winners is amazing for ourselves and our families. But the best lessons are learned when you lose.
At a young age, most kids are taught how to throw a baseball, ride a bike, play the piano and other fabulous activities. Some are taught that participation is great and to just go out and have fun. My family went the complete opposite direction with me: strategy, tactics, negotiation and resource management are what I was taught. I was also taught that there are winners and losers. There is only one way to learn and hone these skills: by playing Monopoly and Risk.
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Quickly I learned at my young age that I had no backup, no one to trust and I had to dominate my family swiftly. My dreams were crushed quickly as I put my trust into my older brother Donnie, who is 10 years older than me. “Trust your brother," he said, as I let him take three free passes on my Boardwalk property (did anyone else do this other than my family?). Money disappeared and hotels vanished from my grasp. A total collapse was unfolding in front of my eyes as Donnie swooped in and stole everything of mine. He was dominating and destroying the rest of my family, including me. Betrayed, heartbroken and confused were all words that described me, and I could only watch as I was destroyed.
In Risk we took the game very seriously as well, much like Kramer & Newman did on the TV show "Seinfeld." I thought I could trust Donnie again, which proved to be true. Like the great country of Canada, he welcomed me with open arms. But in the grassy knoll awaited another enemy: my father, Donald. Like the great William Wallace leading the Scottish to battle against the British, I was destroyed by my own father. My troops questioned my leadership, mutiny broke out through the ranks of my soldiers, and I was stripped of my captain status. I was excused from the game by my family. Like the country of Switzerland, my sweet mother, Sheryl, always remained neutral in everything. My sister Stacy, however was always on my side; she was Team Danny 100 percent. They both always offered me positive advice. “Sweetie, it is only a game; you will get them next time! Don’t take it too hard on yourself,” were all statements they told me. A normal child would agree, but I did not. It was not “just a game” anymore, it was war. I developed the necessary strategies of perception, charisma, intelligence, and luck over the following weeks. Soon, I began to dominate in Risk like a ruthless dictator rising to power. I wanted more: more power, more armies, more territory; my goal was to crush my brother and father. Unlimited power is what I sought out for and I stole the title of world leader from my brother and father.
I decided to return and set my eyes upon Monopoly for my next target. Selecting the Battleship as my token, I was prepared to go full "Wolf of Wall Street" on my family. I quickly gained trust and developed an alliance with my sister; one down, three to go, I thought to myself. Soon after that, my mother fell to my father (I foresaw this coming), and then there were three: Father versus sons. Sons versus father. God versus Man. What happened next I am unsure of, because I blacked out and the only thing I realized was that I was very close to winning. My father fell like the Berlin Wall, and all that was left was my brother.
The thrill of victory was within my reach. My goal was not just to beat him. No, I wanted to destroy him. Power moves were made, properties were seized, and the Battleship had its guns targeted at Donnie’s weak Racecar token. What happened next was a typical move of my brother when he was losing… he quit. But he did not merely quit, no; he explosively quit. “It is over, you won," he stated. I was shocked. "Keep playing," I said, as he stared at me. “Danny, you won. It is pointless to keep playing." You would think I would be happy, but I was not. Destroy him—that is all I wanted. Somewhere between the trash talking and constant chirping from me, we both ended up in a wrestling match in the living room, fighting each other over a board game. Yes, my 21-year-old brother was now in a wrestling match against me, his 11-year-old brother. Many years later, my family would return to play Risk and Monopoly at our lake house. But it ends up like an old ex-girlfriend/boyfriend returning into your life: headaches and arguments. We never finish the games, because now, they always end up on everyone joining sides like double agents, verbal fights, wrestling matches, and sometimes broken nightstands.
After all these moments, you might ask this: what did I learn about world domination from the games of Risk and Monopoly? World domination is only good when your brother is on your side.
