“Risk”

 Book 4, Chapter 6, The Risk Game

   Finally, it was Friday night, the night that the counselors looked forward to all week because Friday night was “Risk” night.  The night wasn’t chosen at random.  The campers knew that Friday night was their last night at Camp Tall Trees and they were determined to make the most of it by staying up as late as possible.  The only thing that they had to do on Saturday morning was to pack up their suitcases and meet their parents for the long drive home, so why not make Friday night one big party.  If they could make it to dawn then they had bragging rights of staying up all night until they came back to camp the following year.  The counselors knew all of this and they further knew that there wasn’t a thing that they could do to stop the campers so they may as well make the best of it by playing “Risk” for three or four hours.  When the game was over, at some time around midnight, then the chiefs went to the campers cabins and told them to go to bed.  There were always some mild protests from the campers but it had been a long week and secretly they were relieved to be told that their party in the woods was over

. 
   By the end of the week the counselors needed a way to blow off some steam and “Risk” was the only board game that all of the counselors liked to play.  The object of the game was to conquer the world, an idea that was like red meat to boys who, having done nothing in life so far, thought they could accomplish anything.  They imagined that they were the next Napoleon or Alexander the Great.  The game always started off well enough, with the counselors choosing colors and then throwing the dice to decide which countries they would start on.  Then they placed their limited armies on to the board.  With each turn, a new throw of the dice would determine how many new armies the player would get then he had to decide whether he was going to attack another player out if he was going to redistribute his armies for a future attack or to receive an attack.  “Risk” is played with five dice; three for the offense and two for the defense with the tie going to the defender.  You never knew what was going to happen with the role of the dice but the game favored the defense.  The fun of the game was to watch the board slowly turned the color of your armies and each color had its own nickname.  For example, there was “The Black Plague” and “The Red Menace,” or “The Yellow Peril.”  It was very satisfying to line up all of your armies into one long barrier as you marched into one country after another, as your color took over the world.

   There was always a buzz of excitement in the mess hall before the game began.  The camp director never played the game but he did allow the counselors to drink beer at the mess hall.  In fact, there was so much beer in the refrigerator that the cook used to complain that he was lacking for space for the food. The problem with allowing alcohol was that almost all of the counselors were under 21.  Still it was his camp and he got to make the rules and the director was afraid of the backlash if he suddenly outlawed beer, especially from Michael Steele.  The mixture of alcohol, a very competitive board game, and the testosterone addled teenage brain, could only lead to trouble.

  
       The game always started out well enough and there even had been some good-natured ribbing between the counselors throughout the week.  No one would make fun of Steele, however, because he took the game way too seriously and most of the other counselors were a little afraid of him.  Rich MaGee Fox whispered a snarky comment to Izzy as they walked to the mess hall to wait for the game to start, “I’ll bet Steele masturbates over the idea of winning a ‘Risk’ game!” 

 
   Before the game began, and as they were setting up the pieces, there were a few rules to discuss.  First of all, the Blackfeet were not allowed to play as they were too young and this was considered to be a man’s game.  They were regulated to being spectators but would secretly hold their own games in their cabin to get better so that when they were allowed to play they would be ready.  Another rule was that when your armies were defeated in battle then only the owner of those armies were allowed to remove them from the board.  Temperatures ran hot during the game, especially when players dramatically removed their opponents pieces from the board.  One time this led to the unfortunate incident when Steele dramatically flipped the board over when it was clear that he was going to lose, ending the game for everyone.  Some of the counselors swore that they would no longer play if Michael was included in the game.  And yet, by the next Friday night, after tempers had cooled, the counselors all secured their place at the table for the big game and Ernst was the first to commit.

   The makers of “Risk” assumed that this was a game of individuals.  However, some of the counselors just had to win and they made alliances with each other.  Sometimes the alliances were made even before the game began because best friends always worked together.  At other times the alliances were made up on the spot and a matter of convenience as the game progressed.  The pact usually was no more complex than “I won’t attack you if you won’t attack me.”  Of course this interchange enraged the player whom this alliance was working against.  If the offended player complained then a chorus of “Pussy! Pussy! Pussy!” was yelled out from the other players and even the bystanders in the peanut gallery.  No one wanted to be called that name and even the calmest of the counselors became irritated when baited.

   As the night wore on the friendliness of the game left the mess hall and the shouting began.  Sometimes alliances were made and truces agreed to but, inevitably, as the players were eliminated and feelings were hurt, someone always yelled “Fuck the Treaty” as he attacked his opponents.  All of the remaining players, and some of the bystanders who were watching from a safe distance, yelled in glee when a player was attacked or removed from the game.  Sometimes a player would quit, once he realized that he had no chance of winning, by doing a suicide attack on another player.  If the Banzai attack was launched against David, he yelled “Attack Me! Attack Me!  I want you to attack me!”  It was so unlike him to an outburst like this that it startled the other players.  It was funny because David was usually unflappable but during a game of “Risk,” he flapped.  When Izzy was attacked he snorted absently.  Snorting was the only way that you could tell that Izzy was upset and, as he took the attack as a personal challenge, he picked up the defenders dice.  When he lost, Izzy sniffed and said, “I’ll go play with the campers because they are better at the game than you are.”  Steele usually won the game because he was so big and had such a hot temper that the other counselors were afraid to attack him.  When he sensed that someone was getting upset, he purposely fanned the flames of their despair by egging them on by calling them, in a fake high pitched voice, yelled “Pussy Pussy Pussy.”  

   “Risk” tested even the closest friendships at Camp Tall Trees because the boys saw it as a matter of personal honor and to lose was to lose was to question one’s manhood.  Eventually only one player was left with his armies on the board and the other five players were pissed off and left in a huff.  David couldn’t help but launch one last insult on the way out of the mess hall by proclaiming, “my loss only proves that this game is more about luck than skill.”  And yet, when a game was offered the following Friday night, few counselors could resist the temptation at a shot of revenge.

   Since only six people could play “Risk” at any one time, there were as many counselors watching the game as there were playing.  The counselors could rotate in the game on the following week but the senior counselors were always invited to play first.  The younger counselors and the Blackfeet desperately wanted to play to get bragging rights over the older guys.  If they could win against David or Izzy then they could take the senior counselors down a notch or two and add to their own manhood resume’.

   At the beginning of the game every player is almost equal and everyone had a fair chance at winning.  There was a gleam in the eyes of the counselors as they thought that this could be “their night” to win.  Two or three of the players were eliminated in the first half hour and then the game became a slugfest for the other three or four players.  After a couple of hours there were only two players left and usually one of them conceded because the end result was clear, they didn’t want to play for another hour when the conclusion was forgone.  And besides, they wanted to go to bed.  It was always anti-climatic and a casual observer would wonder what the big deal was.  

   The camp director entered the mess hall to see how the game was progressing.  When he saw the six players at the table in the corner of the room, and several counselors and Blackfeet watching, he demurred with his favorite saying; “Far be it from me to question the antics of the counselors at Camp Tall Trees.”  Usually this line got a laugh but everyone was so intent on the game that they ignored the old man.  He silently left.  By the end of the summer, however, because the game caused so many hard feelings, the director banned the game of “Risk.”  Only Steele protested but the director said that either the game or the beer had to go.  For the only time that summer, Steele conceded without giving an argument.