It was time for a family vacation. As we typically do for vacation, we headed out by plane to a Caribbean destination. On the island, the water was blue and gorgeous to swim in. We stopped and enjoyed it for a little while, but soon had to leave to go to our rental there.

On the way to our beach house rental, we passed many beautiful houses facing the ocean. They were many stories high and some had entire towers built with glass that contained gardens full of amazing trees. In some of the houses we could see the residents hosting friends in lush living rooms. When we finally arrived at our house for the week we were a little disappointed. Our house was simple, wood and not really that inviting. Nevertheless we unpacked, determined to make the best of it.

That evening as our day wound down, I decided to head out to the bar down the street. I had seen on the way to our house and wanted to stop by to check it out and have a couple cold ones. This bar wasn’t really an island bar at all. When I went in it more reminded me of the smoky brick and mortar pubs I’m used to on the mainland.

At least I felt at home. I made my way to the bar and took a seat. When I set down I was surprised to see two screens with one game displaying on them. The little screen reminded me at first of those GameMaster 50000000 bar units that you keep putting money into to play poker or pool or do some menial task that’s not too daunting for a drunken idiot. But upon further inspection it was really a personal screen displaying stats and possible moves to make on the larger, community screen. The game was a basic strategy game consisting of matching unit strengths with your opponent and trying to conquer territories on the board. Intrigued I pursued a game with the mowhawked punk kid sitting next to me, fondling a Red Stripe. What a poser.