By
Rob
So
there we were, me and Andy enjoying a nice pint of Kronenbourg Cold
Premiere in the comfort of the Nottingham House, a pleasant little
student pub in Broomhill. We spy a stack of old board games resting
on the window ledge and decide to have a little game of Connect Four.
Well, it soon gets heated as we realise that we're both pretty good
at this game. The friendliness melts away, leaving behind only a
cold, keen desire to win.
Now,
you might ask "how exciting can a game of Connect Four possibly be?"
Well, the answer will surprise you. A couple of people looked over to
watch our game, evidently enthralled by the sportsmanship on display.
Noticing the audience's rapt attention, we point out that there is
another game of Connect Four in the pile, and before you know it we
had a mini-tournament in place. This is how it went: (I forget the
names of the other guys involved)
Round 1:
Rob
vs. Challenger 1. Andy
vs. Challenger 2.
(Rob
wins) (Andy
wins)
Round 2:
Rob
vs. Andy
(Andy
won, by playing in an unsportsmanlike way)
It's
fair to say that we were both pretty pleased about making the final
round of this tournament. It felt like a big deal. I was not pleased
in the least to lose to Andy in the end, and here's why...
...I
don't know how good the average person is at Connect Four, but we
were well above average, throwing in all kind of complex maneuvers
and always trying to keep three steps ahead of the opponent. The way
we played it transformed it into chess. Because we'd gotten to such
an advanced level, I was not prepared for Andy to play the pretty
low-level standard horizontal line. That's basic stuff, and I thought
there was an understanding between us that we were playing above
that. But Andy, intent on winning, played this move that was so
straightforward that I had completely overlooked it.
Nottingham
House, despite being the venue for my crushing defeat in the finale
of a tournament that Sheffield students still talk about, gets
7.5/10.
Notty House Connect 4 score: Andy 1-0 Rob
Pubquest
Connect 4 score: Andy 1-0 Rob
Pub:
Nottingham House
(164 Whitham Road, S10 2SR)
Rating:
7.5/10
