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By Katrina Margolis
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Every Wednesday, the seniors of Medfield get together to play whist, as well as other card games. At the Council on Aging, from 1:00 p.m. to around 3:00 p.m., friends gather to socialize, play games, and gripe a little.
Whist is a derivative of bridge. Some of the rules are similar, including the winning values. Widely popular in the 18th and 19th centuries, the game has survived now due to its relatively easy rules, which can be adapted depending on the goal.
Each player is dealt 13 cards, and the dealer selects which suit is the trump. “One game usually lasts between five and ten minutes. It’s a quick game,” Ginny White said. A Medfield local, she has been coming to play whist for some time now. The player to the dealer’s left leads the first round, or trick. This person can lead with any card, and the other players must follow by playing a card of the same suit if they have one. If not, they can discard or “trump” using the selected suit. At the end of each trick, the points are counted. Either the one with the highest point total wins, or the player with the highest trump card.
“We play every Wednesday here, and we have prizes that we win for first place, second place, third place. Last place gets a candy bar - that’s important! You’ve got to put that in there!” Every Wednesday, Sue Munroe, the organizer of the get-together, collects $1.25 from each player. “Out of that money, the first place person gets $5, second place $4 and so on. Then she saves some money at the end of each game and we have a pizza night!” Someone makes salads, others make dessert, and the pizza is provided by Munroe. “We have a really good time,” White added.
White explained how each session usually goes. “There’s usually five tables full of people. We have partners, we play with partners, and we change partners every week,” she said. “We have people who come from all over – someone comes from Norfolk, someone from Walpole. We usually have a lot more people here! I think it’s because it’s the holidays. But it’s a lot of fun and we enjoy ourselves. Sometimes we get aggravated with each other.”
Just as any family does, the aggravation is an important part of the rapport.
