I’ve gotten to speak to many people about our great game so far. 

Once I hear that someone I’ve met happens to work the graveyard shift of their chosen career, one of the first things I advise them to do is take up bridge. 

Bridge is the one game that embraces the graveyard shift.

My love for board and card games, however, started much earlier – and before I could find my way around the bridge table. 

Early Memories of the Graveyard Shift

As a kid, I learned to get up at the same time my aunt did when she got ready for work. 4AM sharp. Surprisingly, this was by choice, and I loved the routine of getting ready before the sun was up – and usually, getting in a freezing Golf to find coffee at the other end as soon as we arrived at the office.

The moment phones arrived that were capable of running more than Snake, my aunt and I discovered that we had a mutual love for the same thing: Phone gaming.

I developed an early love for games and the graveyard shift back then. We’d try video poker, blackjack and slots – all while attempting to best the others’ score before our first coffee. Tetris was also on the table, but would inspire the feared “Tetris-effect” in the both of us after too many games (and lead to neither of us being able to sleep as a result).

Before this, we’d take to other games during visits, which included traditional 8-ball – sometimes in front of a screen, though eventually we invested in a physical table for a few months just for the sake of fun.

Today, this is just one of a handful of memories that I like to think helped shape my adult career as a card player and writer. 

Why did I write any of this down? 

Because I hope that more people decide to share a game of something – chess, poker, backgammon, bridge – with someone they know. 

It might just shape the rest of their lives from there and provide memories that become unforgettable.