ELLECANADA.COM 87
relationship
PH
OT
OG
RA
PHY
,^ D
.^ PI
CA
RD
F
OR A RECENT date night with my
husband, Aaron, I decided that we
would play the murder mystery game
Post Mortem: Los Angeles: Death in
La-La Land. I’m a true-crime lover,
so this was the teeniest bit self-serv-
ing, but I also imagined us role-play-
ing as some unstoppable love-torn
detective duo from a hard-boiled noir film. Instead, min-
utes into the game, my competitive nature switched into
overdrive. My pulse sped up when I spotted the first clue
in a fake newspaper before he did; I got annoyed when
he read the autopsy report faster than me; and when
he lunged for the pin marked “Detective,” I dealt some
icy wordplay about him pricking himself. In hindsight,
I should have expected this reaction. My problem with
games—whether it’s Scrabble or dodge ball—is that I
take things too personally. It doesn’t help that Aaron
can be equally intense: He comes from a family where
games of Trivial Pursuit regularly end in tears. hPLAYI NG
GAMES
WITH MY
HEART
Can competition be a good
thing for your love life?
Caitlin Stall-Paquet investigates.