Last But Not Least...

I am wrapping up my top ten list with the final two reasons to love Las Cruces.  I am eager to move on to new topics - there are so many new adventures and "Ruby-isms" to blog about.

#6 Murals With a Purpose.

"Art With Heart" is a community project that started in 2020 during the pandemic when a teacher, walking a bike trail, saw disturbing graffiti on a wall that lined the railroad tracks. The teacher contacted the property owner and offered to paint over the graffiti, which is how the project began. Now locals can volunteer to paint their own positive and family friendly mural. It's fun to see the different art styles, and the murals make the dusty desert trail way more interesting.

#7 Farkle.

Of course people play Farkle in Iowa. It's a popular dice game and we've been playing it with family and friends for years. Why is Farkle on my ten 10 list of reasons to love Las Cruces, you ask? Because, not only does Bonnie's good friends, Pam and Nancy, like to play Farkle, they play it better. Yup. I was understandably skeptical at first. I mean you can't change the rules of the game, right? If you don’t play Farkle you can stop reading right here and go pour yourself another cup of coffee. 

The object of Farkle is to score the most points by rolling six dice. To get on the scoreboard you have to score at least 500 points. After that you can stop rolling and claim your points whenever you want, but if you don't roll a 1, 5, or 3 of a kind, you 'Farkle" and lose all the points you've rolled that turn. Once a player reaches 10,000 points, the other players get one more turn. Once that's completed, the player with the highest score wins the game.

What does Pam and Nancy do that has changed the way I'll play Farkle forever? The formula is simple.  They pass on their points and remaining dice to the next player. I know it sounds crazy, but it works. The next player can accept them or reject them. Here is an example: Cray is on the scoreboard. She rolls three pairs for 1500 points. She rolls again and gets three fives for 500 points. She decides to stop and keep her 2000 points, instead of rolling the last three dice and risk a Farkle. I am sitting next to her and it's my turn. I am already on the scoreboard - you have to be on the scoreboard to do this - I can choose to roll her last three dice (or I can decline and roll all six dice as usual). If I roll a 5, 1 or three of a kind, I get her 2000 points PLUS the points I just rolled. If I don't roll a 5, 1 or three of a kind, I lose my turn and I don't get Cray's 2000 points. If I score, I can keep on rolling the dice and racking up the points. The "passing of the points & dice" continues until someone Farkles or declines, and can start up again at any turn. 

Try it and see what you think.