Bender Games: The TG Game Show

Here Comes a New Challenger

Sam Cochran was looking for a challenge. He was twenty-four years old and undefeated in every game of skill and chance he had played. Most considered him lucky, some doubted the veracity of his record, and according to Sam, he was just that good.

He loved games. It started as a family tradition when he was just a kid. Every Saturday, he and his two parents and three siblings would get together to play Monopoly, Battleship, and Settlers of Catan. Over the years, friends and neighbors started joining in on the weekly gaming tradition. These new people brought new games. Including ones he’d never heard of before.

Ticket to Ride. Rise of Augustus. Secret Hitler. And more.

When he was young, he wasn’t that good. But Sam hated losing. He was a competitive guy, even from an early age. During the week, he’d study rules and go online to learn winning strategies. He’d practice playing with his friends after school. By the time he was a teenager, he started winning more and more. Eventually, he learned the core concepts and main strategies that would apply to nearly any game, regardless of genre or type. He mastered those skills. Started entering competitions.

Friendly competitions. Most people who participated didn’t even really consider them “competitions.” More like, “hey, let’s all get together with other skilled gamers, see who’s the best, and the winner gets a gift certificate to the local comic book and gaming store.

Sam lost a few of those, but he always came close to being #1. And falling so short of victory just drove him to push himself even harder, practicing and studying more, getting better and better.

Sam loved to win. It gave him a rush. A feeling of power, accomplishment, victory… It brought him more and more attention, especially from all the pretty girls at school. They knew he was going places. Sam was a winner. It was board games today, but who knew – perhaps tomorrow, it’d be the board room, at some Fortune 500 company… Everyone wanted to be near Sam. Girls wanted to date him. Guys wanted to be like him.

He was an average-looking fellow. Not overly handsome or anything, but decent enough. “Cute” in his own way. But his drive, his determination, his lust for victory at all costs – that’s what really got the girls horny and wet all over him.

He lost his virginity at age 15, after winning his first regional game competition.

And when he was old enough, he started entering real games with real money on the line. Poker tournaments. Casino marathons. Games of chance and luck, that skill alone couldn’t account for.

And, admittedly, his near-perfect winning streak became a little less perfect in these games of chance… but even those had some strategy, some choice, some control… and once Sam understood and mastered those, he got better and better, and soon started ranking high in national tournaments.

On an individual game, he couldn’t guarantee success. But he knew about probabilities, and risk management, and made sure to put the odds in his favor. Over time, over a bunch of different games, he always came out ahead.

All totaled, he had won about $250,000 – a quarter of a million dollars – in the past five years. His parents were a bit concerned he was so focused on gambling and winning, rather than getting a safe, secure degree from some university. But Sam thought school was a waste of time. They didn’t teach him anything of value, he felt, at least not anything he’d end up using in his personal life.

“I found something I’m really good at,” he tried explaining to his dad. “Why can’t you just be happy for me?”

“Sam,” his father sighed, “you can’t count on this winning streak to last forever. Sooner or later you’re gonna need a real job.”

“This is a real job,” he defended. “How much have you made in the last year?”

His father thought about it, but didn’t answer. He didn’t need to. They both knew his annual salary was only about $48,000 a year… Honest, decent, respectable. Not great, but not bad.

“I’ve already made $60,000 so far this year,” Sam said. “And most of that was just from the one tournament in Vegas. I could literally take the rest of the year off, and still had made more than you.”

Ouch. A little harsh, but true.

His father collected himself. His tone shifted. “But you won’t, will you?”

Sam chuckled. “Of course not.”

“Because you love playing. You love winning,” his father said.

Sam nodded. “I was born to win.”

His father relented. “Well, it’s your life to live. You know where I stand, but it is your choice… You’re an adult now.”

“Thank you,” he said.

“So… what’s next for you? Going international?”

“Probably. There isn’t anything scheduled for a while though. But I need to find something. These games… I’m starting to get bored. There’s no real competition anymore.”

“You’ve gotten too good.”

“I need a real challenge – something new, something exciting, something hard. Something I’ve never done before. It’s the only way I can keep growing as a player. I need something that’ll really push my limits, really test me to the core. I don’t want to get soft. The minute I get comfortable, the minute I stop pushing myself to be the best, is the day I start losing.”

“Well, I admire your drive. I dunno, have you thought about game shows?”

“You mean like Family Feud?”

“Yeah, or any of them, really. I know they’re usually more trivia based, but not always. It could be something fun and different for a while, while you’re waiting for your international competitions to open up.”

Hmm. Sam started thinking about it. He hadn’t really considered those before. For one, he’d probably have to live in LA. He lived in Austin, in the great state of Texas, so… that’d be a bit of a commute. Of course, that didn’t stop him from flying out to Las Vegas, New York, or Chicago for contests. Why would LA be any different?

Game shows usually had decent prize money too. Some even as high as a million! In one game, he could make more in just one day, than it took playing all those countless games over the last five years. Game shows would be something new and different too.

He was already pretty good at trivia. He started memorizing facts, figures, and dates when he was only 13.

Some game shows, on the other hand, relied on strength, speed, agility, and physical skill. He was in pretty good shape already, but admittedly he wasn’t as focused on that as he should be. Most of his time and energy went towards the mental side of games. Reading people, mastering strategies, planning several steps ahead… That sort of thing.

This would definitely give him something new to work towards and challenge himself with. Be in both peak mental and physical shape at the same time. Yes… That was a worthy challenge. Exercising more would probably further enhance his mental focus as well too. It was win-win. And Sam loved to win…

“Dad, you’re a genius,” he said. “I know exactly what I’m gonna do!”