Well, the curse continues. I accidentally scored a few too many points in Round 19, which means I am officially back in the dealer's chair to serve my sentence yet again. Honestly, I've been the dealer way too much this season—it's starting to feel a little unfair at this point!
But since I’m stuck here, I figured we could pull some inspiration from how I've been spending my downtime. I didn't just roll credits on Dark Souls—I actually beat the game three times to get 100% of the achievements, and then immediately started punishing myself with Dark Souls 2.
If you know those games, you know the absolute menace that is "Trusty" Patches. The guy is annoying as crap—he literally kicks you down holes and sets traps—but he also happened to hold the key to one of my very last achievements (collecting all the rare, crafted, and boss weapons). I had to tolerate him for the first two runs, but the absolute best part of doing a third playthrough? I finally got to murder him to take his weapon to get the achievement.
We have all dealt with them: those characters who stand in doorways, repeat the same three lines of dialogue, or send you on absolutely pointless quests. Do I really need to kill the rats in your basement or collect 25 stupid flowers? Do I really have to escort you to the next town which just HAPPENS to have 3 bandit ambushes along the way that you're going to run headlong into?
So, in honor of "Trusty" Patches and everyone's favorite (or hated) digital background characters, your acronym for Round 20 is:
N P C
Whether you want to lean into the gaming theme (Non-Player Character), vent about some daily frustrations, or just give us something completely off the wall, the floor is yours.
Submissions are officially open—let's see what you've got!
