The games we play are important, as are the results of the Best Of Monterey County® Readers’ Poll.

Henry Waugh has a bit of a problem. Damon Rutherford is hurling a perfect game. But it’s almost 11 at night—closing time for Diskin’s Delicatessen. So Waugh tries to take advantage of the 7th inning stretch to hustle down the street.

Dave Faries here, noting that games are often something more than a way to pass the time. The scene above is from Robert Coover’s 1968 novel The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop. The main character is mired in a joyless accounting job. He leads a rather dull existence—except when he gets home, where he has created a tabletop baseball game that becomes his existence.

Few of us succumb to fantasy to the extent of Coover’s character. Games are fun. And for us, the subject serves as a good way to introduce this year’s winners of the Best Of Monterey County Readers’ Poll.

The publication is inserted in this week’s edition of the Weekly. And it covers a lot of ground. In between the first listing, Best Volunteer Organization (spoiler: Meals on Wheels of the Monterey Peninsula), and the last, an Editors’ Pick, the magazine includes more than 270 of the readers’ choices for best in restaurants, shopping, entertainment and more. There are an additional 31 selections by staff at the Weekly—in admittedly random categories, but nonetheless deserving of recognition.

As I mention in the introduction to this year’s results, we write with a theme in mind to add some fun to the listings. But this year’s theme is particularly fitting. Games are universal. As we find out in this week’s cover story, even local leaders—politicians, chefs, health care professionals—recall favorite games. A few grudgingly hint at cheating.

But the theme also suits the Best Of results. In any group, there will be disagreements over the best board game. Monopoly is obviously popular. On the other hand, some people prefer Sorry! or Risk. The Weekly’s readers voted Bayonet & Black Horse Pro Shop as the Best Golf Shop. Yet there are those who prefer Golf Mart or the pro shop at Pebble Beach Golf Links.

Everyone has favorites. The annual Best Of Monterey County Readers’ Poll is a good starting point. It serves as a guide to what a sample of the local population considers worthwhile.

By the way, the creator of Monopoly spent time in my hometown and based the board’s design on the town square of Macomb, Illinois. But growing up, we were partial to Strat-O-Matic Baseball, a tabletop game where you managed a team of major league players. The game is based on actual player performance. A hesitant roll of dice would determine if having a slowpoke like Ted Simmons attempt a surprise steal of second or asking Dave Kingman’s wayward bat to lay down an unexpected bunt was worth the risk.

On a side note, I should have kept and framed the Strat-O-Matic player card a friend chomped on in frustration after the dice roll landed on a double play. Like I said, games are important to us.

Yes, I still play—electronically. Unfortunately for any novelist looking to follow up on Coover’s work, I’m not as immersed in its world as J. Henry Waugh, who began imagining conversations and celebratory post-game gatherings.

Different games are mentioned throughout Best Of Monterey County, and it’s a big issue. We hope you have fun as you flip through its pages, whether or not the game or the readers’ choice matches your favorite. Did your favorites come out on top?