A family heirloom is usually an object passed down onto each generation after itself, however my family heirloom is not only an object dear to me, but also a game of strategy and skill. Pente is the simpler version of the Chinese game called Go-Moku but with quick abstract strategizing tactics of chess. In 1977, Pente was invented in a pizza joint called Hideaway Pizza in a small town called Stillwater, Oklahoma, which happened to be the same town my grandfather lived in, not far from his hometown of Oklahoma City. 1977 was also the year my mother was born. As young as age three my grandfather taught my mother to play Pente, chess, and that π = 3.14. As my grandfather loved chess, Pente was the only game my mother could ever beat him at. He and my mother sat down every Saturday afternoon eating pizza and playing Pente, in their local pizza parlor as he smoked his tobacco pipe. The scent of his pipe tobacco still clings to the old lamination. Before he passed away in 1991, he passed down his beloved Pente board to my mother, who then passed it down to me and my family with the knowledge and love for the game. Even though I unfortunately was not able to meet my grandfather, I will always cherish his fondness for Pente, chess, and his love for science and astronomy. Every time I sit around the board and share the game with someone special, I connect with his spirit of sharing that of which you love the most with others. 

– K.P

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