My brawl for Brawl

How frustrating is it when you can't buy the most anticipated video game of the year? Very. But it's not for the reason you might think.

After pondering the guiding principles I'd set for myself, I concluded the best way to acquire "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" was to trade in some of the many games in our apartment that were merely collecting dust. So after scouring our collection and being brutally honest with ourselves, Annie and I found 23 games to sell.

(By the by, I would have thought that cult classic "Skies of Arcadia Legends" was worth more than $6 and quirky "Odama" worth more than $2. Oh well.)

After we confirmed "Brawl" to be in stock Sunday at our local GameStop, we hauled our box of games to the store and began the trade-in process. With so many games involved, there was ample time for small talk, during which I noted the lot was going toward a purchase of "Brawl."

The clerk stopped what he was doing, steeled himself and looked up at me with something approaching a grimace. He asked me if I'd reserved a copy of the game. When I told him I had not, his look changed to one of pity. I was told that even though there were dozens of copies of the game physically in the store -- even though we had verified the game to be in stock -- those copies were only for those who had reserved the game.

As you might expect, I was a bit irate. I had a group of friends expecting me to acquire "Brawl" so we could play the game that afternoon, and they would be bitterly disappointed by this turn of events. Keeping my temper in check, though, I told the clerk to complete the transaction and I would try another store.

I called Annie to kvetch, talking just loud enough to ensure the clerk overheard my expressions of anger and frustration for all the above reasons. I wasn't rude, but I was obviously displeased.

When it came time to complete the transaction, the clerk asked me if I'd like to use any of my $138.75 in store credit to reserve a game. I replied, "Just 'Brawl,' retroactively." He paused, cracked a grin and said, "Funny, I think I just found your name on the list."

Good man.