I like to play games. I always have. As a kid I would play game after game of Yahtzee and try to figure out the best strategy to achieve consistently high scores (best bet is to focus on the "top" half to get the bonus). I'd even keep stats to determine the best way to play, which I'm certain contributed to my success in math class at school (and an order of magnitude increase in my nerdiness quotient). I also spent countless hours playing Snake Eyes, another dice game. Even as an adult, I enjoy everything from chess to board games (Monopoly, anyone?) to video games (my Brain Age is currently 23). But this past week I had the honor of battling a most worthy adversary at that most challenging of intellectual contests, tic-tac-toe. My opponenet? None other than one of El Pollo Loco's highly trained chickens. That's right, an actual chicken. From a documentary I once watched, I knew that chickens could be quite clever. I didn't have time to practice and I hadn't played TTT in a few decades, but I was confident that what I learned then would come back when needed. I took my place in line and watched a few of my colleagues try to outwit the bird to no avail. This chicken was obviously at the top of her game. My turn came up, and the chicken got serious. After my moves, she would feign disinterest and mill around her little booth like a tiny Clark Kent about to turn into Superman. Clearly, she was trying to psyche me out and break my concentration! What was next, trash talk? Somehow, I managed to keep my wits but could only manage the most common of TTT outcomes, the tie. Sweaty and exhausted from the effort, I walked away wishing the battle could have raged on. To wind down, I went into the restaurant and enjoyed a very tasty meal made from my opponent's less skilled relatives. It truly was a fitting consolation prize.