I started playing Target at our local pub.  Someone had a subscription to a London newspaper, and brought the Target puzzle to the pub once a week.

Our circle of friends had a wonderful time competing against each other, and comparing notes at the end of the evening.  We would generally end up with two lists.  One list was for real words, and the other list contained words that really ought to be.

Eventually, the price of the newspaper subscription skyrocketed.  The price of a newspaper is not much, but the price of a newspaper shipped across the Atlantic can be a different story.

We survived for a few years by asking whoever was going to the U.K. on vacation or business to please bring back as many issues as possible.  A week's worth of newspapers could keep us going for seven weeks.  I imagine a few of my friends got really strange looks as they went through customs with large numbers of old newspapers.  No, they really were not hiding anything in the newspapers.

This was not a reliable supply.  We went for weeks or months without a Target.  Once I even made up a Target puzzle, but it just wasn't the same without knowing the target score for "best".

Throughout this time, I occasionally searched the web for anyone who might have a Target puzzle online.  Alan to the rescue!  Thank you, ever so much.

The pub closed, and we found another one.  That one also closed, and we had to find yet another one.  The word gaming has gone on, since now I can transfer the letters from Chihuahua into the Target format, print several copies, and bring lots of extra pencils.

I have tried to convince my friends to join Chihuahua, but to no avail.  They would much prefer doing this with a paper and pencil, among familiar faces and with a pint of Guinness in front of them.  If you notice a day when I am not competing, you can probably guess where I am and what I am doing.

Cheers!