YOU shouldn't need an excuse to keep in contact with family and friends, but a lot of the time it really helps - especially if there's some gamesmanship involved.
In my case, the Fifa World Cup has provided a group of around 30 of us, comprising family and childhood friends, an opportunity to stay in constant communication through a sports draw.
The fascinating thing is that although the results of the draw, and the accumulated points, have minimal skill input - it's largely luck - the spirit of competition and bragging rights leads to wild and cheerful claims of prodigious football knowledge from the winners.
You discover, among people you haven't spoken to in years, how many frustrated writers, journalists and comedic writers there are among your group, judging by the clever and barbed insults flying back and forth by email.
I mean, I am a journalist, but I would be hard-pushed to top the turn of phrase from some of the competitors.