Tag Archives: computer games

Playing Computer and Video Games Together

My daughters have been teaching me how to play SIMS 2 on the computer. We had a dreadfully wet and rainy weekend this past weekend–nonstop downpours with dark clouds and blustery leaves. No one wanted to go outside even to get a jug of milk. So once we’d watched all the movies, my almost-eighteen-year-old got out the computer games and the three of us built our homes and families and I struggled along to learn how to play. By all practical standards, we might all three be considered “too old” for such activities. I have certainly never been one to … Continue reading →

Gemsweeper – Addictive Computer Game

My latest computer game addiction is Gemsweeper. The concept is simple, it is much like the Minesweeper game that comes with Windows. Instead of just looking for bombs though, you are looking for sparkling gemstones and avoiding cursed tiles. If you know a tile is “cursed” you click on it with a hammer. For gemstones, you select them with the hand tool. Once you solve the puzzle you see a picture. The program starts off very easy. The tutorial walks you through the steps of logic necessary for figuring out which tiles must be cursed and which must be gems. … Continue reading →

Trying to Keep Video Games in Perspective

These past couple weeks there have been all sorts of reports in the news about whether or not excessive computer and video game playing is considered an addiction. I have to admit that there have definitely been times when I’ve worried that one of my kids IS addicted–whether it is to a computer game, My Space, television, or a video game! I have gotten pretty darn crabby when someone seems to be too focused on any one thing and neglected every thing else. But, I’ve also found that with my kids, what they are “totally into” for a week or … Continue reading →

Chocolate and Chocolatier Fun

The kids and I have a new obsession, Chocolatier. No, not chocolate. Although that is part of the fun, too. Chocolatier is actually a new computer game. The object is to travel around the world, and build a chocolate empire all the while collecting recipes for the confections and reuniting a divided family. If that sounds complicated, it’s because the game is complicated. Don’t worry though, the game starts easy enough and the players can learn as they go along. The player has to travel to different ports around the world for supplies. The boys actually learned a little geography … Continue reading →

WarGames (1983)

“WarGames” stars Matthew Broderick as David, a seventeen-year-old high school student who’s obsessed with computers and computer games. He’s got a pretty sweet setup in his bedroom with computer, modem, printer, the works – and he enjoys hacking into the high school computer system to change his grades as needed. (And it’s needed plenty often.) One day he sees an ad for a new game being produced by a nearby toy company, and he decides to hack into that computer and see the schematics for the new game. Harmless, right? What he doesn’t realize is that he has hacked into … Continue reading →

Teens and Gaming: Is It BAD for Them?

Last night on the TV show “Boston Legal,” one of the storylines involved a single mother who sued a video game manufacturer because her teenage son died while playing one of their games. Apparently the boy played it to the exclusion of things like eating, drinking and sleeping and died of a heart attack. The mother’s attorney claimed that the game was purposely designed by the manufacturer to be addictive. Unfortunately for her, her attorney wasn’t one of the partners at the “Boston Legal” firm of Crane, Poole and Schmidt. That attorney convinced the jury that it was wrong to … Continue reading →