Dungeons and Dragons on the Living Room Floor

Now he plays kiddie computer games with his children. But back in the 80s, Stephen played Dungeons and Dragons, aka D & D, on the floor at our house in Eugene.

D & D required rule books (which required proficiency in reading) , little pewter figures, pencil and paper, and intense concentration.

Stephen's friend Ian would come down from Portland for the weekend. The boys would stay up all night playing, just stopping long enough for pancakes in the morning. Although D & D players have been called "nerds," "extreme geeks," and even "social outcasts," Stephen and Ian certainly didn't fit that description.

When Ian wasn't around and Stephen wasn't riding his bike, he read J.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings," over and over. Three times? Maybe four times? Delighting in telling the minute details of the adventures of the Middle Earth creatures.

"Mom, I gotta tell you what happened. See, it all started when Bilbo Baggins . . . but Frodo . . . except that Gandalf . . ."

I hadn't thought about D & D for years until I read that Gary Gygax, the game's creator, died last week. The game reached such popularity that well-meaning grown-ups debated its grand virtues--fosters creativity, imagination, critical thinking, verbal skills, and team building.

Or argued its terrible faults--too violent, doesn't prepare young people for the "real" world. Doesn't teach the difference between fantasy and reality. Promotes devil worship. Encourages kids to kill themselves. Two D & D enthusiasts did commit suicide. Their Mom denied any connection whatsoever to Dungeons and Dragons, but "60 minutes" picked up the story anyway.

And "aren't you afraid your kid'll grow up to be a serial killer if he plays too much D & D"? No, not really.

Instead of creating axe murderers, our love affair with wizards and magic had just begun. We went from D & D to fantasy video games with dizzying visual effects. From "Lord of the Rings" to Harry Potter, with a delicious six books to the series, four blockbuster movies, games, and fan clubs galore. Now adults are playing and reading too.

In an op/ed piece for the Boston Globe, Ethan Gilsdorf, who spent his teen years playing Dungeons and Dragons, defends the game: "The game won't let you hide behind avatars and computer screens, in lonely bedrooms behind closed doors." (However, online versions of D & D do exist, along with a now defunct TV show.)

And Gygax defined role-playing games as group, cooperative experience. "There is no winning or losing, but rather the value is in the experience of imagining yourself as a character." Although some pundits dub Gygax as the father of modern video games which go far beyond simply playing a character's role. And nothing high tech about Dungeons and Dragons in the 80s.

I'm not much for that tired old nostalgia, "Well when I was a girl, we . . . ," but I'll take Stephen sprawled out on the living room floor playing Dungeons and Dragons with Ian any day versus today's mind-numbing, addictive, and even more violent fantasy video games.

I rate Dungeons and Dragons and any game requiring imagination and creativity as Brain Boosters.

And Harry Potter rocks! I've read all six but have to admit once Bilbo Baggins left home, I never quite made it through "Lord of the Rings."

So let me know what games your kids play that foster creativity and engage imagination. Let's get a list going.

MaryJo

P.S. Well, I finally listened myself to the free 60-minute Introduction to Brain Gym audio. Yes, you do get 17 pages of great handouts with the audio, some good Brain Gym tips, and an explanation of what Brain Gym's all about.

But frankly I think yours truly needs to re-record it. Needs an update. Skip all that nonsense in the beginning. Good task for next week.

In the meantime, there's still time for you to sign up for Brain Gym Basics. Starts Tuesday, March 11 and jam packed with fabulous Brain Gym tools you can use everyday. No traveling, no complicated webinar stuff, just a telephone.

Finally, a Brain Booster Video Game

Well, somedays you just can't win! So we're all set for last night's Brain Gym Basics TeleChat and we had enough out-of-my-control technical glitches at the last minute that we had to postpone it. Even included a glitch from the University of Colorado at Denver which offers the graduate credit for teachers

Now Brain Gym Basics is on for March 11. And the ADD class for April 1st. And that means changes on the websites, changes in the telephone conferencing schedule, changes in the calendar, changes in the online registration, and on and on. Guess what I'm doing this morning? Certainly wasn't part of the original plan for today!

So after railing against video games for years (except for a slight nod to improvement in eye-hand coordination), there's finally a video game that looks like it'll get an A+ from me.

It's called Wii Fit. (Pronounced "we.") Check out the demonstration and a video from Nintendo. It really looks like fun. Nintendo's pushing it as family fun--another A+ from me. I even like the music.

But there's a caveat to the A+--that's only for families who already have the Wii video game system which, unfortunately, allows kids to play some of the most violent games without ever getting out of their chair or moving a muscle beyond wrist and fingers. Although such isn't the purpose of Wii. And the system is a bit pricey. The cheapest I found this morning was $286--before you buy Wii Fit at around $70.

You can use Wii Fit for aerobics, yoga, muscle stretches and games, and get a "core" workout with some of the Wii Fit games. I haven't seen any promotion for losing weight but if you're doing aerobics frequently enough with Wii Fit, weight loss would certainly be a result. Who can argue with that, given the rise in childhood obesity.

Wii fit has over 40 exercises and activities. 8 family members and friends can keep track of their scores and progress.

Don't get too excited, however. Wii Fit isn't scheduled for release until May. If you can't wait, log into Amazon and ask to be emailed the minute you can buy it.

However, the buzz has created a Wii Fit entry in Wikipedia. And Nintendo has blog postings and YouTube videos to promote their product.

Wii represents a new and positive, from my way of thinking, approach to video games. They call it social network gaming. And lots of the Wii software, unlike many of the other social networking games, requires moving around rather than sitting still at your computer screen.

But I don't necessarily recommend the Wii video game system unless your kids have other video game systems which they're into. There's a great review of Wii in the "New York Times."

On the other hand, what's wrong with technology that promotes social and family interaction, involves moving, and having lots of fun? Maybe your children have been begging for a video game system and you've said "No, no, a thousand times no, in the past. You might reconsider with Wii as the option.

Video "games" plus movement aren't new. Exergaming has been around for awhile but has never really taken off. I'd never heard of it until I read the Wii Fit article in Wikipedia. And the Wii system already has Wii sports out where you can play "pretend" tennis, golf, baseball, and bowling. All of which involve standing up, and moving around but not as much movement as Wii Fit. Most Wii systems already come with Wii Sports.

Looks like Wii Fit is ready to make a splash in the U.S. Let's hope so for those families and kids where video games are already part of the daily routine! With 1.3 million units in homes in Japan, it's sure made a splash there.

So to summarize, if kids must play video games, the Wii system is the best around and Wii Fit (and Wii Sports) promises to be one of the best set of games going in terms of Brain Boosting and general health enhancement. Not to mention fun!

Still doesn't take the place of playing, hiking, or running around outdoors. But then sometimes you've got four feet of snow in your backyard and the thermomenter in the car port says ten below. We've have plenty of days like that at our house and still have snow drifts over our heads.

Speaking of snow, Cynthia, my friend who uses Brain Gym with her first graders at the Apache Indian reservation school in Dulce, NM, called to tell me they had SIX feet of the white stuff and her kids are getting cabin fever. They need Wii Fit.

MaryJo

P.S. If you've got snow and warm enough temperatures to bundle up and go outside there're lots of things kids can do. Check out the February issue of the "Brain Boosters for Your Kids" newsletter. Lots of ideas for playing in the snow, including how to do Brain Gym in the snow.