Gaming

"[Shane] hasn't been using the Switch," Carrie said.

And she was right. He hasn't. Shane will use it if it's social. Cole or B calls about Minecraft? The Switch is on! If one of us offered to sit and watch him play something, Shane would be all about it. If we went on a road trip, he'd be happy to bring it along and wear out the battery, too.

But in general, he's not enamored with anything on the Switch right now. Sure, we could buy a new game and he'd probably crush on it for a while.  However, we have so many other options I don't see a reason to buy anything.

And I'm happy to report Shane's been on something of a retro gaming phase lately. It started with beating Portal 1 and Portal 2.

Then Shane beat Mega Man X again.

He even played some X-Com!

I loved Xcom, but I didn't discover it until I was in the 7th grade. I wasn't sure Shane was old enough for it, but he grasped the concepts well enough and didn't throw a fit the first time things went bad (Expect things to go bad in X-Com...it's hard!).

But with all these retro games, it's social for Shane. He knows Carrie loves Portal (She sings the songs). He knows I played Mega Man X growing up (and I'm the one who taught him how to play). I hadn't planned on showing him Xcom, but somehow it came up. I showed him Master of Orion 2, as well, but the danger with the big strategic games is that I have to hold back from playing for Shane ("Do this first....now this! Oh! If you do this...") Shane wants me to sit and watch him play while I want him to learn through a trial by fire. 

Shane's total "retro gaming" only adds up to a handful of hours each week. What he'd really like is the addiction simulator, AKA Roblox. He had a frustrated meltdown one night when I said he could use it, but then it wouldn't work.

We've done less of it, but the family has gotten some truly "old school gaming" in, as well!

Shane went on a winning hot streak at Don't Break the Ice! Carrie went 0-3 and she got flustered! She challenged Shane to a rematch the next day, but Shane's still the overall house champion.

On a whim, I bought the My Hero Academia card game to play with Shane since he likes the show so much. I paid full price at the End Games.

Shane and I enjoyed playing together, but the jury's still out on a final grade for the game. I think Pokemon plays better and smoother overall, but maybe the hero theme will capture the spark of Shane's flickering interest. 

I haven't played any new video games myself. I find that I don't want to put the energy into starting or learning anything new. Or if I do, I can't settle on anything and do something else instead. I still have my puzzles I use to stretch my brain a little and unwind. Shane tried my mahjong game the other day and had fun for 10 minutes before moving on.