Video Games and Indoctrinating our Youth

Day 86: A Love Story

As a gaming couple we have had a mission during our spring break stay-cation.  And that mission was to play a bunch of different games with our kids.

Family Dungeons and Dragons

As a couple we decided the kids are finally old enough to be initiated into geek culture by playing their first Dungeons and Dragons game.  Our children understand board games, and digital games but role-playing and storytelling with their parents seemed a radical idea to them (minds officially blown).  Here is our current character roster for the family game:

Age                 Character                  Name                          Skills

6-Year-Old     Thief/fighter              Sneaky Death              Stealth

8-Year-Old     Wizard                       Elanna                        Controls Ice

33 Year Old   Baird                           Mama Cas                  Sings People to Sleep

33 Year Old   DM                                                                 Sound FX  & crazy monsters

At the start of the campaign the kids wanted to physically interact with the DM (their dad).  Elanna offered the massive gate guard a real life hair bow as a gesture of goodwill (which of course her dad immediately wore).  It was adorable until she wanted to give each new character we encountered a new hair bow.  Sneaky Death is having a hard time playing as a team and when new challenges appear he often suggests that his character should run and hide or abandon his party.  To get them to comply several times my character, Mama Cas, sang her own party to sleep so she could move them to the next phase of the campaign.

I was worried with the kids home for ten days that they would become addicted to their digital devices,--they have proved me wrong.  A week after our first game DnD the kids created an impromptu surprise party for the hubs and me.  They designed their own tickets, gift bags, trivia game, and snacks.  The resourcefulness of these little people reminded me they still know how to make-believe even without a dungeon master to direct them.

 

DM Dad with Hairbow

First Family Dungeon and Dragon game

D20 and Positive Re-enforcement

Whenever I suggest the hubs make a game related purchase he is on his iphone using amazon prime before I can change my mind.  We had read about using marbles in a jar as a representation of positive behavior for the kids but local craft stores did not have the gems that we had in mind.  Then I casually mentioned that we should buy a bulk order of dice and use them instead and you can imagine my utter lack of surprise when the amazon box appeared a day later. 

It makes me entirely too happy when my kids find out they earned a dice and then asks, “Do I get a D20.”

One rule is that no one gets dice if they barter or ask for dice for accomplishing a task.  When they fill their jar they can earn an individual play date with a friend or solo parent, or combine their jars for a large family outing.  Last night when I came to tuck them in, they were laying in bed planning out their ideal family day with a movie and arcade visit (indoctrination success).

Two Weeks Left

My spring break does not coincide with the hubs and kiddos and it has been nice to come home from work and find them all playing together.  All together we have played Helldivers, Dungeons andDragons, Munchkin, Catan Junior, and Plants versus Zombies (of course).

The hubs has been playing games his entire life and he cannot even define the earliest point of origin. Together we have been playing games at least 17 years.  I have been blogging about our gaming for more than 6 years.  And for the last 86 days I have used games as a way to communicate, love, and cope within my marriage. 

Reflection: As an academic and gamer I am often the target of rants that associate gaming with everything from the deterioration of interpersonal communication, to desensitizing youth to violence—but in my life games have been a love story with many high and low points.  The legacy of that love story is brought full circle by playing with the two beautiful little humans that we made. 

Photo of family hike with our awesome kiddos during stay-cation 2015