We have a rule at our house... No Gaming Before School. It's really important. We verified the importance this morning when the boys nearly missed the bus while playing a round of Hunger Games on Minecraft.
The bus stopped in front of the house (nice bus driver!) and they ran out the door - breakfast & books under one arm, trombone in the other - calling out instructions to me on How to Survive.
*gulp*
I don't play games - no Xbox, computer, DS... NADA. Because I die. I just. die.
Ok, it's a little more exciting than that... first I panic and then I die. I run off a cliff or jump in the lava, it's all the same. I'm left with this lingering memory of how I screamed and jumped up and down and threw things across the room and in the silence that follows my death, everyone looks at me like they'd never seen me before.
So... there I am, no audience to laugh at me, with this little Minecraft block guy holding a sword of some sort (probably not this one), hiding in a cave. I click the mouse and my sword swings around wildly. Got it. Then I type everything under the sun and can't figure out how to move, but it does occur to me that I might be drawing attention to myself yelling gibberish in a hole. So I give up moving and hold very, very still. With an occasional swipe of the sword.
Have you played Hungergames on Minecraft?
It's crazy how tense it gets hiding out in a hole!! Since I couldn't walk, I pretended I was Peeta and injured. And I listened to announcements. Every so often, someone's death would flash across the scene. Once I heard a shout, "Oh No!" and then the announcement declared someone was burnt to a crisp.
I tell ya, that was some intense waiting!!
But then... and this was exciting... they announced The Feast. I know from my kids' chatter that to be alive for the Feast is somewhat of an accomplishment. There's over 100 players and the Feast doesn't happen 'til there's only, like, 10 left.
Of course, I'm still gravely injured, so I just watch the countdown on my screen and gasp in horror over all the succeeding deaths. With an occasional swipe of my sword. *swish*
It got really quiet for awhile... no more deaths... only three of us left... I got tired of watching my hunger level ("very") and my life level ("low") and considered wandering away from the non-action. I half stood up to leave at least three times, but I couldn't do it. I had to see how I would die. (I had no hope of living. I was thrilled to be one of the last three, and that was only 'cause I couldn't walk.)
Suddenly the screen started flashing before my eyes and I was, like, Wha?! I swung my sword frantically and turned around in crazy circles ('cause I could move that much) and... SOMEONE WAS WHACKING ME!!! WITH A SWORD!!
I whacked him back. He fell into a hole for a moment and I *gasped* Did I kill him?! But no... he was just waiting for me to follow up so he could ambush me. He thought I knew what I was doing much better than I did. Hehehe Surprised him!!
Unfortunately, he caught on fast, leaping back out of the hole and finishing me off.
I told the boys how awesome I did when they got home from school, and they were very impressed. "Wow, Mom! The final three?!" They started quizzing me on what the killer looked like.
"Uh... fuzzy legos?"
No, no, no... what armor? What weapons? I couldn't hold it in, I started laughing and admitted that I never figured out how to walk, let alone live. They withdrew their intelligent questions and resorted to patting me on the shoulder. "Good job, Mom. You did great."
Yea... not so much. But now I understand the excited frenzy when they're able to log into the Hunger Games server a little better. I can't believe someone created an arena where people can go as legos and kill each other. It sounds bad... kind of like trying to describe The Hunger Games to someone who hasn't read the book. Soooooo fun. :-) I don't mind dying as a lego person. Much.
You gotta try it.
