I’m coaching my son’s Little League team again this spring. One thing I always like to do is kick off practices by having the kids get to know each other by sharing some of their favorite things.

So, obviously, I asked the team to share their favorite video game at the first practice.

With 8-10 year olds, I figured it would be mostly Roblox, Minecraft, and Fortnite. Boy, was I wrong.

Mario and Nintendo still reign supreme. Super Smash Bros, Mario Kart, and Super Mario Odyssey all came up multiple times.

We did have a few Minecraft fans but only one for Fortnite. Madden and MLB the Show also showed up unsurprisingly. However, there was one favorite that absolutely blew my mind……

Nintendogs! One of the boys on the team said Nintendogs!

Now, that may not mean much, but to break it down for you. Nintendogs came out in 2005 with a sequel in 2011. The console you can play it on is only available second-hand. There is no modern way to play it and even the official website no longer exists!

It lives on in Smash Ultimate but I was blown away when I heard it. The game had already been out for 15 years by the time they were even born.

Just goes to show, you never know what game might click with some people!

MY KID LOVES _________ ARE THERE GAMES FOR THAT?

A question I get asked a lot from parents is whether there are games that can align with some subject or passion of their kid. The amount of video games out in the world is tremendous - this isn’t like the 80s and 90s where the selection was limited. If there’s a book or movie or TV show about some obscure subject, you can be sure there’s a video game too.

And sometimes you’d be surprised as to what people are able to make a game out of.

My youngest son got an interactive globe for Christmas and has been enthralled with learning about the world - countries, capitals, you name it.

So I started researching any geography games we could play together and immediately came back to the classic - Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? In the game you have to track down super thief Carmen across the globe as she tries to steal landmarks and the like. It was the best, and now I see they’ve rebooted it for 2025. But, interestingly, they’ve also included a retro version that is an homage to the late 80s PC game.

The other game, which at first didn’t seem like a game, is called GeoGuessr. Now this is outside the box thinking when it comes to creating a game. GeoGuessr is self-described as “a geography game, in which you are dropped somewhere in the world in a street view panorama (they just load in Google or Bing Streetview) and your mission is to find clues and guess your location on the world map.” So now, for a 5 year old this could be a little tough - but I started playing on my own and it’s really fun. It can definitely be hard at first but as you start to recognize things you can come close. You can even choose maps specific to countries or famous places. I think this may be one we try for family game night soon.

1. Speaking of outside the box thinking when it comes to a game - I came across this game and it’s so ridiculous but kind of amazing at the same time. Yes, we already all spend way too much time on our phones but in case you ever wanted to avoid an awkward situation or for some reason, just pretend you were on your phone - this is your game. enough time on our phone so thhttps://www.polygon.com/mobile/537312/pippin-barr-phone-game

2. New research affirms that spending time together experiencing content and gaming is core to family bonding - with Roblox as the top choice for families, followed by Minecraft and Fortnite.

3. After the massive success of LEGO Fortnite and mediocre success of previous LEGO video games - the LEGO Group is bringing video game development in-house as they see a massive opportunity to grow their business and build games closely aligned with their initiatives

Bet: (adverb) - to agree with something or be on board

Synonyms: Yes, Game,

“Let’s go to the movies at 10, right?”

“Bet.”

We’re getting to spring break and starting to think about summer camps - and our town has a plethora of gaming camps for kids. I’m a little wary as I’ve yet to see anyone do a good one.

GL HF,

Chris

What I’m Playing:

Pokemon TCG Pocket, Elden Ring, Pokemon Violet