My children inherited their video-game addition from my husband.  He's a gamer from way back when; we have his old Atari computer and a whole bunch of vintage Nintendo games that still work on the old console.  Duck Hunt, anyone?  We have 2 of the "gun" controllers, and that old Nintendo hooks up just fine to our late-80s-era TV. 

We like video games so much around here that one year my sons went as Mario and Luigi for Halloween.  (They tried really hard to convince their sister to be Princess Peach, but she wouldn't give up her dream to dress as a bride.)

This morning my neighbor complained that her son is jealous of my children's video games.  He said as much to my daughter, who told him, "It's all my dad's fault!"  Apparently the boy next door is sad because his parents haven't bought him Guitar Hero yet.

Guitar Hero is a big hit in our house.  Big Brother brings friends here after school, and they enjoy a snack of pretzels and Dr. Pepper while drumming (loudly) and singing (sometimes badly) and strumming toy guitars.  Unlike many games, Guitar Hero is more fun when you play it in a group.  Generally I leave the guys to their fun, but they call me over when it's time to sing "La Bamba" because their three years of Spanish seems to be lacking a popular-song component, and I know all the words.

My youngest is happy to play Guitar Hero all by himself, and he's working on developing his vocal talents.  He only knows the refrains to most of the songs, but he sings them with attitude.  This is all very embarrassing to the Big Kids.

While Guitar Hero is a very cool game, my favorite is Animal Crossing.  Yes, it's a video game, but it's also educational.  You have to pay off a mortgage, work to earn money, and schmooze the townsfolk.  You get to change your clothes, design patterns, and furnish your house. You can write and receive letters to the townsfolk and to other human players.  You can fish, catch bugs, and pick fruit.  I used to play this game daily--I caught all the fish and got the cool fish-theme weathervane for my house.  TheDad used to stay up late at night and fill the basement of his house with the fish he caught.  When the kids learned to read, we would write them letters in the game and send them little presents.  Good times.

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