S-in-L found a Wii under the tree this year. I never saw one before last Sunday, but had heard plenty. It was GD1 who asked her Dad to take it out so they could play. She played several games, like darts and a basketball shoot. The best part for her was selecting the clothing for her Mii. I could have guessed that, even without knowing the feature existed. Dressing herself, her bears, her dolls and other items is her big thing. She has her own style and knows what she wants.
Then, S-in-L loaded a bowling game. GD1 played it, and then Papa played it with her. Then, I got a turn. As far as I can tell, the game is a good representation of real life. The “ball” did exactly what I remember it doing when I used to hit the alleys regularly, years ago. I could actually hear my Mom’s voice in my head, “Reach for the pins, Pam. Roll it over the second dot. Don’t throw it, roll it.” And on and on. Bowling math was the only math I ever understood, and probably today, still is. a spare is 10 plus your score on the next ball. A strike is 10 plus the score on your next two balls… That darn video game was fun, and it kind of took me to another place.
In a past life, I used to play a lot of Frogger, I guess that was my favorite video game. The Wii is much better. For some reason, you feel more involved in the game as you play it. Papa, D2 and I speculated about what Papa’s Dad would have thought about it. We finally agreed he would like the Wii, after we remembered a trip to a casino of long ago. Grandpa sat at a nickel slot for ages, watching closely, and grinning his slow grin. I guess he enjoyed it a lot more than anyone trying to win a little money, and he made a dollar last forever.
I know my Mom would have loved the bowling game, even if the others were of no interest to her. She would have analyzed, tried to figure out how it worked, and generally drove us nuts as she tried to figure it out. She never could just enjoy something, she always had to figure it out.
That darn game was enough fun that Papa and I wasted a hour or so last night, Internet shopping, checking out what packages are available, and so on. There still seems to be an artificial shortage of the darn things, probably because everyone that sees one, wants it.
