Gaming: A Way to Come Together

I’ve been thinking a lot about games lately and what they represent. Games have different connotations for everyone. When I think about games, I think of them as a way to come together and have fun. Whether it’s in the classroom or at a family reunion, games bring people together. This week on the podcast, we are talking about games and gaming. Games and healthy competition with my family and friends enhance my life for the better.

When I was a kid, my parents loved to play games. One thing I remember most from my childhood is my parent’s Atari®. I still remember touching it when I was a child, I wasn’t sure what all the buttons were or what all the games were but it was easy for a young child to hook up and turn on. My two favorite games on the Atari® were Space Invaders® and Asteroids®. Almost every weekend, my parents and I would have an Atari® tournament.

My mom had a notepad that we kept our scores in along with the date that we played. The objective was usually to play as long as we could and the day's highest score won. I remember one stormy Saturday when both of my parents were in a competitive mood. I think they both played Asteroids® for hours straight trying to beat each other’s high scores.

The spirit of gaming with my parents evolved as game consoles evolved. Soon, my parents bought an original Nintendo® and we added Doctor Mario® to our game tournaments. As I grew older, my best friends would stay the night on the weekend and enter the game tournaments. 

In middle school, I received a Nintendo 64® for Christmas and the tradition continued with games such as Diddy Kong Racing® and Mario Kart 64®. My friends and I would sit down with my parents and race each other in racing tournaments at least one weekend a month. My dad and I would get insanely competitive with each other on our game nights. We were constantly playing, trying to beat each other’s high scores. We continued the competition well into my college years. When I would come home to my parent's house on the weekends, I would find that my dad had beaten all my high scores during the week, and the competition would be on again.

Game tournaments were one of the ways my family came together and bonded after a week of grueling work and school, and they were weekends I looked forward to growing up. Nowadays, I don’t play many video games, but I look back fondly on the time I did with my parents growing up.

I want to hear from our readers. What types of games do you play? Do you have tournaments with your family and friends? Let’s continue the conversation below or on our Facebook group: MMC Chat