Here we are with February’s first “This or That” post. Please join me.
Back in the day I played video games with my boys and loved it. Here are a few to almost give away my age:
- Mario and Super Mario Bros.
- Pac-Man & Ms. Pac-Man
- Donkey Kong
- Space Invaders or Asteroids.
- Remember early Atari Games? Ping pong or Pong?
Do you have memories of any of these games?
Oh, boy, I had to look these up to remember. Here’s a link to one site. They weren’t like the video games of today. When married, we played a NASCAR video game. I wrecked my car more than I raced. It wasn’t fun to keep losing. About ten years ago, I played a video game with my youngest son. I haven’t played one since.
At school, when kids earned free-time, I’d sit with them as they played an age-appropriate computer video game. They made me play sometimes, but I didn’t complain. It gave me a break too! We had small class sizes in this particular job–Special Education. Our students had learning disabilities in reading and math. One sixth grade boy had permission to bring his Sims game. Personally, I had to wonder about that one. It was an earlier version, though.
Growing up in an era before video games, I played many board games. To name a few I liked:
- Sorry
- Parcheesi
- Scrabble
- Chinese Checkers
- Checkers
We had the game of Yahtzee, but I never liked it–admittedly, because I never learned how to play. My older brother was nine years older than me, so he never stuck around to play games. That left my younger brother to be my opponent. We were opponents in many ways besides in a game, as we never got along as kids. Now we do. He’s all I have left other than cousins, and my boys, of course.
It looks like I couldn’t choose a “This” or a “That” and instead chose both. How about you?
Let us know your favorite.
Thank you for your visit! Stay safe out there.
PSA and FYI: New guidelines from the CDC say to wear two masks now. Count me in.
Mary J. McCoy-Dressel ~ Contemporary Romance 
13 thoughts on “This or That Thursday #3 #WritersLife”
Jacquie Biggar
I never did get into video games, but love crib and Monopoly!
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Mary J. McCoy-Dressel
I’ve never played Crib that I remember, but Monopoly was always fun!
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Jina Bazzar
I grew up playing both board and video games/nintendo/atari. We had something called Dama, which is similar to chess only all the pieces are the same, save for the colors. And the only nintendo game you mentioned I never played is “Space Invaders or Asteroids.”.
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Mary J. McCoy-Dressel
I never learned how to play chess. Whichever space invader type of game i played, it was fun. I’ll have to ask my boys which it was, and if i have the correct name.
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Mary Ann
My brother and I used to play Risk a lot. It’s kinda hard, and I don’t even know if I could play that now! It involves strategy! Battle Ship is another favorite. Now I like to play Rummikub. Candyland was always fun to play with the kids. I loved Ms. Pac-Man – the big arcade version. I never got into playing video games on TV. Too old for that, I guess! Sudoku is a favorite of mine now, which I play daily on my cell phone. Fun times!
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Mary J. McCoy-Dressel
I remember Risk. I liked Rummikub! Oh yes, Battleship. I played this with my kids too.
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D. Wallace Peach
I grew up playing board games too, Mary. And I still like them. I remember the old video games but never really enjoyed them. Many of them come with so much pressure (speed, escape, destroy, or get killed!). I’ll take a leisurely board game any day. 🙂
And Happy Valentine’s Day!
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Mary J. McCoy-Dressel
Good point about the speed, etc., in video games. So true. Quest games are fun but the tension. Today, I could never play them before bed. Same with some TV shows that speed up my heart rate and raise my blood pressure. Like S.E.A.L Team. I love it, but I’d never get to sleep so I record it to watch in the early evening. 😏
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D. Wallace Peach
I wouldn’t mind a video game that I could play at my own pace, but I agree with you, most would interfere with a relaxing sleep. 🙂
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fionamcgier
I sub in high schools, and the kids often tell me I should be playing whatever games are on their phones. I point out to them that I have a flip-phone, so I don’t even go on-line on my phone. They demand to see it and hilarity ensues. Also, then I tell them that back before I got married, I lived with my brother, and he had video games. The only one I ever tried was Pong. It was boring. So I’ve never played any video games since then. They insist I NEED to play their games but I shake my head. They want to know what on earth I do with my free time. I say read, write novels, promote my novels, crochet afghans, sew clothing(masks), bake, cook, play Scrabble with a real board with my husband. They’re flummoxed–hard for them to understand that there is a huge world that many live in, that doesn’t involve their phones! LOL.
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Mary J. McCoy-Dressel
As soon as you said flip-phone, Fiona, I knew you’d say they laughed and couldn’t imagine not having a smart phone. I have seen the looks on their faces myself. You had a great response. I don’t have games on my phone by choice. Often viruses and/or malware comes with them and has happened to a friend of mine multiple times by downloading them from ads that pop up on her phone. DISCLAIMER: I don’t mean to say all ads for games cause issues. I used to play, Angry Birds, Tetras, and Bejeweled on my computer and sometimes my phone, but with the free versions comes tons of advertisements, so I deleted them all. Thanks for visiting!
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Teagan Riordain Geneviene
This is a fun post, Mary. Yes, I remember playing both Pong (and how amazed my parents were to see it working on the TV screen) and Asteroids. Amazing how much video games have changed. Hugs on the wing.
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Mary J. McCoy-Dressel
Video games are realistic now and are available for all ages. Board games are still board games and still fun after all these years. I remember my own amazement at word processing on my first computer. I LOVED it! Still do. ❤
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