Game On! by Cait McQueen

Let’s face it – the older you are – the harder the world of online games is to follow. (I know, because I’m just past my 20s and didn’t have a clue until I entered the dark underbelly of gaming and came out the other side.)

I didn’t dip my toe in the water until my 17-year-old brother challenged me to a game of “Madness Combat 4: Apotheosis” at UGOPlayer.com. Within minutes, he had beaten me at every turn and left me with nothing. It was a sad state of affairs – believe me.

But being the “can-do” girl that I am, I vowed revenge! So I took the bull by the horns and started hitting the site every day to check out my brother’s favorites (which he graciously supplied me links to), then practiced on those games and found a few others I liked, too. (Can you say Black vs. Gray? Stick men fighting is really pretty hysterical.)

Now, I started my gaming adventure with some pretty hardcore matchups (against my brother – the expert). But if you want to start getting into the game, there are some better ways to do it.

• Head to a site like UGOPlayer.com and check out the games meant for younger kids – this will give you a sense of how to work the controls to get what you want (a win).

• Challenge your other 20-, 30- or 40-something friends to games. They’re more at your level and you’ll get a little ego boost every time you play (because you’ll obviously be better than them at this).

• Graduate to playing games against other people online (preferably people you don’t know, so there’s no real humiliation involved if you somehow manage to lose in the first 5 minutes.)

The process sounds easy enough – I know. But there are some games that will just get under you skin until you beat them to a pulp! (Yes – I AM a little on the competitive side.) And as long as you don’t do something stupid, like lose your job – or your house – you’ll come out the other side with better strategy skills, better critical thinking skills and able to think faster on your feet.

Go ahead – give it a shot. (Just don’t challenge your younger brother or your kids to a duel until you know you can take them. The humiliation would just be too much to bear. Trust me.)

About The Author

Cait McQueen is a 30-ish TV producer who, until recently, never played a video game without an Atari joystick. Since her initial humiliation by her 17-year-old brother, she has not only learned to play games at http://UGOPlayer.com without one – but has started ruling the Xbox when he comes to visit.