Ask Slashdot: How Do I Get My Spouse To Start Gaming With Me? 550
x_IamSpartacus_x writes "I've been a gamer for a long time (started on Nibbles in MS-DOS) and enjoy pretty much any good game. I can enjoy side-scrolling relics (original Prince of Persia, Win 95), to modern MMORPGs (stopped playing my 85 lvl Mage on WoW just recently, read on to see why), to a good sports game (Madden series are a blast) and many more. I've been married for 4 years now and have hardly touched my games since being married and starting having kids. My wife and I are Americans but live overseas and have little access to new movies/entertainment and, from experience, I know that a good game can provide much more entertainment than a good movie. My question is, what are good ways/good games that I can use to get my wife into computer gaming? We both have good laptops that I'd love to get her interested in using to do co-op or combative games with me. Because of my long experience, gaming comes naturally to me and so even on a game I haven't played I would probably be much better than she. Is there a game or idea that would take away the embarrassing factor for her of being much worse than I am while still being enjoyable and worth spending a lot of time on with me? Do any other Slashdotters struggle getting their spouse to game with them?"
Clueless (Score:5, Funny)
The cluelessness of the nerd knows no bounds.
Divorce her and marry a gamer. (Score:3, Funny)
Re:I have had some success (Score:3, Funny)
>> each of us has 1 weeknight to totally dictate what activities we do that night (with the intent that whatever we do will be together)
A three-way?
Your wife has a better game. (Score:5, Funny)
- you can advance through several levels
- you can use your fingers for control
- you can customize her outfit
- you can collect and use tools
- you can play it on the couch
- there's a boss level at the end (you most likely won't get near it, nor will beat it, just use some tools for now)
But there are differences, too:
- it's more exciting
- you can use more than your fingers
- you get more physical feedback than rumble
- you are not restricted to your couch
- you might achieve more satisfaction
Just try it. You'll probably realize that she's not playing your game because her game is a lot better.
Re:Marry a man (Score:5, Funny)
Oh, give me a clone
Of my own flesh and bone
With its Y chromosome changed to X.
And after it's grown,
Then my own little clone
Will be of the opposite sex.
Re:Simple: (Score:1, Funny)
Remember women, when a guy as you to get into gaming with him, say no at first. If he responds by asking for sexual favors, go find someone who is less of a douche .
Seriously, men think they're some kind of special commodity, and that they can be more choosey. We women kall know that's bullshit, and an attempt at artificial scarcity. I hear that froim a lot of men, especially online tough-guy posters. I tell them, "Well, yeah, you may have a lot douchebags throwing themselves at your feet, but when you're an old bitter man, no one is going to want to settle with you and you're going to wish you were less of a suck-up ass when it counted."
And when men hit their thirties, they think they have women figured out and all lumped into one group. Meanwhile, myself and other women in their thirties have never been married, have no kids, and can also be choosey. At that age, it is less about your mating dance, and more about showing how you are not a selfish dick. And if your man doesn't engange you on one particular interest... go discuss it or maybe go do something else instead of worrying. But kindly tell all of that when some douche gives advice that amounts to "solve your relationship problems by being a douch like me."
Re:Guess it depends on the girl (Score:4, Funny)
Multiplayer Platformers: Mario Kart
You just made my head hurt.
Re:Let Me Explain (Score:5, Funny)
As a separated guy with two kids, they make games for kids too.
"Ready to pwn some boglins, Dad?"
Re:Simple: (Score:5, Funny)
There you are. I asked you to take out the trash and I couldn't figure out why you were taking so long. I thought to myself, "Self, he must be wasting time on those computers again."
But on what websites? I've already told him he's not allowed on Facebook anymore. I limited him to a half-hour of video games every day, so he'd spend more time with me. I just don't understand what's so much more attractive about spending time online. So I checked the browser history on the den computer and saw he'd been wasting time on some website called Slashdot, the useless, lazy, good-for-nothing.
Well, fine Ol, that's just fine. If this is how you want to spend your time, then I'll play along. I've signed up for this Slashdot too. So now I can post here, meet your friends, and we can spend more time together.
Re:Simple: (Score:5, Funny)
Obligatory Tripod (Score:4, Funny)
Words with Friends Live! (Score:5, Funny)
Maybe you two can play words with friends together.
Did you know they even have a version you can play in real life [amazon.com] now? Games are finally growing out of cell phones and into the third dimension! It's a really exciting time to be a gamer, with these new and innovative products.
More seriously, try board games! My wife isn't much of a video gamer, but board games were a huge hit with her. Look at things like Agricola, Ticket to Ride, Pandemic, Carcassonne, and Settlers of Catan. They reward analytical thinking like video games do, so you won't be bored, I promise.