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I'm just curious about something. I read on another thread about someone referring to how their DS memorized hundreds of Pokemon cards. Both my DSs had a strong interest in strategy gaming as youth and found more friends of similar intellect at the local gaming store than any place else they frequented. Strategy gaming such as Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Magic The Gathering, Mech. Warriors, HeroClicks, etc. seem to be a common interest among GT youth. It's been an outstanding outlet both intellectually and socially for our two boys. How many of the rest of you have had a similar experience with gaming?

When I was 12 living on an Air Force Base, I finally found peers by playing D&D with airmen. From then on I didn't bother with friends my age until college.

My son loves my game collection (a couple hundred games of all sorts) and always wants to try something different. I think there is something about the self-containedness and mastering rules and strategy and exercising the brain in a manner of their own selection that has a strong appeal. We have plans to visit a card store I found nearby and see if Yuh Gi Oh or such may catch his interest. He doesn't like Pokemon (because of the cartoon's bad acting and the way they draw the people's heads he says.)

I have a group of friends who get together every month to play board games, and the kids are just getting to an age where they sometimes join us. DD doesn't so much, because she's so focused on playing with the other girls, but I think she's being somewhat influenced by seeing that Mom and Dad play games. She loves Forbidden Island at home (she "plays" with her brother, which is largely moving for both of them and telling him not to touch the components), and she likes to play Dominion and Thunderstone with me. I just got a copy of Agricola to play with her, but I haven't opened it yet.

Zen, you might try bringing home a strategy game or two and playing them at home with family first. "Killer Bunnies" is a great starter strategy + plenty of luck game that is not only fun but the color text is hilarious. It's appropriate for just about any age group.

For anyone that is the parent of a child who can't get enough gaming, you'll be a hero and you'll see your kid as if in a candy store if you plan a weekend vacation to GenCon, billed as "The Best 4 Days in Gaming!" It's the largest gaming convention in the world, held in Indianapolis each August.

Yep-- my DD has finally found a social peer group through RPG. (Role playing Gaming)

D&D, for us old folks.

Now, there has been an explosion of RPG's, so you have to inquire carefully about anything that might not be okay for a tween/young teen. Some of the 'adult' games very definitely have adult content.

My daughter plays D&D, Pathfinder, has played Pokemon, and has developed RPG's with friends.

There are regional conferences aplenty on both coasts, by the way-- just noting that for those of us who are far from Indy.

It used to be Pokemon! Now it's Magic the Gathering and Minecraft. At the summit two years ago, some teen boys kindly taught him how to play Magic. Now he plays at local tournaments at least once a month, skypes with other DYS friends to play online and constantly rearranges his cards. The Saturday at lunch tournaments tend to be more PG-rated with lots of moms and dads and teen/tweens, rather than the 21+ crowd on Friday nights.

We also play Killer Bunnies and Munchkin at home a lot.

I've run strategy game events on both a local and national level now for about 10 years, since my eldest DS was 8. Both sons have moved on from playing in tournaments but still love playing casually. Despite their lack of involvement, I still run events and I'm just stunned at the amount of highly intelligent and creative youth that frequent there. A lot of 2E kids.

One of the great things about many if not most gaming stores is that most of the kids seem to have obvious quirks, however, they all KNOW they have obvious quirks and so most everyone simply accepts each other's quirks, even joke about their own. There also isn't any age discrimination in gaming. I'm 50 and I can get whooped by an 8 year old who knows the game well just as easily as I can an adult. Kids like that, they're treated with respect because of their gaming ability, not because of their age.

Nothing quite like a science fiction/gaming convention to realign a kid's perception of what "normal" is or the value of regular bathing.

Good point, Old Dad, Killer Bunnies and Munchkins, neither somehow in my collection (said with only minor avarice.) But the idea with the store is seeing other kids there and if that has an extra draw for him. I hear Harvard looks at DCI ranking (Magic tourney system. )

My little boy loves Pokemon cards and video games. He was playing little big planet at age 3 and creates levels and stuff. He plays with our Neighbors kids who are 2 and 6 years older than him. They love to play with him cause he's so good. He has beaten a few Zelda games alone at age 4 & 5. I would love to get him into a group to play Pokemon and magic like you have done. He's a very social kid and loves finding people with his gaming interests.

We let our 12-year-old get a 3-month subscription to XBox Live for the summer, and we found numerous benefits. The social interaction with his friends was very nice, and he fell in love with Minecraft. The planning and strategy involved, as well as his role as the "leader" of the group of boys has resulted in more successful planning in all but one of his classes thus far this year.