Because of his interest in Pokemon, I took Alex to Gamescape North in San Rafael to participate in the Pokemon League.  Since he got a set of cards for is birthday in May he has been engrossed in them.

Initial Prejudice

As a child, I built a collection of animal cards - my parents got me a subscription where I got a new pack of cards every month.  I loved reading the cards and learning interesting facts about each one.  In addition, I played Dungeons and Dragons and loved games.  Seeing this Pokemon phenomenon develop as an adult, it looked to me like a waste of time – it was either a craze like Beanie Babies where the object was to amass a collection of meaningless merchandise or a fantasy escape for geeks.  I also remember that when I was in high school, it was the geeks that went into college for computer science – I loved computers but did not want to be labeled a “geek” so I studied architecture.  Eventually I found a way to combine my loves for architecture and computers but as a child I tried to keep my geekiness closeted.

The Pokemon League at Gamescape North

After finding it on the internet, I told Alex about the league meetings every two weeks just a few miles from where we lived.  He definitely wanted to go.  He had been trying to teach himself the rules of the game by reading a rule book but was a bit confused – I tried too – the rules weren’t that clear.  It seemed overly complex.  The league meets every two weeks and the next meet was going to be on July 4 – I called to make sure that they would be open on Independence Day and they were.  After going to a local parade and the pool we belonged to, Alex and I drove to Gamescape North.  We came in and went to the back of the store where they had a very organized rows of tables and adults who organized the leauge play.  Alex got a league card and signed up – all for free.  The league had a large library of card sets that you could use to play the game – Alex picked a set and then sat down with an adult “professor” who then taught him how to play.  I watched in amazement.  Slowly the back of the store filled up with about 15 kids and some parents.  The kids ranged in age from 8-16, mostly boys.  I watched Alex play his first game, learning the rules – I learned the rules as well.  He was having fun – he loved it. 

My First Game

While Alex was busy filling his league card by playing other opponents in the game, I wandered around the store seeing many interesting games, from Risk to Monopoly to puzzles and many Role Playing Games.  This looked like a fun place to me.  I wandered back to the game playing area and one of the parents asked if I would like to play (a mom of two kids who were there) and I agreed.  I got the hang of the game and actually had fun – even though I lost.  Throughout the game I was looking over to Alex who was playing a teenage boy and he was glowing!  I now felt confident that I could play this game with Alex.

As soon as Alex was done with his fifth game, we left Gamescape North with a new starter deck for me – so I could play with Alex.  Two weeks ago Alex heard that his cousins Kayla and Stephanie (both in college) had Pokemon card collections from their childhood – and that if they could find them they would give them to Alex.  He was so excited!  Today he’s going to get the collection.

What Alex Gets Out of Pokemon

As a parent, I want to encourage activities for my sons that will enrich them – that they will learn from and that they will have fun doing.  Looking at Pokemon I see many aspects that make it a game that I like:

• Pokemon is a game that you play with other people
• You use math and probability to play the game
• You use and develop strategy
• I can play it with Alex

Can you san “Green Eggs and Ham?”