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http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News Blogs Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Multimedia Photo Gallery Readers Photo Gallery Sports Tempo Weather Road Cams Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Distinctly Northwest Readers' Choice Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend March 10, 2007 Family game night, version 2.0 The Washington Post WASHINGTON — Video games in Genevieve Woche's household used to be strictly kids-only. The adults weren't invited, and they weren't interested anyway. These days, it's a family affair. On a recent weeknight, kids from the Rockville, Md., neighborhood piled into the family's living room, dancing and taking turns playing a guitar game plugged into the PlayStation. Some took turns at Dance Dance Revolution in another room. While Genevieve's daughters, Emily and Laura, played against each other on the toy guitars, their mom kept singing the words to the game's Van Halen and Cheap Trick songs, over the girls' protests. Genevieve, a real estate agent, grew up in this house. In the '70s, she played Monopoly, Scrabble or Risk in these rooms. But these days, the board games stay in the closet, and Genevieve says she doesn't miss them. Video games get a bad rap for their addictive and sometimes isolating properties, but for Genevieve's clan, they are the catalyst for a raucous family evening like this about every week or so. "These are the songs I loved when I was growing up," she said. "I like playing it, but it's just as fun to watch someone else if you're not the one playing." Advertisement Parents and kids playing together started when the first generation of gamers got older and had kids who are now old enough to play games. But, as some more active types of games have been catching on, they're also bringing in a lot of new fans who never cared for the things before. Shawn Hirsch, a dad in Gaithersburg, Md., said he always thought of himself as an "anti-video-game guy" until he saw Nintendo's new Wii system, the one that has players on their feet and swinging their arms to play. Now he's spending time with his daughters, playing video game versions of tennis and bowling with his 7-year-old daughter almost every night after dinner. She now knows just about everything about the two sports, though she got a bit of a surprise when they went to a bowling alley and found that it wasn't quite as easy to play in the real world. Hirsch said he has started to keep track of promising-looking new releases for the system. He'd much rather see one of his kids playing with the Wii than watching TV "on the couch like a potato." Some parents say playing games is a rainy-day way to pursue their real-world hobbies with their kids. Bruce Richardson races and tinkers with his Porsche when it's nice outside. When it isn't, he races and tinkers around with virtual cars on the PlayStation 2 with his 11-year-old son, Mark. Modifying cars in the games sometimes gives them ideas for what they want to do with the Porsche. Right now, they're working on the car's exhaust system, upgrading it as they upgraded the cars in their racing games. "The game gives us stuff we can think about with the real car," he said. "It leads the way, in a sense." Would you like to respond to this story? If so Click Here to visit our forums. Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2007 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems Online Casino Reviews Trunks, Footlocker Fundraisers UK Homeowner Loans Casinos Canada Cord Blood Banking Discount Hotel Reservations Texas Electric Choice Compare Electric rates in Texas Windermere Van Vleet Men's Clothing Debt Help New Hampshire Primary