Pacman & Bloxorz

I played 2 games this evening. The first was the classic Pacman. It's a game that can keep one intrigued and continuing to attempt to win. There's a clear goal and obstacles designed to prevent the player from achieving that goal. That competition is an important characteristic that many good video games possess.

The second game was Bloxorz. This was a math game I found online. Not being a math person, I'm not sure if this directly connects to any specific math content, but it is certainly a skill game that requires thinking on the part of the player. It provides an opportunity for the player to apply problem-solving skills to a situation.

Word Mole

On the way home from church this morning, I found myself playing Word Mole on my Blackberry (I wasn't driving!). I do this occassionally when I'm a bit bored or waiting to do something. On the screen, there are maybe 8 to 10 columns and rows of letters. The goal is to click on letters to create words. The larger the word, the more points the player receives. Each level is two-minutes and with each level, the player has to earn more points. I usually don't quit playing because I become bored, but rather because I "lose." I think especially being an English teacher, the game keeps me interested seeing how quickly I can find words to make, especially larger words, and seeing how far I can advance in the game. It becomes more challenging with each level, which keeps it interesting.

Around the World in 80 Days

Tonight, I played Around the World in 80 Days. It began with the player having to read a couple of slides of background information. There is dialogue between 2 main characters, but it could be skipped. Once the actual game began, the player had to swap adjacent objects so that there would be three in a row or column side-by-side. Once the player got the 3 object adjacent in a row or column, but the objects disappeared and point were awarded. The game did not hold my interest for very long. I expected it to be more of an exploration type game, and it wasn't. Part of my disappoint may have been that the game did not match my expectations.

First Gaming Blog

Welcome to my gaming blog! While this is my first post on this blog, it's not my first blog experience. I have a blog for my classroom where I post homework and important announcements daily. I also use blogspot and that is why the bottom of my posts say "Posted by Mr. Litteral!"

I have signed up for and "played around" in Second Life. However, I must admit I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing or what the purpose is! I don't play many games. It's not that I don't enjoy them, but rather I simply don't have the time because of my level of involvement in my school district.