Play the Game: The Parent's Guide to Video Games

Play The Game is geared towards college students and helping them brush up on gaming knowledge in preparation for the course ahead. This book is great for that as well as many other uses. It doubles as both a great study tool and a great read for parents to get in touch with their children who are gamers, looking to work in the industry or even to bond with their children on the same level. Play The Game goes very in depth as far as details regarding games and genre's as well as all the existing and previous console generations. It's broken down to simplicity for anyone to understand and appreciate. For college students it tells how the industry works, from young gamers to older gamers and how the games are made and what kind of time and effort goes into it. The book even goes into detail regarding High Definition and Standard Definition TV displays. This is a must have for any college student looking to become something in the industry as well as parents or even for gamers who enjoy a little coffee table read.

For parents who are looking to understand what their kids are up to this is a great book. Gaming isn't just for pasty faced kids in their parents' basement. Games can help educate and develop social skills. This book does a nice job of showing the wide ranging implications that games can have on kids. For parents who feel intimated by the latest and greatest consoles, this book does a nice job of explaining concepts clearly and evenly. If you used to play games back in the Atari 2600 days and then took a break this book will get you caught up in no time. If you are student, like myself interested in gaming this book can be a valuable resource for its extensive history. A definite add to your library.

A lot of parents remember the 'the old school' of gaming, even if they don't play any now. This book has some good examples of similarities between the 'then and now' and how things are different as well. It has some great references on how games today can be a small area where we can connect with our children even if we are not gamers our selves. As well as some information about the games that are attracting our kids today.

Most books about video games that are aimed at parents pick a side. Either video games are good for your child or they will warp your child forever. Not so with Play The Game. Play the game is the most balanced guide I've seen for parents. Play The Game is a fantastic guide book for parents who know nothing about video games, going over very basic things such as 'what's a controller' and 'what's it mean when my child says he's playing an "FPS"'. Simultaneously it also makes a excellent reference book for parents who play games themselves, offering insights into how to maximize your play time with your child. Play The Game's strength lies in not judging video games. The book seems to accept that games can be either a positive or negative force in a child's life and really focuses on helping parents ensure that games are positive for their child and their family. James Portnow Next-Gen

When it comes to parents and games, there is definitely a "disconnect;" it seems that there are two completely different cultures, that of the parents and that of the children. However, with the video game industry being over 35 years old now, it's worth noting that some of these parents were avid video game players back in the day. And while there are a lot of differences between the Pac-Man's and Defender's of yesterday and the nearly photo-realistic three dimensional games of today, there are also a lot of similarities. Furthermore, with a little bit of reference, it's possible to bring your knowledge of video games up to date. This is one of the things that Play The Game: The Parent's Guide to Video Games strives to do. I must admit that I hadn't expected that, but it makes perfect sense. Parents are used to talking to their children from an authoritative stance, which is hard to do when you have no clue what you're talking about. Play The Game can help with this by placing you on a more level playing field, if not giving you a bit of an leg up on the history of video games. Chapter One, "Where It All Begins," is devoted to delivering a crash-course in the history of video games, from "Tennis for Two," a game built using lab equipment and meant as a technology demonstration, to the advent of LAN parties, where a large number of computers are networked in order to play games. Chapter Two, "Games 101," continues the history lesson with more recent history, specifically, the most recent consoles, from the PlayStation 2 to the Wii. This chapter provides an explanation of a lot of basics that have become foundations of console gaming, such as Analog sticks, D-pads and Shoulder buttons. Chapter Two also explains the various modern videogame genres, the rating system, the market for the different types of games and what benefits some games have to offer. (Benefits from playing videogames? Gasp!? Yes, benefits.) Chapter Three, "You and Your Kids," is the point where Play The Game gets serious about its title and, having set the necessary infrastructure for understanding games, explores how parents and children can interact favorably and share the living room, as well as looking at different stages of development (specifically, Erik Erikson's stages of psychosocial development) and what games are appropriate for these stages. This chapter also looks at approaches to playing games if you've never played games before or if you haven't played since you were a kid, yourself. One interesting item explained in "You and Your Kids" is how, even when you're not playing, simply being in the room with your kids (when they're playing videogames) can help to open lines of communication, since children often communicate more freely when they're playing. Chapter Four, "The Social Game," addresses issues with social interaction of local players (such as your family members) and also social interaction with others via the Internet in online games, including Massive