Video games + Smash Bros Brawl

You guys like video games, right? I know you do.

I have been pondering how to get more of us together more often to play console games, both old and new. (Why console games specifically? Well, manbegetsgod already hosts a semi-regular LAN party for PC games, so I’m not sure PC games require further representation. Also, keep reading…)

I have a large collection of classic games able to be hooked into my projector system, and bucket loads of nostalgia related to them. I know I’m not the only one. I was trying to think of a scheme that might interest people to get together and play them as a group, and I came up with a couple of ideas.

At first, I thought it might work to have an anime-night-style voting system where people choose the games to play. But upon further reflection I’m not sure it would be so good. I don’t want to create another weekly obligation—maybe once a month, or just sporadically—and I also don’t think it would work well with rigid time restrictions per game.

In addition, I think it would be fun to expose ourselves to more “new” (to us) games. So instead, how about:

1. Choose a system (e.g., we could start with the NES).
2. List all multiplayer games officially released in the U.S., alphabetically.
3. Play each game on the list, in order, until we are bored with it.
4. Repeat for as many sessions as it takes to get from A to Z.
5. Do it again with another system.

Games that suck would only be played for a short time. Awesome games might take hours until we move on. Single player games would be excluded because we don’t really want to sit there while one person plays through FF6, though we could make exceptions.

Other ideas:

• Note any games that are fun enough to warrant further play on a “good games” list.
• Going further, we could each vote on the game after trying it, keep running totals of all the game ratings, and post them on the web (just what the Internet needs: another game review site).
• If enough people want to participate, hook up multiple monitors so that everyone can get more play time, and we can explore games more quickly.
• People anticipating certain games can show up when we are getting close in the alphabet.
• We can occasionally play modern console games and PC games, too—whatever is most fun.

Another thing I like about this idea is that it requires very little preparation on anyone’s part, meaning it wouldn’t detract too badly from my other projects. I am still planning to have another Jolt Cola Cup—preparations just got put on hold for a while, but I haven’t given up on it. And I want to run a D&D 4E campaign after it is released later this year (but starting no earlier than autumn).

Maybe no one else is inclined to do this. But even so, I also want to let you know about my other crazy plan. I have a copy of Super Smash Bros Brawl preordered from Amazon. The game is released on Sunday, March 9, so hopefully I’ll receive my copy by the evening of Monday, March 10. I am going to take some days off work—probably March 10-12—to feast on the game. During that time, my house will be open for anyone else wishing to play. The game has both PvP and co-op modes, so should be fun times no matter what your inclination.

“There is no right and wrong. There’s only fun and boring.”
—The Plague, “Hackers”