It’s been a while since I did a play with your kids post and I really miss it. Pea and I have been playing a number of different games together, but none have really stuck (or replaced) the way that Ni No Kuni or Animal Crossing have. When I started playing Pokemon X a couple of weeks ago I made a conscious effort not to play the game with Pea because I thought the game was too difficult for her considering the facts that she is still a beginning reader and that the game involves breeding and genetics that still baffle even me. And then it happened. She snuck up on me while I was playing and said, “What are you playing, Mama?” and I had to tell her the truth. And then I had to show it to her.
We spent the next hour with her standing between my knees watching me explore and battle other Pokemon trainers. She chose the Pokemon that we should catch and she named them. We read about their traits and talked about the various types of Pokemon and which types were best for fighting which. And then we took our hypotheses to battle. We had a blast. When we were done she asked the dreaded question, “Can I play this on my game?” and I had to answer in the negative, explaining that this was a game that it was better if we played together so that we could help each other. So that I could read the traits and stats (as well as the tons of dialogue) and that she could name the Pokemon (that was kind of the hardest part) and help me choose which Pokemon to send into battle. And rather than getting a tearful reply she was excited about the idea of working together to fight “the bad guys”.
Pokemon X/Y also has some fun little mini games that you play to strengthen your connection to your Pokemon, like catch the yarn ball, a puzzle game, and feed your Pokemon treats that would be great to let her play on her own and she would probably enjoy them a whole lot more than I do (I find them boring), but I have to admit that I like playing with her lap co-op to battle the bad guys and catch the Pokemon…even if her initial answer for most battles is “Pikachu!”. I just keep lots of Revive items around for Manchu (our Pikachu) and roll with it. In short, if you have a kidlet who is a little too young to play Pokemon alone (and you secretly want to try it yourself), lap co-op is definitely the way to go. You get to talk about the features of certain elements and the effects that they have on other elements via Pokemon (i.e. water v. fire, fire v. plants) and you can get into some basic discussions of genetics even. Pea has yet to ask “how” the Pokemon breed, but I guess I better prepare an answer for that one too!
