On Sunday night we had one of our video game tournaments at the library and it was a very fun night. We were originally going to have what we were calling an old school video game night. We wanted to have a Nintendo, Atari, Sega, and maybe others in an attempt let the kids see some of the games that we grew up on, as well as some of their parents. Instead once we assessed the systems we had available it turned into more of a history of Nintendo night. We had a Nintendo Gamecube hooked up to our projection screen as well as two TVs using an original Nintendo and a Super Nintendo. All we did was hook these systems up, buy some pizza and let the kids in the door. Once the kids were in there was nothing for us to do but play with them and occasionally make sure the shy kids were getting a chance at the games as well. All the Kids had a blast playing. They all seemed to enjoy all of the games, both new and old.
One of the most interesting things I have noticed each time we do this are the parents’ reactions. When we first started hosting these I thought some of the parents might find them to be a waste of time or useless. However the reaction has been quite the opposite. When told about the tournaments, the parents are often more excited than the kids are. At the events the parents are very interested too. Some parents just use it as a time to get stuff done, either they stay at the library and do some work, or they come back when it is over to pick up the kids. However the majority of the parents like to participate. They will often stand behind the kids watching and laughing while asking all sorts of questions about how the games are played and what is going on. Many of the parents will actually join in on the games. Sunday night we had almost every parent playing one game or another whenever they could. One mother would actually trash talk with the kids she was playing against and would often forget that she should give her controller up at the end of the game to a kid who was waiting. All the parents however when the event is over are usually very thankful and glad that we hosted it.
These experiences just get more fun each time as we get used to hosting them. I would highly recommend trying one at any library because they are fun and they are a great way for the librarians to really get to know some of your teens and tweens as well as their parents.
