Tech Talk
By Tak Sato
When I started reading my new coffee-table book, “The Game Console” by Evan Amos last fall, I wasn’t surprised that Atari’s Pong was not the first widely-available game console. That distinction goes to the Magnavox Odyssey, circa 1972.
Playing games on smartphones and tablets has been around for more than a decade. Accessibility and the ease at which games can be played quickly probably surpass other forms of gaming and provide a common thread linking generations of game lovers.
Get to the Point
I can go on because growing up in Japan, I lived through the video-gaming craze and remember my dad bringing home the bright orange video game console: Nintendo’s version of Pong.
Right about now, my editor is thinking, “Enough geek talk and get to the tech talk.” The assignment was gaming and making a connection with grandkids. Sure, Millennials or Gen Z may call their grandpa a “retro” gamer, but one look in Google’s Play Store (apps for non-Apple devices) and Apple’s App Store (for iPhones and iPads) shows that retro gaming apps, both old games reborn and new games that have an ‘80s look, are quite popular.
Gaming is a way to connect with grandkids, and a lot of the games will look familiar. Try the Internet Arcade from the free Internet Archives (see side story). Here you can play thousands of arcade video games that date from the ‘70s. The games are not only nostalgic but they also provide an opportunity to share stories of when you were their age and played the original version of the arcade games. (Maybe on a beach vacation? At the roller skating rink?
As noted earlier, the way we play electronic games has changed over the decades. Devices such as smartphones and tablets can morph into your personal game console, right in the palm of your hands, through an app. As always-connected (to the cloud) devices, gaming apps can be played solo, with a partner who lives somewhere else, or side-by-side, each using his own device.
Emotional connectedness, made possible through the internet, is the best medicine for loneliness and social isolation. Gaming is a language every generation understands.
Games for your laptop
archive.org/details/internetarcade
Description (from their website): The Internet Arcade is a web-based library of arcade (coin-operated) video games from the 1970s through to the 1990s.
archive.org
Description (from their website): Non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites and more.
Games for Android (not iPhone/iPad) smartphone and/or tablet users
OpenGemmy: A very basic match-3 game.
- No ads
- Free
- No in-app pay
- A simple rule of match three of a kind (or four for bonus)
- Single-player game but grandkids will like it, too
DroidFish Chess: Play aggressive and dynamic chess with adjustable playing strength.
- No ads
- Free
- Single or two-player mode on one device
- A tool to teach the universal language of chess
BotSumo: A simple game that can be great fun when you have a few minutes to spare. Grab a friend & use the on-screen control, choose a bot, & push your opponent off the edge. It has ads but only costs $1.49 to get rid of them and to unlock all bots and levels.
SuperTuxKart: Karts. Nitro. Action! A 3D kart racing game with a variety of characters, tracks,and modes to play.
- No ads
- Free
- Single-player race or multiple players race
- Each on own Android tablet or smartphone
- Race over the internet when away from each other
- Race when connected to the same Wi-Fi
Games for iPhone and/or iPad users
StockFish Chess: Play aggressive and dynamic chess with adjustable playing strength.
- No ads
- Free
- Play against the machine, or play both sides
- A tool to teach the universal language of chess
Trainyard Express: Puzzle-solving game that is easy to learn but very tough to master. Get each train to a goal station. Red trains go to red stations, blue trains go to blue stations, etc.
- No ads
- Full “Trainyard” app with 100 more puzzles for only 99 cents
Mekorama: Help a tiny robot stumble home through 50 puzzling mechanical dioramas.
- No ads
- Play it for free for as long as you like then pay what you think it’s worth
Pro Tip: Buy gift cards for app purchases, ( Google Play or App Store iTunes) and apply to your account instead of using a credit or debit card to limit your exposure for online theft.
