My first game

[Mike Cl]

Don't know why, but I was thinking about this today.  Maybe it was Hydra's offhand comment--I wouldn't even be playing games now except for XCOM.  I think I was born into gaming.  My first remembered game was Go Fish.  I remember playing Authors in the first grade.  And Old Maid in both school and home.  My mom and dad were game players, so we always had games at home.  My first board game that I remember was Pollyanna (much like Sorry).  Dad liked poker, so I learned that fairly early.  My grandparents taught me pinnacle and Rummy 500.  And solitaire, as well.

But when my mom and dad took on three of my male cousins permanently, suddenly there was a large group to always be interested in a game of some sort.  We played the hell out of Careers, Clue and Risk.  Played checkers, Chinese checkers and chess a bit as well.  Played a southern game of Rook, Boorah, and learned canasta and somba (3 deck canasta) at that time as well. 

Then in high school I stumbled across Tactics II, a war strategy game--then found the Avalon Hill Company and their line of war games and I was in heaven--except finding playing partners for those games was not easy; but found one guy and played the hell out of D-Day.  Created my own game of baseball--later stumbled upon APBA and Strat-O-Matic and started playing them--got into some early play-by-mail baseball leagues. 

In college I played a bunch of hearts, pinnacle and spades.  Started playing a little bridge, as well.  The next big thing I discovered when I was discharged from the Army--D&D, especially solo dungeons.  I have love dungeon divers ever since (including the Cave, an early IBM all text exploring game)--computers were a huge draw for me from the beginning. 

Basically, games are simply part of my DNA; computers allow me to play all types of games without trying to track down playing partners.  But in the baseball gaming side, there are now hundreds of leagues to choose from; I have settle on 3 greats ones at the moment--been in one for over 25 years.

Anybody else have gaming in their DNA?

[Hydra009]

My very first game was Galaga.  I loved that game, but for some reason, a lot of the arcades I went to only had Galaxian.  Boo!  Hiss!

I played the old school DOS/AppleII games at first.  Oregon Trail.  Odell Lake.  Star Control (I was awful at it!)  Sopwith.  Defender.  And oh my IPU did I love Scorched Earth.

I eventually got a NES, and I loved Mario Bros and Tetris.  I played the hell out of Tetris.

And as much as I loved the newer, flashier, console games, I always kept an eye out for new computer games.  You remember those old disks you could buy in the bargain bin with like dozens of crappy games bundled together?  I got those.  I hated most of them, but still held out hope for some reason.

Then came X-COM and Command and Conquer, one practically right after another.  Those two absolutely blew me away.  X-COM with its engrossing melding of strategy and tactics, Command and Conquer with its stellar cutscenes and voice acting.

X-COM was great because you legitimately had no idea what you were getting into - it was wondrous and terrifying at the same time.  For those of you who never experienced it firsthand, encountering a Chrysalid for the first time was like that Chestburster scene in Alien, that's exactly how my brother and I reacted, too.  Absolute terror followed by a visceral revulsion and a righteous hatred that burns hot to this very day.  You will never ever forget your first Chrysalid wipe.  No amount of overkill is too much for those...things.

I played UFO Defense out to like 2068 or something, which was like hundreds of hours of gameplay.  I researched everything.  Back then, you didn't know exactly what you were looking for, and kinda just had to puzzle it out, stunning random aliens on the hopes of some "interrogation" payoffs.  That game was a gigantic mystery box and I loved it.  I even read the novelization during summer camp.  It was actually really good, imo.

That game single-handedly set me on a path of strategy gaming that I will remain on as long as I draw breath.

[aileron]

I haven't played computer games in years, but when I did, I preferred the text-based RPGs. Suspended from Infocom was great.

[Mike Cl]

I haven't played computer games in years, but when I did, I preferred the text-based RPGs. Suspended from Infocom was great.

Yeah, I do remember those.  Did you play Zork?  And I remember the first Ultima as being all text. 

[josephpalazzo]

When I bought my first computer, the vintage Commodore 64, there were no games or software available, so I programmed a version of Pacman using BASICS - I don't think that computer language exists anymore. Anyway, it was way too slow compared to the real game. So I gave it up. Now the only game I play is chess against a chess engine. I must say that my game has improved quite a bit.

[drunkenshoe]

My very first game was Space Commanders, remember that? I was 8-9 I guess. I remember playing Alley Cat, Prince of Persia...etc.

But the first games I really enjoyed were Civ 2, Heroes of Might and Magic II -though I played III much much longer, needlessly to say- then Caesar II and Dune 2000.

[SGOS]

I can't remember my first game, but some of Mikes came back to me.  I remember Authors, but the only author that I remember learning about was Mark Twain.  I could probably guess at some of the others that were in the deck, but I cannot remember at all how you played the game, or what you had to do to win.

Today, gaming is all about computer gaming, and I have to admit it's stunning.  I also think computer gaming is better.  Why else would I be playing them at my age?  But I do have a soft spot for board and card games, at least as part of my memory.  All of my friends had shelves or closets stacked with board games.  I think every family did, and I remember my parents and their friends laughing and playing board games in the living room after I was put to bed.  I think some of those games still have merit, but the world is different, and most of those games are borderline collectables now.

[Mike Cl]

I can't remember my first game, but some of Mikes came back to me.  I remember Authors, but the only author that I remember learning about was Mark Twain.  I could probably guess at some of the others that were in the deck, but I cannot remember at all how you played the game, or what you had to do to win.

Today, gaming is all about computer gaming, and I have to admit it's stunning.  I also think computer gaming is better.  Why else would I be playing them at my age?  But I do have a soft spot for board and card games, at least as part of my memory.  All of my friends had shelves or closets stacked with board games.  I think every family did, and I remember my parents and their friends laughing and playing board games in the living room after I was put to bed.  I think some of those games still have merit, but the world is different, and most of those games are borderline collectables now.

Authors is much like Old Maid or Go Fish, in that the object is to collect all four of a specific author; the object is to collect more sets than anyone else.

I too, still love board and card games.  But finding a playing partner(s) is very difficult, especially for the complicated ones like war games or Rail Baron, or Acquire, or even Facts In Five. 

[aileron]

Yeah, I do remember those.  Did you play Zork?  And I remember the first Ultima as being all text. 

Yes, I played Zork too. I liked the Ultima series too.

[aileron]

When I bought my first computer, the vintage Commodore 64, there were no games or software available, so I programmed a version of Pacman using BASICS - I don't think that computer language exists anymore.

It does. The most popular flavor is Microsoft Visual Basic. It uses the old standby Basic syntax alongside modern additions.  As far as Commodore,  you can run an emulated C64 and have it take you to the Commodore Basic prompt.

[josephpalazzo]

It does. The most popular flavor is Microsoft Visual Basic. It uses the old standby Basic syntax alongside modern additions.  As far as Commodore,  you can run an emulated C64 and have it take you to the Commodore Basic prompt.

Thanks for the info. I don't have that Commodore 64 - should have kept, would be worth a fortune today. On another note, I wrote my thesis using FORTRAN and three decks of cards on a computer the size of a small house, the IBM 360. Today's iphone has more power than that computer. LOL.

[Munch]

My first game was this one.

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Ah the old commodore 64, 1988, games on tape cassettes, taking 5-10 minutes to load each time.

[Baruch]

1. First digital game ... Pong, at the bowling alley.

2. First home computer game ... on Tandy CoCo ... Missile Defense.  Also wrote my own simulation of a Mesopotamian economy, in Basic

3. First HS computer ... HP3000 timeshare, with ASW-33 teletype.  Programs stored on paper tape.  Simple turn based Star Trek game available

4. First College computer ... DEC 10 mainframe ... accessed initially thru IBM cards, later by terminal.  Supported Mössbauer spectrometry analysis

5. First Work computer ... VAX 11/780 ... supported classified engineering analysis (in Fortran).

[Mike Cl]

1. First digital game ... Pong, at the bowling alley.

2. First home computer game ... on Tandy CoCo ... Missile Defense.  Also wrote my own simulation of a Mesopotamian economy, in Basic

3. First HS computer ... HP3000 timeshare, with ASW-33 teletype.  Programs stored on paper tape.  Simple turn based Star Trek game available

4. First College computer ... DEC 10 mainframe ... accessed initially thru IBM cards, later by terminal.  Supported Mössbauer spectrometry analysis

5. First Work computer ... VAX 11/780 ... supported classified engineering analysis (in Fortran).

My first work computer was a Tandy.  Used it to write simple BASIC programs for math and science for HS aged students.  First game on it was Dig Dig Dug

[Baruch]

My first work computer was a Tandy.  Used it to write simple BASIC programs for math and science for HS aged students.  First game on it was Dig Dig Dug

Dig Dug, at a restaurant waiting area (moved on from the bowling alley, the independent gamer hang outs, the gamer hang outs at the mall, the game machines in the grocery store (everyone wanted you quarters)).  That was a "hot" game.