Hello everyone! I’ll be back tomorrow, but enjoy today’s guest post by Alex. I’m new to his blog, but he had me at girl gamers. Enjoy the post and remember, tomorrow is the last day to enter my laptop giveaway! Happy reading!

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Hello everybody! My name is Alex Roda and it’s a pleasure to be guest blogging for Jenn. Thank you again, it’s a fantastic honor to blog here! I’ve always made time to stop by and as you probably already know, Jennifer likes Nintendo. Like a lot. That’s pretty awesome because I personally grew up on Nintendo and there’s no doubt in my mind how awesome their games are. What’s especially noteworthy however, is not that Jennifer enjoys playing Nintendo games, but that she’s a girl too!

Notoriously video games have been a male dominated sport over the years. You’d think Nintendo would respect me more because I’ve been playing since I was a little kid but nope, Wii Fit just calls me fat and asks me if I trip when I try to walk. Maybe it does that because I’m a boy. I did own a pink Nintendo DS at one point before giving it away, no big deal whatevs, but I guess the point is that right now everybody is crazy for Nintendo. Even girls!

I gotta say as a long time gamer, girls, welcome to the party. I’m not one of those guys who thinks video games should be male dominated because well, it’s been that way for far too long. Way too much testosterone. One issue is that video games sometimes take precedence over showering for guys. Then again we all have our priorities. Girls however, you’re an entirely new breed of gamer, not the same type that likes shooting people online. Ok well maybe sometimes, but I digress many people these days want clean simple fun. That’s probably why we gravitate to games like Wii Fit, and then later cry while eating a tub of ice cream. Not that I would know of course.

All of this being said, I understand it can sometimes be a challenge for a girl to play video games. When you walk into a room to see a couple guys staring at a TV, shooting people, and yelling “Go this way! Go that way! Go home!”, it will be no doubt daunting. In the end though, I just want to play games with friends. Contrary to belief, I do have a few friends who are girls. I swear they’re not my mom. Anyway, here’s a couple rules and things to expect for girls during your first time.

Rule #1.) It might hurt a bit. What I mean is that some video games are hard and you need to accept that defeat is completely acceptable, as long as you get back up! If your boy toy guy friend is smart, he won’t throw you right into the frying pan. However if he does, he’s probably just trying to show you what he thinks is fun. You might not agree, in fact probably frustratingly so, but I’d say definitely give it a shot before giving up. The games that men have been playing for decades can be scary, tough as nails, and violence filled, so I recommend staying away from them.  However, if you do find yourself in a dark corner armed with a only chainsaw, just give it your best. The sooner you beat that game, the sooner you can move on to something more lady like. A few fantastic suggestions are games like Wii Sports and Mario Kart.

Rule #2.) This is mostly for the guys playing with their gal pals, but don’t be a jerk. I cannot emphasis that enough. What’s more frustrating than a hard game is watching someone else dominate you. Sure some guys can kill a hundred zombies with just their fists, but that’s going to be much more than intimidating for a newcomer. No matter what video game you play, both people absolutely have to work together. If your male friend is yelling at you to pick up ammo, follow him around corners, shoot this guy, split up, and ends up leaving you alone in the middle of the darkness, well that’s not very fun is it? Like I was arguing before, video games have been boys dominated for a long time and  we’re kinda used to blowing stuff up.  Keep in mind that many girls are new, so go easy and most of all work together!

In the end I’m pretty sure I’m a guy, but I speculate that it’s quite difficult being a girl gamer.

Of course I’m also an awful stereotyping person for writing all of this stuff about men and women but if you learn nothing else, remember that video games are supposed to be fun for everybody. As long as you keep things that way by being mindful of your partner, you will enjoy it all the more.

Now who’s up for some Mario Kart?

Oh and if you’d like to get away from the TV for a moment, throwing bananas at cars is just as fun in real life. Trust me, I know.

Wanna read more of my nerdy thoughts, discuss the meaning of life, or send me hate mail? Perhaps all at the same time?  Feel free to say hello over at AlexRoda.com

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