Gaming for Mrs Pants

Post by **Dog Pants** » May 20th, 2006, 12:21

An idea I've had to stave off the 'you spend too much time on that computer' discussion is to hook up my laptop to my PC and play something together with Mrs Pants. Her gaming has been limited to Solitaire, MahJong and Tekken on the PS1 - all simple stuff, so nobody need suggest Eve

I know Woo has asked about this before so I'll try and dig out that thread but in the meantime has anyone any suggestions?

EDIT: Oh yeah, if I WFTPWN her at every game she'll soon get bored so something I'm likely to be as crap as her at would be good (first one to suggest CSS/COD/UT2004 gets SNPGd).

Post by **Dr. kitteny berk** » May 20th, 2006, 12:25

BF2!

Chickenz · Post by **Chickenz** » May 20th, 2006, 12:26

Dr. kitteny berk wrote:BF2!

pfft his idle threats scare me not CSS???

Post by **Dog Pants** » May 20th, 2006, 12:32

Hehehe, it was inevitable I suppose.

Chickenz · Post by **Chickenz** » May 20th, 2006, 12:34

Dog Pants wrote:Hehehe, it was inevitable I suppose.

is she bothered by anything, like shooty games or gore? What about splinter cell chaos theory for teh coop, that could really ruin your marrige.

Post by **tandino** » May 20th, 2006, 12:34

What about something that needs a bit of thinking with a bit of humour? I'm thinking the Monkey Island series. They'll run on pretty much any 'puter now and thems wimmenfolk are a bit good at the lateral thinking thing...

Alternatively something like the Sims 1 or 2

Not quite two player co op games but you can both chip in to solve puzzles etc.

Or WoW, all my mates and their girlfriends play avidly. But beware, you will get addicted and so will she. Two accounts would allow for proper cooperation but it'd cost you.

Just a few to chew over!

Post by **Dr. kitteny berk** » May 20th, 2006, 12:40

personally, i'd say guildwars (prophecies, not factions)

a reasonable spec machine will run it fine (if not hyper-pretty) so should work on your laptop

also has the virtue of being coop, so you won't pwn her.

spoodie · Post by **spoodie** » May 20th, 2006, 14:55

http://www.5punk.co.uk/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2456

Duke of Ted · Post by **Duke of Ted** » May 20th, 2006, 15:23

How about CoH? Its easy to get into and it seems to be very popular with girlys.

Post by **Joose** » May 20th, 2006, 15:55

CoH, WoW and Guildwars are not bad suggestions, but if shes anything like my missis, the complexity of the guildwars combat would piss her off before she gets too far, and the idea of putting significant amounts of time it, like you do with MMO's, would strike her as silly.

Diablo 2 and Dungeon Siege were what got my missis into games proper. Theres co-op play, they are both fun, and both have a dead simple control system (manic clicking wins), plus the RPG style "collecting shiney sets of armour" and suchlike seems to appeal to her feminine shopping instincts.

You do have the possibility of your significant other become more of a beard than you, however. Mine ended up playing through Dungeon Siege almost entirely on her own.

Post by **Dog Pants** » May 20th, 2006, 16:11

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't like any of the MMONGs because they're all a bit too combat orientated for her and I don't know if she'd like interacting with other people online. Monkey Island could have been good, but I've tried her out on Grim Fandango and she got pissed off as soon as she got stuck and gave up. She's watched me play Diablo for hours on my laptop but never shown any interest in it, but I'm thinking a co-op game like that where I could help her out a bit if it got tricky might be the way forward. God only knows how she got to be any good at Tekken (I think she only enjoys it so she can laugh at me when she wins).

'tis a tricky one for sure, although she's professed that she'd play something with me on the PS1. Problem is I don't have one any more, so PC it is. I thought about getting her on BukkakeRO but the thought of installing it on my laptop made my brain cry.

EDIT: After making all these suggestions to her she seemed interested in the Sims but wants to play Co-op with me, and seemed willing to give Diablo/Dungeon Siege a go although I'm not sure she'll like them.

Post by **deject** » May 20th, 2006, 16:27

Another vote for Dungeon Siege 1 or 2 (2 has more pretty explosions, yay!).

Anhamgrimmar · Post by **Anhamgrimmar** » May 20th, 2006, 16:58

how about:

http://www.shopireland.ie/games/detail/ ... Stud-Farm/

Post by **Joose** » May 20th, 2006, 17:20

Anhamgrimmar wrote:how about:

http://www.shopireland.ie/games/detail/ ... Stud-Farm/

According to Amazon.com, that comes under the heading of RPG.

pixie pie · Post by **pixie pie** » May 20th, 2006, 19:14

Dog Pants wrote:I'm pretty sure she wouldn't like any of the MMONGs because they're all a bit too combat orientated for her and I don't know if she'd like interacting with other people online.

In my experience girls tend to like the interacting with other people a lot more in games, I can remember a girl I know saying "Oh I'd only play a game if I can meet people/do stuff with others" or along those lines. And I know at least 1 girl who has played WoW (No I didn't meet her in the game, because that would most likely be a "her"). So yeah, before you try and count it out, see if you can get hold of a trial for WoW, you never know; it appeals to many tastes.

wyrd · Post by **wyrd** » May 20th, 2006, 20:33

my girlfriend enjoys B&W2, Dungeon Keeper 2 and BF2.

though i'm not sure how well a lappy will cope with the former and the latter

Post by **Roman Totale** » May 20th, 2006, 20:49

Duke of Ted wrote:How about CoH? Its easy to get into and it seems to be very popular with manly types who look good in capes.

Post by **FatherJack** » May 20th, 2006, 21:24

Football Manager 2006

No?

okay:
My Mum - started playing to be with my Dad who's always in the computer room, terrified of the internet but overcoming it through the power of shopping. Owns a PC.
Likes: Card games, puzzle games (Boxworld, The Incredible Machine, Lemmings), Crosswords and Sudoku. She has an addictive personality rather like my own and is just recovering from a serious Freecell addiction. She disapproves of gambling, but would probably really enjoy online poker, although probably too much.
Also eBay isn't a game, Mum.
Hates: Football, Guns, FlightSims, Driving and Football.

Sister - Driving-game-obsessed husband, had PS1&2 before I did, has just aquired a PSP, never played much as a kid - always went on the bandits when we went to the arcade. Owns PS2, PSP and PC.
Likes: Puzzles (Lumines, Mercury, Puyo Puyo), Platform Hybrids (Sonic, Herdy Gurdy, Spiro), Driving Games (Gran Turismo, Moto GP, Driver, Pole Position - she completed the original), Some shooters (Splinter Cell and other PS2 Tom Clancy titles) and Grand Theft Auto.
Hates: Football, The Sims (despite owning it), Deathmatch FPS and Football

GF's daughter - Heavily influenced at a young age by me with Japanese-style console RPGs and platformers such as the original Duke Nukem and Sonic. Has PS2, XBox, Gamecube, GBA and PC.
Likes: Obvious cartoony Platform Hybrids (Zelda, Animal Crossing, Mario Sunshine, Sonic) but completes them too easily, has every Sims release (including around 20GB of downloads), has every Final Fantasy game, Driving Games in a non-competitive environment (ie: not when her BF has his mates round) (Gran Turismo, Need for Speed Underground, Juiced, Driver: Parallel Lines), GTA-style games (Grand Theft Auto, True Crime, Gun)
Hates: Football, Fighting Games (same reason as above), Card Games and Football.

Sticky Label · Post by **Sticky Label** » May 21st, 2006, 4:08

If you can connect them both to the internet, something like WoW or GuildWars is probably a good bet. If not, maybe try Sims 2 or something constructive but non-competitive.

Post by **Dr. kitteny berk** » May 21st, 2006, 4:17

Sticky Label wrote:something like WoW or GuildWars is probably a good bet. try something constructive but non-competitive.

This (though hacked up a bit)

halus and i tried playing baldur's gate 2 on the xbox. lasted about 2 hours until i showed her guildwars.

Put it this way, only half of my GW hours on xfire are mine...