I play Crush the Castle 2.
Whew, there, I said it. There is something strangely relaxing about destroying all those castles. The pitiful little sounds of the cardboard cut-out "people" when they go from being cartoons to being gravestones. The weird way that acid and fire work in random patterns. The way you can accidentally kill yourself with a really big rock. It is all very stress-relieving.
For those that have never played, and now think I am insane, it is a computer based game where you get to use a trebuchet to launch large objects at fake castles. The objects get more and more inventive the more castles you crush. You start out throwing a large log (snore) and end up getting to throw acid vials and timer detonated bombs (wow). You can accidentally kill yourself, and destroy your own trebuchet by launching your cargo too early. You get rewarded with gold medals (and more stuff to throw) along the way if you do odd things like "melt" more than 100 castle pieces at a time, or drop a parachute bomb directly on a jester's head. I am laughing out loud right now, just remembering the first time this happened. Weirdly enough, this never gets old.
So what , you might ask, does this do for your life, except waste it like so many other violent video games I try to keep away from my children? I could say that it teaches History: it uses a trebuchet. I could say it teaches hand eye coordination and timing skills: clicking the mouse at the right time is a difficult skill to master. I could say that it helps with your building and survival skills: understanding the castle's weak point would help in a earthquake. Humor: it is just damn funny. But the reality for me is it is a way to take out feelings of anger and destruction in a way that will not get me arrested.
I say this lightly now, but there have been days when I have used Crush the Castle to calm me so I could function. I would be wound up about something, usually involving my ex-husband and something I allowed to push my fear and insecurity buttons. I would feel victimized and afraid, and I would turn on Crush the Castle (available to you in two versions at Armor games, just sayin') and I could kill as many people as I needed to, completely envisioned with his face on the victims, until my body felt lighter. I will have laughed a few times (you have to hear the little screams to understand), and felt powerful over my fake 8.5 x 11 little world.
Maybe that's why some people garden, control on a long term scale. Playing in dirt and getting the chance to control what lives (the good plants, your own trebuchet guards) and what dies (the snails and the stupid harlequin dancing jester on the roof). Maybe that explains why quiet bullied kids play DOOM or World of Warcraft. (I don't know anything about video games, so if those titles sounded lame, forgive me.) But I wonder just how many other people are out there, like me, using distractions as tools. Farmville, Knighthood, online Chess or Bingo. In that context, is it a bad thing?
Here I am admitting that I have angry feelings towards things. I have found an outlet that keeps me from having to purchase a real gun. I don't really have any guilt about it, and that is a totally new thing, since I usually feel guilty about everything. I might have to explore that in another post. Will I still keep my kids from playing violent video games? You bet! I hope though, that I understand a bit more about outlets, and can learn to recognize them, and the need for them, in both myself and my children. I am thinking a silly sting fight needs to be organized really soon.
