Big_Dog Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 Hi all, As I've said, our troop is brand new and way out in the sticks of central Texas, so we have not seen the current magazine. Is it true Boys Life featured video games this month? After reading the other threads, I would be interested to get y'alls take on that! BD P.S. how 'bout them Cowboys??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eamonn Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 Hi Mr Big Dog, Welcome to the forums. I know that I looked at this months Boys Life, but I can't remember the cover. Boys Life does on a regular basis cover video games and rates them. While I am not much of a player, I can remember a few years back standing in line for the pokeman?? stuff. For my OJ's (My Son) Gameboy. I don't know what you mean by my take on it? I have never played any of the "Adult Rated" games. However some years back did get hooked on one game which took me months to complete I think it was called Lint or something like that. Most kids and a lot of adults really like these games and they are part of our culture. Many Scouters want nothing to do with them and feel that all who play them are going to hell in a handbag. While I feel that they do little for social interaction, and do in some cases prevent kids from going into the great outdoors. They are fun. They do need to be played with in moderation. Just think how great it would be if we could get the Scout Handbook so it could be viewed on a Game Boy. Eamonn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob58 Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 Actually National was supposed to circulate a CD of Scouting (CUB?) related activities this summer for Fall round up (Recruiting.) has anyone seen one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
River2K Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 Big_dog, welcome. I haven't read the article but I have the issue in front of me. The title is "Pick a Platform" and the article seems to be about the different video game platforms, i.e. Xbox, gamecube, PS2, etc. The article doesn't review any specific video games, other than mentioning a few titles and their associated graphics. I love Boy's Life. It's always got great articles. Video games are big with today's kids. I'm glad to see the editors talking about this subject. It will really get some kid's attention. Why can't they produce a game based on a Scouting adventure? That would be an excellent premise for a video game. I would buy it! Ken . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsteele Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 To answer Bob's question -- I'll have to look for my last Boy's Life to address the question from Texas -- yes. National did issue a CD for Cub Scout recruitment last fall and this fall. Unfortunately, they charge 55 cents each and a lot of councils don't have the money to buy one for every potential youth. My council was fortunate enough to get 5,000 as a pilot exercise. If you're interested in one, I can see if we have one left and send it to you. Send me a private message and I'll let you know. DS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sctmom Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 National also distributed a computer CD for the troop level. I didn't look at the one I had, just passed it on to the troop. It came in a sleeve that looked like a backpack. From what I gathered, the boys could create a disk that showed the things their troop did and how cool scouting was. Then they would share that disk with their friends. It was aimed at 11 and 12 year old scouts. I never did get my hands on the Cub scout disk, as much as I tried. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mschwartz Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 Our Pack had enough copies of the Cub Scout CD last year to give one to each new Tiger. So my younger son had a copy. He loved it. My older son (a Bear at the time) gave it a try but wasn't terribly impressed - and from other reports it seems that the CD, while at least hypothetically aimed at all of the Cubs, was most appreciated by the Tigers and Wolves. Marietta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleBeaver Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 If I'm interested in video games and platforms, I can read a gaming magazine. If I'm interested in scouting I can read Boys Life. I was disappointed to see such a big chunk of that issue devoted to gaming platforms. Gaming, as Eamonn mentioned, is part of the current culture - but it does not need to be promoted through scouting. It is one major reason we have a growing problem with youth obesity - The average kid in the United States spends 14 hours a week watching television and seven hours a week playing video games. Some Canadian statistics: 1996 statistics showed nearly 30% of boys were overweight compared to 15% in 1981. Obesity among boys aged 7 to 13 nearly tripled to 13.5% over the 15-year period between 1981 and 1996. For more articles, go to google.com and search for: youth obesity video games Paul PS: I really liked the recent article about winter camping in the Rockies where the military trained! Boys Life usually has some very interesting articles and both my boys read it, especially the dumb joke page. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eamonn Posted October 25, 2003 Share Posted October 25, 2003 Hi mn-scout I may be out of order. But I kind of think that you have a down on Boys Life promoting Video Games. The magazine is a magazine for Boys, not just members of the BSA. While I really don't have any great interest in "Whats New In Video Game Land" There are a lot of kids who are. In the case of my son. A few years back having the newest and latest game was important to him. It was just a phase. Since then we have lived through him filling up every hard drive with really bad music. (And me deleting the songs with foul language.) We are still in disagreement about if a really cool cell phone is a matter of life and death!! We agree that a good quality CD player is a matter of life and death. Just as long as it doesn't play songs with foul language. He was late coming home last Sunday so I have taken the internet card out of his laptop. All of this "Mod con" stuff and guess what he wants for Christmas? A good pair of hiking boots. I tend to think that part of our role in Scouting is to broaden the horizons of the lads that we come into contact with. We do this by providing a program that is both challenging and fun. Eamonn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
packsaddle Posted October 25, 2003 Share Posted October 25, 2003 I occasionally frighten the boys by mentioning that my favorite video game of all time is 'The Little Mermaid'. I use it as a kind of scoutmaster 'shock and horror' tactic. The skeptical ones are usually persuaded by my subsequent in-depth description of bubble swishing strategy (no lie). Keeps 'em wondering for a long time. Once in a while one will sneak over and ask to borrow it. Tee hee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eamonn Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 Packsaddle I must have missed that one. Do you think that that the "Bubble swishing strategy" could be incorporated into a merit badge? If so which one? Then again maybe bubble swishing might be better as a Cub Scout activity. Heck it sounds like fun. I might let my hair down and join in. Eamonn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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