Feels strange to say this, but I’ve never been one for playing games on my PC before (I don’t know why, probably because I got whupped at PONG back in the early 1980’s and I’m a crazy bitter loser). But lately I’ve seen kids playing endlessly for hours on their phones and tablets, so I thought I’d investigate and see what all the fuss is about.

And oh boy, am I glad I did…

My little grandson Elliott (from hereinafter forevermore also known as ‘The Kid’) brought me a game round (it’s his half term holidays) and rather than just let him amuse himself in a corner for eight hours, I thought I’d throw down a challenge.

“Beat me without cheating, kid, and it’s pepperoni pizza night”

“Can we not play for cash, granddad?” He’s nothing, if not smart this boy!

“NO! Not again”

The Kid cleaned me out last half term holidays

“Can you play Hyperbrawl, grandy?”

I could barely pronounce the damn thing never mind play it

“NO! There can be no Grand Theft or Capital Larceny, or anything inappropriate that your mom will slap me silly for getting you involved in”

“OK”

“Are you setting me up again?

“How so granddad?”

“Like when you played me off against your mum and dad. That time when I bought you the adult astronomy stuff and they made me take it back straight away”

“No granddad. I brought you an age appropriate game this time”

He must’ve seen my chest pump out with pride

“Good boy. What does that mean?”

“It means you can play too?”

“Really? What’s it called?”

I could see the mischief twinkling in his six year old eyes

“It’s especially for Ben Shingers”

“Eh? Who the bloody hell is Ben Shingers”

He showed me the cover and pointed to an old bearded baldy man in a wheelchair

“See. Ben Shingers. Old Age Ben Shingers.”

“Pensioners! PENSIONERS, you cheeky little monkey”

Well, to cut a long story short, he introduced me to the world of “COFFIN DODGERS” a remarkable computer game where the elderly residents of the Sunny Pines Residential Home evade the clutches of the Grim Reaper in their electric mobility scooters. And sure enough, I’m hooked now for life.

I may not have played competitively since the Maghull and Lydiate Atari SpaceWar Championships of Spring ’83, but I’ve confiscated his Nintendo handheld thingamajig (for his own good) and I’ll be practicing like a pro between now and Monday (when the Kid returns)

The artwork and characters are beautifully creative, dark but wickedly comedic (even if one or two seem to be based entirely on ME!) and for once I can recommend a game that’s not an out and out shoot ’em up and does NOT encourage kids to slaughter for the fun of it (my pet grouch at the moment in light of all the violence worldwide)

Coffin Dodgers is a genuinely fun game to get involved in, and one I’ll be playing for the next two weeks (or until The Kid’s parents come round to save me)

See more at the website:

http://www.coffindodgersgame.com

It’s utterly brilliant 🙂

©XMG

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