math & memory aka David's version of Pokeman

I have absolutely no desire to immerse myself in the Pokeman world. I don't want to know the characters' names, their hit points, or what happens when lightening strikes the little doggy. Don't care.

But David has fallen in love with Pokeman cards. He spent his first allowance money on a 10 pack. You need 60 cards to play their actual game, so he invented his own. Card X has 50 attack points. If card X attacks card Y, which has 120 life points, how many life points does card Y have left? (David starts moving his fingers and mumbling to himself.) 70! Remember that because we are going to attack card Y again in a later turn. I could do the math, but I couldn't handle remembering how many points we'd knocked off three different cards, so David made a scorecard, painstakingly writing out each creature's name as it got diminished. If I were going to homeschool, this is how I'd do it.

Whiz War

I so don't want to learn this game either. I've been fending off David's requests by saying I don't know how to play. He suggested I read the directions. John, Rose, and David have been playing this game for a couple weeks. I'm sure it's a really fun game full of logic and strategy and good old blowing things up for 10 points of damage, but it takes concentration. I want a game where I can read my magazine between turns. We played and I read all complex if/then clauses on the attack and counter-attack cards, for both of us.

light sabers in the closet

Now, this is a great game. David suggested we go in his pitch black closet under the eaves, turn on his glowing light saber and fight. I've been trying to teach him actual sword moves I know from aikido, but we settled for gentle clanks and getting scared with the lights went out. The light sabers looked great.