So my four year old beat me at a video game

[Glengoyne]

I was playing this game that somebody posted here quite some time back. Flash circle TD. This is the flash game with creeps that circle around the screen, and the player installs turrets that kill the creeps.

So I take a few cracks at it, and get through about 38 levels. My son is watching, and wants to play on his own. SO I installed a tower, and showed him the basics. Cut to about ten minutes later, when I return to see if he has figured out how to restart the game. Instead...he is completely dominating the game. I laugh, and walk away. When I return, he is still dominating, and is approaching where I got killed. He is faring much better than I did.

On my third visit, he has clearly surpassed me. I never even showed him how to upgrade equipment, and he can't read. Some twenty minutes later, he has more than doubled my progress reaching level 81. I think he could have gone a little further, if he had a more coherent strategy....not that I really should be allowed to criticize him.

My wife believes that it is MUCH more likely that I suck than it is that he is exceptionally tallented. In any case...I'm actually proud.

[Danny]

Usually a child is much older before they surpass their father intellectually.

[JetsIn06]

Haha that's awesome. You got yourself a bright kid!

[Danny]

In seriousness, it's amazing what children can be capable of. That's a cool story :)

[Glengoyne]

Doh I just saw I didn't include the URL to the game.
hxxp://www.candystand.com/play.do?id=17995

As an update. I took another shot, and still fell a few levels short.

[Mota]

I see the same thing coming, and my son is also 4. I can still beat him pretty handily in any game, but lately I need to start trying a bit more to do it. I still let him win about 75% of the time but I make sure to beat him once in a while too so that he doesn't become a sore loser.

We were playing Marvel Ultimate Alliance and taking on one of the bosses. There's 4 good guys, we were controlling 1 each and the AI basically does nothing with the other 2 guys. I lost my first guy, then I take over another character. Lost the next one as well. That one dies too, I'm on my 3rd character and our last hope against the boss. Finally I lose all 3 guys and all there's left is my son's character. I start by giving him directions and he ends up taking down the boss all by himself (took down the last 50% of boss's health by himself which I couldn't even do with 3 characters).

The funny thing is that I was talking about hitting the "reset" button and he said "I can do it daddy!". These kids can really surprise ya! Guess that's what happens when they learn to walk and play video games at roughly the same time. :)

[spleen1015]

Fuck that. I would have killed the game before he was able to pass me. Then, never let him play again.

[Drake]

Welcome to adulthood! My kids so regularly embarrass me on video games, they don't even want to play with me anymore unless they need a sacrificial goat to stem the tide of zombie hordes or something.

[flere-imsaho]

LOL @ Drake. :D

[Maple Leafs]

My two-year-old isn't playing video games, but she regularly outsmarts me.

She got mad at me a few days ago because I was helping her draw a rainbow and I didn't know what "indigo" was. I was just pulling out random crayons. She eventually shoved me aside and did it herself.

[Drake]

My kids have been in an "old school" gaming mode lately (meaning: they've shut off their 360 in favor of their old Gamecube). Last night, they talked me into playing Super Mario Smash Bros. and I literally couldn't keep up with everything happening on the screen -- the switching perspective, all the drops, the weird camera action. It got to the point where I was just mashing buttons and hurtling myself off the edge of the screen, because I couldn't figure out anything else.

My 10 year old finally set it on Training mode and gave all the bad guys 999% damage so I could kill them with one move. He said he didn't want me to feel bad about my "sad gaming skillz".

[DaddyTorgo]

LOL @ Drake.

In all seriousness though - that's a fucking crazyass game. I was offered a chance to play with some guys who knew WTF they were doing in it and I just laughed and shook my head, because I knew I'd look like a total tool.

[flere-imsaho]

I've absolutely loved playing Super Smash Brothers the few times I've played it, but I'm an unabashed button masher. No idea what I'm doing. But part of the fun of that game comes from the fact that even a button masher can get a kill every once in a while, and the humiliation heaped upon the experienced player when that happens is awesome.

To whit: We like Super Smash Brothers (http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2001/12/5/we-like-super-smash-brothers/)

[Tasan]

My 3 year old often pummels me in Wii Sports Boxing. Its pretty humbling. My 6 year old beats my wife in Mario Kart, but he hasn't gotten me, yet.

[Barkeep49]

My 3 year old often pummels me in Wii Sports Boxing. Its pretty humbling. My 6 year old beats my wife in Mario Kart, but he hasn't gotten me, yet.
That's funny about Mario Kart since there's such a heavy dose of luck involved in that one.

[gstelmack]

My 5-year-old can flick the Wiimote in Boom Blox MUCH better than I can, so usually kicks my butt. I still dominate the racing games, though...

[MJ4H]

Ugh I'm terrible at the flick in Boom Blox.

[Cringer]

You guys are old. I still kick my daughter's butt in video games, as well as school the 9-10 year old boys and girls on the soccer team I coach. I am the greatest man alive!!!

[Marc Vaughan]

My 9 year old son has hand-eye reflexes which would put a ninja to shame, its only when he got to 7+ that I realised the people kicking my butt online were probably not only still at school ... but probably far from high school age.

[ColtCrazy]

My 4 year old was kicking all our relatives' butts on Mario Kart over the summer. I though, no big deal. Now, he's solving the puzzles on Lego Indiana Jones and Lego Star Wars. Granted, these are Mensa puzzles...but for him to do it at 4 blows me away.

It's great to see him just learn how to do new levels.


Great story. Kids are awesome.

[Coffee Warlord]

Man, I tried playing that game again, and apparently have forgotten entirely how to play. Cannot get out of the 40's.

I blame your kid.