Gaming with... grandpa?

[Oneirius]

Yes. So, uhm. My grandfather. 83. Last year his mother died.(I have no idea how old my great grandmother was, BTW. "Pretty fucking old" is a good description). Annnnd since old Abraham does not work anymore and he does not need to take care of his mother any more, he is looking for stuff to do. And my mother(his daughter) told him to ask me about computer games. And he really liked the idea, for some reason.
So my 83 years old, polish, ex air force commander grandfather wants to become a gamer. And I need to teach him.
Any suggestions? What kind of games I should begin with? How do I explain how things are done? Have you ever faced a similiar challange?...
........
I know this is a REALLY weird question but grandpa is going to be here tomorrow. So... the sooner you give me some good advice, the better.
........
Hmmm, good night, I guess.

 

[Xorghul]

I'd say the Wii. Easy and somewhat fun. And obviously the most popular among "non-hardcore gamers".

EDIT: Just noticed you said computer games. So I'd say maybe some puzzle games or a strategic game, if he's perky enough and likes that stuff.

 

[ProfessorLayton]

That's actually a very strange thing that I've never had to deal with... try Gears of War.

 

[Oneirius]

...I don't have a Wii. I don't have any consule, actually. I am limited to the PC.
><

 

[JRCB]

Hmmm... try letting him play Half-Life or Bioshock.

 

[3rd rung]

yea the Wii could work, maybe a plat former would work

 

[Xorghul]

...I don't have a Wii. I don't have any consule, actually. I am limited to the PC.
><

Yes, I realised that after I posted, but does he like strategic games and such?

And how perky is he?

 

[DrDeath3191]

Start with Wii Sports (I forgot that you don't own a Wii. You might want to consider telling you grandfather to make the investment: it's a great console for newer gamers to play.), move on to puzzle games and the like, and maybe finish with Mario Galaxy or another easy-to-play platformer. I might avoid introducing him to FPSs because A) they're rather difficult to acclimate to for new gamers and B) it might not be wise for a veteran to be playing a shooter.

 

[Kollega]

PC? You could give him some turn-based strategy - Hearts Of Iron (so he can crush Nazi regime by himself),Civilization IV. Or maybe a puzzle game - like Braid/World of Goo. Or,if he'd like to fly again,buy him a flight simulator. IL-2 comes to mind. But no shooters - he is too old for twitch-based games.

 

[Oneirius]

Hmmm. Turn based strategy sounds good. He was a military man for, like, 70 years or something. And he is intelligent, and it does not require him to have good reflexes. Sounds really promising. Thanks for that one.

 

[Nimbus]

Start off easy. Try Popcap.

 

[Ciarang]

Erm.. peggle ?
Try to ease him in

 

[walls of cetepedes]

Worms 3D.

My Granddad loved that.

My other Granddad plays Railroad Tycoon on a regular basis.

 

[SomethingUnrelated]

Haha, i would love it if I wasn't the only person in the family with any remote interest in gaming...

 

[El Poncho]

Maybe some total war games he might like that, maybe some ww2 games he may like them.

 

[Abedeus]

Lucky you, with still alive grandpas.

But feh. 40-50+ guys I know and play games seem to enjoy strategy games and turn-based. Show him Heroes 3 (I know a dude who, even though he had a lot of work at that time, played it for few nights ;d), WWII RTS games or something like Warhammer 40k 2.

Alternatively, he might enjoy indie games like World of Goo.

 

[MercurySteam]

My grandmother plays card games on her computer. Can't suggest the Wii, yes it is facinating but cmon, I can't really picture an 83 year old trying to use a Wiimote.

Try Arcade games from XBLA. (Xbox Live Arcade)

 

[Sonicron]

While it is largely a platform for casual games, I don't think a Wii would be the way to go. While flailing a Wiimote around in all kinds of retarded ways is merely annoying to someone like me, it may very well prove detrimental to the health of a 83-year-old man.

If we're looking at PC territory, try turn-based combat or, if he's the type for micro-managing stff, real time strategy. StarCraft, WarCraft III and Dawn of War come to mind.

On a sidenote, let me express that I find it extremely cool that your grandpa wants to become a gamer at his age. For real.

 

[rokkolpo]

anything except for the wii.

that thing could be lethal to seniors,all the movement.
i,d go for a DS it,s easy fun and you got brain training.