Older gamers take up virtual pastimes
In the sun-filled lounge at Maple Grove Community Center in Minneapolis, three card games are under way, with a dozen senior citizens laughing and joking as they shuffle and deal.
One of these days, Jack Kirscher says, he might join them. But not today.
In a darkened room next to the lounge, the 65-year-old retiree hunches forward into a computer screen, his right hand moving the mouse with quick, tight motions. He’s playing cards, too – but the other people at his table on Yahoo.com are from Ohio, New York and Ukraine.
Kirscher’s online handle: “Real Dirty Player.”
Watch out, kids – your elders are logging on and playing to win.
No, you probably won’t see them lopping the heads off goblins in “Battle for Middle-Earth” or finding lost continents in “Dragon Quest VII.” Checkers and canasta are more their speed.
According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, Internet users 60 and older are playing online games as much as those in their 40s and 50s, and almost as much as the thirtysomethings.
Not only are these older gamers having fun, but also they’re giving their brains a workout that can help hold off dementia.
“It keeps me sharp. It’s a learning experience,” said John Zeck, 72, of Minneapolis, a retired drug wholesaler who plays every day on Games4TV, a service that connects him to online games through his television.
Research has shown that older adults who stimulate their brains by reading or doing crossword puzzles are less likely to become senile, said Dr. Anne Murray, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School who studies aging.
And although there has been little research into online gaming, Murray called it “a great idea” for seniors. In Japan, she said, a new Nintendo game called “Brain Age” has been a big hit, selling more than 3 million copies.
A Nintendo spokesman said the success of the game, which contains word and number puzzles meant to stimulate the brain, has been largely fueled by older adults – many of whom had never played video games before.
When he retired five years ago, Kirscher finally found time to do what he wanted: play spades. None of his friends are card players, he said, and his wife won’t play with him “because I’m too cutthroat. So I got on the Internet and got involved.”
Kirscher breaks spades and makes tricks a couple of times a week at Yahoo.com. His Yahoo log is evidence of his competitive nature: With a cumulative record of 408-255, he’s won about 62 percent of the time. But he also enjoys the virtual banter.
“You’re playing with people all over the world,” Kirscher said. “It’s quite a bit of fun. People can watch (online), and everybody can talk to each other, the players as well as the watchers.
“I’ve played with people from Egypt, Russia, Afghanistan – a lot from England and France. There are some players I can’t even figure out what country they’re from because they don’t speak English at all.”
While younger gamers tend to gravitate toward multiplayer action and fantasy games, older players are more interested in cards, puzzles and familiar games such as backgammon, checkers and chess, said Laura Buddine, founder of Iacta, a Los Angeles-based company that has about 3,000 subscribers to its Games4TV service.
Games4TV decided to focus on older players because “we knew there was not a lot out there for them,” Buddine said. “We have no fighting games, no dark themes or violence.” Buddine said she has ”lots and lots“ of members in their 70s and 80s, with the oldest being 93.
Although seniors who use the Internet are playing games as much as younger age groups, there are still far fewer seniors online overall. More than 80 percent of Americans between the ages of 12 and 60 go online regularly, according to the Pew Internet Project. That drops off to 54 percent for those in their 60s and 21 percent for those over 70.
Online games can provide a starting point for older people who are intimidated by computers, said Tobey Dichter, chief executive officer of Generations Online, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit that helps set up computer training programs at senior centers nationwide.
“We call them ‘the paper generation,’” Dichter said. “This is a generation that doesn’t use ATMs, that doesn’t use VCRs. They can find the computer experience intimidating and humiliating.
“Games are a wonderful way for people to begin to learn basic computer techniques.”
For Kirscher, the competition brings back memories of his childhood on a North Dakota farm, where everyone played cards because there was nothing else. His grandma delighted in taking his money at pinochle.
“For an old person, the computer is a great device,” he said. “You can spend a whole day socializing, playing cards – just get lost in space.”
