Holiday Gaming Tips and Tricks

Now that the holidays are approaching, people are going to be forced to leave the comforts of their computers and Playstations to go out into the world and visit relatives, whom are probably going to have screaming children, or at least want their family gamer to *shudder* socialize. So I have a few tips and tricks that might-- just might, mind you-- enable you to survive the holiday season.

• If your relative has a child, they might have a Wii. This is good news. It means that you can bring along an awesome game and throw out their (likely) boring ones. Oddly, playing a Wii when in a group of people is often considered sociable, even if you're playing by yourself. Win-win. 
• A DS or PSP is your friend. Don't bring the cases of the games-- just the cartridges. And bring as many as possible, including at least one Mario/Kirby type of game, so that you can snatch in a few minutes of gaming between avoiding your family. If you can't entirely avoid them, offer to sit with any small children-- small children are often fascinated by handheld game consoles, and will generally be quiet to watch you play. If you have a DS, bring at least one GBA game with you, already in the game so that it doesn't take up extra room. It provides a safe escape if your normal DS games begin to bore you.
• If you have unlimited room, for the love of the Gaming Gods, bring a Playstation or X-Box. I'm a Playstation girl, so I'm tempted to say bring a Playstation regardless of whether you have one. Wii games often aren't as good as the games of other consoles, but are better than nothing. PS2 or X-Box games, of course, pwn Wii.
• You're probably out of luck on the PC games front. Consider playing online games, such as Robot Unicorn Attack or any of the host of MMORPGs available that are more or less strictly online. This is if your relatives have internet access. They might not, but take a deep breath, and possibly a Valium, and you may survive. Godspeed.
• Last, but not least, do NOT let your precious game collection, whatever you might have brought of it with you, fall into the hands of your relatives, their children, or their random friends they've brought with them. They will likely break it and you likely will not not get it back. Beware of open water-- children like to drop things into it.

On this last, cautionary note, happy holidays!