Games you have played with non-gamers

[The Wailing Walrus]

I have recently completed the game Machinarium with my mum, who would never profess herself as a gamer but has somewhat of a Mahjong addiction. We both like puzzles and I have a love for point and click adventure games such as the Broken Sword series. Anyway I was busy playing Machinarium when my mum walked in the room and took immediate interest in it, asking what I needed to do and making suggestions. Before I knew she was asking me if I was going to be playing "that robot game" whenever she saw me. After a few days, and much bumbling about looking for what to do next in the games beautiful environment, we had completed it and both thoroughly enjoyed it. Though my mum would never go looking herself, she still asks me if I have found anything like it to play.

So I was just wondering if anyone has had any similar experience or has played any sort of game with people who would not call themselves gamers?

And incidentally if anyone could suggest a game like Machinarium for us to play.

 

[krazykidd]

I don't play with non-gamers . They are bad at games and it frustrates me to no end . I don't have time to teach people how to not suck . They can do that on their own time .

 

[StupidNincompoop]

Not really, i've got help from my parents before on games, and i might have been playing a game before with a friend over who didn't play too many games, but other than that i haven't really played any games with non-gamers.

Also, try Tiny Bang Story, maybe botanicula or samorost 2. The first one i think is closer to machinarium than the latter two, but i don't really know too much about the last two.

 

[JaceArveduin]

Was hilarious as hell, the last week of my High School career involved me taking my N64 with Super Smash Bros up there. I even managed to get some of the teachers to play.

 

[hazabaza1]

I've told the tale of my dad playing Borderlands and walking straight into a wall face first many a time.

Also just played some MvC2 with some friends and the girlfriend yesterday. Most of them kinda suck at it.
Though they all can't admit it so they tend to fall for the old "I guess you don't want to fight me because you can't play games" trick.

 

[Ljs1121]

I remember playing a bit of Smash Bros. Melee with my young nephew once. That's the only foray into the realm of non-gamers I've had.

The next closest thing would be playing games with my older brother. He does play games, but probably only puts in about one or two hours a week.

 

[RyQ_TMC]

There was a time when I tried proselytizing to my wife. We played Portal 2 co-op, she played some Master of Orion 2 and I showed her Stacking. Let me list the reactions:

Portal 2 - she liked the concept, although was completely unable to learn how to use a controller or how to orientate in a 3D environment. Decided she had enough after about 40 minutes of mistakenly running back into the room she just left.

Master of Orion 2 - really enjoyed it and claimed it's actually a game she could play on her own time. Played it for a few days, then it fizzled out.

Stacking - loves watching me play (because "Hey, matrioshkas!"), but didn't quite enjoy playing it herself.

So there you have it. And my wife is as much of a non-gamer as you can ever get. At least she doesn't hate games and complain how I'm wasting my time on pointless stuff anymore.

 

[Evil Smurf]

I don't play with non-gamers . They are bad at games and it frustrates me to no end . I don't have time to teach people how to not suck . They can do that on their own time .

yeah, the whole, "How do I move forward?" things gets stale quickly

 

[Baron_Rouge]

I played Skylanders with my girlfriend it was great fun, and it was pretty much the first co-op game we've ever played together. Now she plays Dark Souls. It's awesome that we have another shared pastime, although it's a fairly big step up from the likes of Skylanders, Costume Quest, and Akimi Village...

 

[ThatDarnCoyote]

I sometimes play Mass Effect with my sister when she comes to visit. She's not a gamer at all, but she's an actress, and found the character bits and interactions fascinating. So we made a character together, she picked the appearance and background (Spacer Infiltrator, if you're curious). I would handle the combat, and she would pick the responses in the dialogues, and decide what missions to do, etc. It was a fun exercise for her, trying to create an internal character arc on the fly.

We tried the same thing with Dragon Age: Origins, but didn't get too far into it, and I think she preferred ME overall.

 

[danny131415]

I've been playing the walking dead game with my friend who doesn't play games. she's loving it, and were having a blast playing through it, well as much fun as you can have with a horribly depressing game at least

 

[King Billi]

Most puzzle games are generally pretty good at appealing to non gamers, Portal 2 is the best example I can think of.

 

[CarolusRex]

It's not games that I've had issues with non-gamers in. It's more real life. You see, I own a beanie, not just any beanie though. It's a beanie that's the head of the rare breed of Pichu that has the notched ear. Everybody keeps going "Oh my God, that dude has a Pikachu hat". It may be a small thing, but my lord it annoys me to no end.

Edit: Woops, I just remembered. When I was a kid, I used to play Crash Team Racing with my Grandmother on our PS1. She wasn't all that bad and it was actually kind of enjoyable playing it with her.

 

[Pink Gregory]

I've been lucky enough to be able to persuade one to play Left 4 Dead with me on not one, but two occasions (different people).

Think they must have gamed at least once before, though, they didn't have any of the 'how do I move forward' difficulties.

 

[AlbertoDeSanta]

I used to Play Crash Team racing with my Mother. She wasn't the best at it, but you know, it was fun.

 

[Danzavare]

I played the original Golden Axe with my grandmother. She played the dwarf and left a trail of blood in her wake.

It was awesome.

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

Super Mario Brothers with my sister.
Although my mom won't touch a controller, she likes helping me with puzzle segments in games.

 

[Isshiresshi]

Guitar Hero and wipEout HD / wipEout HD Fury.

Guitar Heros is always fun for everyone in every situation. wipEout HD is just a great, small racing game. Easy to start and easy to learn, also the "pilot assist" makes a great brigde between you (who has played the game for a long time) and your friend(s) who needs the auto assist to even have a change.

 

[Rip Van Rabbit]

I played Kirbys Epic Yarn with my (ex)girlfriend when we were still together, she found it too stressful...needless to say, she is not a gamer...and never will be...

I found this hilarious
Not the ex-part

[small]don't hurt me[/small]

OT: Spec Ops: The Line. My mom is not great at navigating 3D environments, but she's pretty quick when it comes to camera control and aiming.

So I took control of the keyboard and my mom controlled the mouse. Many deaths ensued.
It was a great bonding experience