There is no boy in this world that does not have, or wish to have, a cool collection of baseball cards, cricket cards or soccer cards – depending upon which corner of the world he lives in. The collectible card game is almost an integral part of a boy’s childhood.

Sometimes, the Childhood Collectible Card Game Spills Over into Adulthood

Many times what starts as a boyhood fad, becomes a passion in adulthood. There are instances when men continue their childhood collection throughout their lives. You may know men – and women – who like to collect coins, stamps, baseball. Cricket, soccer cards, scaled-down cars, airplanes miniatures, ship miniatures, army knives, and so on.

The collectible card game started as a trading card game a decade or so ago, which used the popularity of the Pokemon cartoons to promote sales of different children’s items with the help of a collectible card game. This had become an instant success with kids and ever since, there have been many other collectible card games in the market, promoting items for children of all ages.

The Open-handed Rules of the Collectible Card Game

Unlike standard games, the rules here are open to the interpretation of the child, and availability of the cards. They can use the collectible card game to collect cards based on any criteria they feel important. It could be the description of the items contained on the card (baseball star, Pokemon, cricketer, soccer star, etc) and the player will have to collect as many cards as possible cards he or she is able to swap or buy.

Toy stores capitalize on these fads and often arrange ‘tournaments’ and swaps where kids can come and battle it out as to what deals they would like to strike for adding more cards to their collection.

The spill over happens when the collection looks too good to discard. The adult ‘boy’ many times does not like to let go of his childhood memories. Some of them revel in the boyhood fancies because they feel good thinking and reliving their childhood through it.

When this happens, these collectibles get a new emotional dimension and the collection become a precious part of the past. The adult now revels in what he had put together as a boy, and will continue to enhance his collection throughout his life, with the hope that one day he could proudly hand it over to his children and grandchildren.

Fortunately for parents, the gaming industry has put a ratings system in place to help select the right game for the age. This system is the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, also known as the ESRB. The purpose of this system is to rate all gaming software from the ones that are appropriate for everyone to the ones that are only appropriate for adults.

The ratings are as follows:

* EC (Early Childhood)
* E (Everyone)
* E 10+ (Everyone over 10 years of age)
* T (Teens)
* M (Mature, anyone over 17 years of age)
* AO (Adults only)
* RP (not yet rated)

These ratings are clearly printed on the front of every video games sold. Most of the games sold today range in the E to M ratings categories. Games that are rated E are fun for everyone. These are usually games such as Super Mario Brothers, Mario Cart, etc. These games have very little violence and the violence you may encounter could be things like a character jumping on a silly monster or your car crashing into a barrier. Of course no one gets hurt in these games and there is no blood or gory graphics.

The T games are made for Teens, however parents may want to be careful about these games and check them out before you buy them. T rated games have more mature games and may include fighting, real life type crashes and may show graphic scenes including blood.

The M games are rated M for mature themes. These are the types of games that have profanity, nudity, and extreme violence and gore. M rated games are definitely for adults only. Some kids may borrow one of these games from friends and try to sneak it past their parents. So constant vigilance is important when monitoring the games your children play.

Most retailers are very cautious about these video game ratings and they will require ID if someone under 17 tries to buy a game with a Mature rating. Many large retail stores will send in decoys to try to buy M rated games to test their employees. However, sometimes kids are still able to purchase games without ID.

Outdoor games – Outdoor games are a great way to encourage teamwork and get exercise at the same time. Softball, baseball, wiffleball are always a hit. Badminton and volleyball are inexpensive, and a lot of fun for everyone. There are also games that require no equipment, like Tag and Duck, Duck, Goose, that are always favorites.

Board games – Board games are a great way to spend family time, and encourage taking turns and playing by the rules. There are the classic board games, like Candyland for younger children. Then games like Clue, which encourage logic and puzzle solving and Monopoly, where they can learn about money.

There are also many trivia games that help test knowledge and have a little fun, too. take a look here some great online puzzle games.

Card games – Card games are always a fun family activity. Simple games like Go Fish and Old Maid help kids learn to match. Other card games, like Cribbage, can help with math skills. There are other specialty card games, like UNO, which are also good for matching and following directions.take a look here- Free online games

Computer/video games – There are an almost unlimited number of computer and video games, with new systems coming out all the time. Not all the games are bad. There are quite a few educational games, as well. The best games encourage creative thinking, puzzle solving and help improve hand eye coordination. The key is checking out games, through reviews and other parents, before buying a new game for your children.

On-line games – There are several websites that provide kid-friendly and educational games. PBS Kids, Nick Jr. and others have games that feature the kids’ favorite characters, and help them learn skills while having fun. Parents always need to supervise the sites to make sure they are safe for kids. see here free online games – Free online games

If all else fails, give them an empty box, some crayons and see what happens.