My five-year-old has really been getting into video games (as much as a kid his age can) over the last year or so. He has my old iPad, so he’s played some games with that, and he’s become a star at all things Angry Birds. Levels that make me want to hurl my iOS device across the room he easily conquers and gets mad he only got 2 stars.

But of course, the iPad won’t satisfy him for long, and he’s developed a slow interest in my own video games, especially when he saw me playing LEGO Batman 2 on the PS3 last year. The game features two of his most favorite things: LEGOs and Batman. Of course he’s going to want to play. We’ve tried playing it together a little bit, but the controller is a bit much for him and it’s hard that he still can’t read to really learn how to play. It also doesn’t help that he has the attention span of a gnat, so he doesn’t really listen or retain what I tell him in how to play.

So on a whim one day, I looked to see if the game or a facsimile of it was available for the iPad. It indeed is, called LEGO Batman DC Heroes, and it’s the handheld version of the game. Two control schemes are offered, touch and virtual controls, so I set it on touch controls for him and let him go to town.

Holy crap this is the worst game to have as touch controls. For starters, you jump by performing a two-finger zoom-out swipe. You have no idea how much harder that is to execute and control than it sounds. I have sent more Bat-characters careening to their deaths in one scene than I have an entire game. The virtual d-pad is almost worse.

All I have felt is frustration when he asks me to “help” (a/k/a, play this part for me) to the point I’ve pretty much passed it to my husband who has a truckload more patience than I do. He comes to me when he gets stuck, because he isn’t as versed in LEGO games as I am, so he doesn’t always know what little things to look for when trying to progress through a level.

I cannot wait until Gabe finishes the story mode of this game. I’ve told him we’ll help him through the story mode, but then he’s on his own. I’d rather play a platformer than go through that game ever again. It’s just yet another reason why I rarely play iOS games, and why I’m ready for him to enjoy playing games with a controller.

I’m glad he loves it for now, but I’m not sure it was $4.99 well spent.

When Gabe was young(er), I was very conscious about not playing games in front of him. I wanted him to develop other interests before he discovered video games, which was obviously inevitable in this house. We gave him a MobiGo when he was 3, which has mostly educational games, but I didn’t let him near my handhelds or the big console games at all. I wouldn’t even let him watch me play when he crawled out of bed to get a glass of water, ask question, etc.

Of course I couldn’t keep him from this stuff forever. When he was in preschool, he watched the after-school kids play Super Mario Kart Wii and always asked me why he couldn’t play it at home. (The answer was we didn’t have a Wii, but he didn’t quite understand that since he knows I have game consoles.) And of course he would wander into my office, see the games, and ask me if he could play them or watch me play. The answer was always no until this past weekend.

He’s really into Batman as of late, and naturally, he has an affinity toward LEGOs, so yes, he’s asked me once or twelve times if he could play my LEGO Batman 2 game. Saturday, we sat down for some co-op. I really thought that a LEGO game would be a great way to introduce him to console gaming, especially since our Wii U is arriving very soon with his very first console game, LEGO City Undercover, a game he’s been begging me for since we saw it at Best Buy (you bastards). (And yes, he has no idea that Disney Infinity exists, and I’m doing my best to keep it that way, thank you.)

I realized very quickly in that perhaps LEGO Batman 2 isn’t the best starter game. The controls are a little more complicated than I thought, and it kind of helps if you can read the instructions. I tried to explain to him what to do, but he kept getting confused. I had to swap controllers with him often to get through parts. Maybe he’ll get it with time, but for now, it’s a little much. That hasn’t dampened his spirits, though; he’s been asking if we can play again practically every day.

So perhaps it’s time he learns how to play console games the way his father and I did–with Super Mario Bros. Whenever the Wii U gets here, I plan on buying SMB via the Virtual Console and telling Gabe that as soon as he beats that game, I’ll buy him another. I then remembered that I have SMB on my 3DS thanks to the early sucker adopter program Nintendo had. I showed him how to play, and then I watched him get just as frustrated as we all did the first time we played.

He’s already asked for a different game. I told him he had to practice, that he would get better each time he played. I even reminded him how bad he was at Angry Birds at first, and now he’s better than his father and me. He said he would try, and he played for another few minutes before asking if he could watch a movie instead. I think he’ll enjoy the game a little better on the big TV instead of the small 3DS, but we’ll see.

I wonder what game I should torture him with next whenever he does beat SMB. And, should I tell him about the Warp Zones? That may be too cruel to keep that from him.

This year, the year when I probably shouldn’t do it and the year I definitely don’t have the time, I’m going to participate in the Extra Life charity gaming marathon. And I’m super, super excited about it.

Since it’s my first year to do it, my goal is somewhat small, $200, but I would love it if I could raise close to $500. I’d also love it if I could raise enough and have enough fun to do this every year.

So yes, this is a post begging for donations from my esteemed SGR audience.

I plan to have a giveaway for a strategy guide releasing around that time frame for a random SGR donor. At this time, I don’t know what it will be, because I know everyone’s tastes will be different. I hope to have a pick one of three contest. The winner definitely won’t be who donates the most, so don’t worry about that. It’s all about giving something at all. Definitely stayed tuned to see which guides could be up for grabs as a reward for donating. To enter this contest, leave a little note about SGR in your donation comments.

In addition, I will have a vote up and running in October for everyone to pick which games I’ll be playing during this marathon. I’m going to use this time to work through my backlog, so there won’t be any current games or games I’m working on for guide review. There is also discussion to Skype me into a live video feed that the EvilCast podcast team is sponsoring for their marathon.

This whole thing sounds like it will be a blast, even though I’m going to do my 25 hours over 2 days time (I am realistic about what I can do). I hope to see a few of you donate something, no matter how small it is!

Thanks for your support!