Blue Prince became the contact – and learning – knowledge of my family

I have always been the player in the family. When my son was born about 11 years ago, I wanted to share sports with him. Pulling up a chair next to me, he watches me play Sea of ​​Thieves With my friends, they usually wear an earpiece so I can talk to them, advising me where to go. Now instead of just watching me play ChiaroscuroI was sitting next to him and he was fighting Calamity Ganon inside Breath of the Wild. His true passion for gaming has been for years Minecraft – appreciates rules and order, as well as the calm environment of creative mode. He also likes to carefully stack as many TNT blocks as possible and watch them explode.

What I didn’t expect was the playful connection my wife has made with my son. He has made an effort and Minecraft and he communicates with his country from time to time, although he does not like it very much. But he likes puzzles and stories, so when the friend said Blue Princerecently released on Switch 2, for him and our son, he bought it right away. They’ve been trying to make the most of every chance they have together – and they’ve already made it past our friend who told us this.

Blue Prince is a picture-solving roguelike where you have to explore a mansion with 45 rooms from one day to the next and reach the mysterious Room 46 to find your inheritance. But rooms also prepare themselves at the beginning of each day, which requires a lot of thinking and the ability to put together a great story. That’s why my wife and son playing together works so well: They match each other’s minds and skills. Our son has excellent spatial intelligence. He can remember directions to things easily and precisely (and correct my wife when she makes mistakes); they can quickly solve problems where pieces need to be lined up or several switches need to be rotated in a certain order, or know exactly where they need to stand. They usually give him a fix to deal with the problem because it takes a lot less time than trying to explain it to him. Also, the way he notices small changes in the room immediately is amazing. This goes back to the years we bring him to elementary school, and he can take a moment to explain how the environment has changed since the day before, get used to the difference, and then be comfortable again.

My wife excels at the big picture and includes the topics. Word-based games – especially those with metaphors – are a breeze for him while they frustrate my son a lot (maybe because of his age or because his brain is more thinking instead of figurative). Blue Prince he has brought a teachable moment where he can develop his ideas and explain how he thinks and uses them to solve these logical problems.

But the best part of all is the joy that the combination of game design and storytelling has given him every minute of the day. His mind is always thinking about how things can connect the story. And despite the learning difficulties he faces in reading and writing, he has created his own publication to share his findings and is the same. writing it! The motivation to discover the story by solving problems has overcome his fear and inability to write down his thoughts. This may seem like a small thing to some, but as a parent who has seen their child struggle to get ideas from their brains onto paper, it makes me very proud and emotional.

Sports, and Blue Prince in fact, it is not a distraction for him, but rather a way to improve the way his brain works and his thoughts through difficulties. It’s something he can take with him, providing strategies he can use in his daily life. Do they often spend more time on the computer than they should? Yes, maybe (we are working on it). But the interaction he and my wife have enjoyed on this trip, and how his curiosity has helped him push past his limits, is worth watching.