#SOL18 Day 4: Gaming Lesson

Of all the people in my family, I never thought that I’d be the one to end up with an injury from playing video games. I’m the one who reminds people to give their eyes a break every 20 minutes or so. I’m the one who points out when someone is hunched over with bad posture. I’m the one who suggests getting up and moving around. And yet, I’m the one who ended up a sore thumb from my video game playing!

I could tell that I needed a break, but that Irish rabbit, Topper, the first Broodal Boss on the Dark Side of the Moon in Super Mario Odyssey was driving me crazy! You have to knock his top hats off his head, avoid his spinning attacks, and then jump onto his head. Go through this sequence three times, each time with more top hats added, and you knock him out so you can move on to the next level. It shouldn’t be that hard, but he would get me every time! So, naturally, I would try again, thinking I would do better. Sometimes I would do a little better at certain parts, but not good enough to move past him.

My son, who’s further along in the game than me sat down and starting giving me suggestions like, “Hurry up! Jump on him now!” and “Spam it! Keep hitting his hats!”

“I’m trying! I just can’t get the view right to see when I’m jumping directly above him!” I shouted back as I clicked and dodged as quickly as I could.

Later, my husband was watching me play and listening to me shout at the tv when things didn’t go in my favor. He pointed out that maybe I should take a break and try again later. “No way!” I replied. “I’m so close! I’ve figured out his tricks; I’ll get him this time.” Well, I didn’t get him that next time…or the next 20 (or 30) or so times after that. Eventually, I had to admit defeat and turn off the game until the next day.

The next morning, I woke up with a sore thumb, a seriously sore thumb! Uh, I think I may have played a little too long yesterday. I rested my thumb as much as I could during the day so I could take on Topper again that evening.

P.S. I have since defeated Topper. As it turns out, once you defeat him there are three more bosses you must face before you get the chance to regain any hearts! It took a few (or more) tries, but I eventually defeated all four of them plus the final boss, RoboBrood. I am so glad to be past that part of the game! Also, my thumb is feeling a lot better now that I’m being more careful about not playing for too long. 🙂