Are you GEWar experienced? KRose

PMS Clan is an all-girl gaming club of more than 250 members. Their motto:

We may have boobs, but that doesn't make us nØØbs.

The number of female GEWar players can probably be counted on your hands, i.e. there are not that many. Unsurpising you may say since a wargame is typically the province of spotty teenage boys. However this panders to cliched stereotypes about gender, age and gaming. As the quote in the first paragraph notes more and more women/girls are into gaming. Be they traditionally stereotyped female ones such as Sim City or more bloodthirsty ones such as Halo.

In what I hope to be the first in a series of interviews (if I get the time to post!) I talked to one of the female players or Grrl gamers as the lingo goes, KRose.

How did you first get into GEWar?

Well my story began a couple months ago, when my roommate discovered this intense program called Google Earth. For weeks I would sit and watch him play on this globe like, user interface. Once I became bored of watching, I actually downloaded it myself. However, he was again, way ahead of me. He was already off searching for more things we could do with our new favorite toy, Google Earth. It didn't take long before he found a game that used our new toy as the main game board. While he was off, slowly becoming addicted, I was still mesmerized by Google Earth. It wasn't until he refused to go to sleep some nights and used the excuse "I need to occupy this nuked city", when I realized what I was missing. I quickly jumped on board, and ever more quickly became "addicted". However, I consider it more of a passion now, than an addiction. Haha.

How long have you been playing it for?

I joined November of 2006, about a month before the last reset. It was actually a perfect time to join. While everyone was at war, I sat back in a small alliance called "Black Thunder" and learned the ropes of the game. I learned to occupy all those cities that were abandoned by some random merc, and also became very comfortable saying "No, I will not give you back this city." I experienced the million dollar reset, and learned that having more geos= having more fun. Once the reset hit, I felt like I was already a veteran, even though I was truly nothing in the game yet. I started the reset off by jeweling all day and attacking all night. Slowly my friends began to catch on to all the craziness, and we formed our own alliance, called Lowell Mass United. The 5 of us were on top of the world... or so we thought... We had fun attacking brobie out in Africa, and holding down my hometown city, Seattle. but once we realized that we were just too small to conquer the world, all 5 of us joined the 3rd, which quickly became our new family.

What newbie mistake(s) do you remember making?

I still laugh about this mistake today... I can't remember if I was told this, or just thought of it on my own... But I figured that because diamond mines made a lot more geos than the other resources made, I would only waste 50 dollars every 36 hours building one diamond mine. I wasn't going to waste 100 geos on something that barely made anything in return... 100 geos was pretty much all I had in my bank back then... I couldn't just waste it on a cotton field, yielding only 35 geos a day... That just sounded foolish to me... Hahaha....

What are the good things about GEWar, what are the bad things?

Bad things? Are there any? Well obviously getting attacked or nuked is bad, but isn't it good because we are having fun? And isn't getting attacked good because now you have an excuse to demolish someone? I just think everything is great.

What were the memorable moments for you in GEWar?

Everything so far has been such a memorable moment. The last reset was probably the biggest thing so far... but everyday there is something new... One of these days... I am hoping something spectacular happens, and even better memories get made... Maybe something along the lines of Luke begging me to run the game while he is away for a week... That would be the ultimate memory.

Do you think you will be playing GEWar in 2 years time?

What are you talking about playing?? Didn't I just say Luke let me run the game for a week?? Well after that week was over, he realized that he lost his touch, and my skills by far surpassed his, and logically came to the realization that I should be in control from then on. I will no longer be just a "player" in this little game of war... I will be running it. The noobs will all be saying..."Luke who??"... "Who is this Luke character with a million posts in the Psychiatric Ward forum??"

Many thanks to KRose for sharing her GEWar experience.

If there are any other players who want to talk about their GEWar experience please get in touch.