By Meghan Streit
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Classic pastimes like bridge and poker have some new high-tech competition at Sedgebrook. Many residents have started playing video games on the brand  new Nintendo Wii (pronounced “we”) game console in the clubhouse.

The latest version of the popular Nintendo game system features a wireless  hand-held controller that detects motion and operates in three dimensions. Players can try their hands at sports like bowling, golf, baseball, boxing, and  tennis— all while indoors using the Wii remote and a TV.

Because the game is three-dimensional, players compete standing up and imitating the same motions they would if they were actually rolling a bowling ball down an alley or swinging a tennis racket on a court.

Not your grandkids’ Nintendo
Video games have long been a favorite of teenagers, but Nintendo Wii is  catching on among Sedgebrook residents. No doubt many grandkids will be surprised when their grandparents challenge them to a Nintendo boxing match or a round of golf!

Inge Bischoff and Maria and Karl Kaesdorf, three Sedgebrook residents, got their first chance to play the game in January. None of them had every played a video game before, but all three caught on quickly, and in no time were scoring electronic strikes in the bowling game.

Fun for the whole family
Nintendo Wii was released in the U.S. in December, and started flying off the shelves so quickly that many people couldn’t get their hands on one before the holidays. Bischoff said her son-in-law wanted to buy the video game for his children, but wasn’t able to find one. He was surprised to learn that Sedgebrook already had the system installed.

Bischoff is excited to share her new hobby with her grandchildren. “When they are here and they visit, they have something to do,” she said.