Scouting and Video Games

[Eagle76 10]

A Boy Scout video game! An interesting notion; but nothing beats actually doing real stuff out of doors. This is where Scouting should have an advantage over video games.

 

I just want to comment on the first point made by Beavah in his original post, and put a different spin on it:

 

"* It is not adult-run. At all."

 

Later Beavah asks:

 

"My question back at you is: Can you tell us what we could change/improve about Scouting to make it as fun and addictive as video gaming? Or at least take a step in that direction?"

 

I would submit that there is plenty of adult involvement in a video game. With some possible exceptions, it is created by an adult, planned by an adult, programmed by an adult, and marketed by an adult. Many of the subsequent advantages noted by Beavah are the result of the plans made by the adult programmer: achieving levels, learning from failures, setting achievable tasks of increasing difficulty, etc.

 

Maybe the answer to the question lies here somewhere: A successful Scouting program requires adults to do careful planning, set goals and expectations, but then turn the boys loose, while at the same time monitoring things and keeping them on track to meet the program expectations. But isn't this already what Scouting program expects and teaches us leaders? Torveaux touches on the problem in his post:

 

"The real difference between the two systems in that regard is that the rules are consistent for the video game. In Scouting, the human element comes into play to change the rules in an arbitrary fashion."

 

Maybe a program which is unattractive, unappealing, and unexciting is a sign that the program not being run as a true Scouting program, that maybe the leaders have "changed the rules in an arbitray fashion" by doing things THEIR way, and that the solution is to re-examine the way things are being done and to strive to move them back to the way taught by the many Scouting resources available.