[WP] You are 70 years old, and see your granchildren playing with the newest electronic. It looks complicated, and when you ask to use it, you say "Where's the touchscreen?".

The door bell rang, but milliseconds later they bust through the door. It was their way of trying to be polite "You sure look excited Sarah, what's that you got there Tyler?" I asked as my grand kids giddily raced towards my kitchen table.

"Look what Mom and Dad got us!!" Tyler shouted

"Its the new Sony NeuroCaster!" Sarah shouted even louder. "It just came out so there aren't very many games for it but Dad said to come show you because, well ... I'll show you!" She ordered Tyler to clear the table, which he was already wiping down.

Sarah's fingers nimbly opened the box and revealed a glass pyramid with a lens laid horizontally across the top. A velvet bag came out next and from it she removed a glossy folded sheet of some sort. The creases disappeared as she draped it over the table and placed the pyramid in the center "One more thing" she said as pulled three rings from the now empty box.

"So is this some fancy board game?" I asked slyly

"Uh, what's that grandpa?" Tyler seemed puzzled

"When I was a kid, just as video games were coming out, there were games people would play around a table, with no electronics of or anything"

"That seems boring" Sarah remarked

"Well, they may have been, but the best fun was all the arguments it would cause; sometimes you lost friends playing particular games"

"That sounds awful, you won't lose us as friends when we play this game!"

Tyler picked up what I now discovered was a halo, pressed a button, and placed it on his head. A small antenna popped up at the front of his halo.

"You look like Quailman" I said, if only to amuse myself as I was met with blank stares

A light came from the pyramid and Sarah instructed me to put on my halo. There was a small crackle of electricity and suddenly the whole table was illuminated, holographic objects rained down onto the table and broke apart in an amazing display of the physics engine used by the game. I understood now, and was getting extremely giddy myself. I worked with my hands my entire life and my fingers had succumbed to the wretched, crippling, arthritis. I asked just to be sure: "Where's the touchscreen kids?"

They both beamed and said in unison, "That's the best part, THERE ISN'T ONE!!"

"Its all done by your brain and this halo which sends your thoughts to the pyramid" added Sarah

To say that I had been waiting for this moment my whole life would be an understatement. But never had I wished for it more than when my fingers started freezing up more than two decades ago. Finally, I could get back to my old hobbies.

The kids gave me a few minutes of lecture on how to operate the controls and rambled on about how to navigate the menu system. It was a pretty basic, easy to use interface, which I had pretty much figured out, but listening to them explain everything made me think about how much they're like their parents, I could already tell that Sarah was going to be an excellent leader, and Tyler, while quiet, offered just the right words when Sarah stumbled, he was quite adept at reading people. I was proud the way my grand kids worked together. My eyes must have looked glossed over because Tyler told Sarah he didn't think I was understanding.

"Alright! Lets get too it!" I exclaimed "What are we going to play?"

"This game is really popular at school right now." Sarah said as the game flashed its amazing intro, full of fighters running around on my kitchen table.

"Man, this is just like The Indian in the Cupboard!" I grinned watching the commotion unfold from my table.

"GRANDPA! You can't call them that anymore!" They scolded

I chucked, "I guess not, but that's not, its just you'd have to have seen, ... nevermind, you're right."

I looked back down, and saw an old familiar screen: Mortal Kombat

"Heh heh heh" I chuckled softly. These kids were screwed. I grew up on this game.

After a few minutes getting used to the controls, I had Sub-Zero dancing around them, and after a couple hours, they were playing with the handicap on maxed out. I had blown their little minds with my record: 26-2

They were a little disappointed with their performance, but amazed at how I played so well.

"Wow grandpa, that was amazing! How did you learn so fast!?" Sarah asked

"Well, I haven't forgotten everything I've ever learned!"

Sarah turned to Tyler, "You think he's ready for the online mode?"

"If he isn't, I don't know who is" Tyler responded

"Probably everyone else my age" I said, smiling with a sudden rush of nostalgia.

/r/WritingPrompts Thread