We are still in the process of putting together the Getting a Girl to Game Guide and we need your contributions!

"I got my girl into gaming by going back to the SNES. I never had one when I grew up (I was one of those SEGA only kids) so I picked up a SNES and a few games like Super Mario World, Legend of Zelda and a few others. Shortly after that we got a N64 and Goldeneye. I knew I had her when she kept asking about when Perfect Dark was coming out. Now she'll drop a few hours on Animal Crossing on the Cube, Sims on the DS, and even throw down on some Halo 2 on XBL... One other story to tell: A friend of mine started hyping up a big tournament for NFL 2K2 for Dreamcast about 3 months in advance. At the time my girlfriend started getting into 3D gaming and I started teaching her how to play NFL 2K2. She asked to join in the tournament and my friend agreed. The night of the tournament rolls around and there are about 30+ players. It was random drawings for the match-ups in the first round, my girl draws the host who is a notoriously competitive gamer. She ends up beating him. He got beat at his game in his home at his tournament by someone who just started playing a few weeks prior - my girl! Best part is it was a single elimination tournament so he had to sit there in his own home and watch everyone else play!"
-John

"Getting my girlfriend to game was easy. When I first met her two years ago, she'd played one or two games of solitaire. Ever since I bought Animal Crossing for the Gamecube, she was hooked. Then it all started. Her brother bought a Gamecube as well and now she's addicted to Donkey Konga and Cel Damage, not to mention still going strong with Animal Crossing. Besides, now she has something to do while I play hours and hours of Resident Evil 4!"
-Reapz

"Unlike most people I have it easy. My girlfriend has always liked Mario, so after dating two years and I bought a N64 with Mario 64 and Mario Kart. Seeing me play then got her interest but being fickle she became bored. So I stopped by Game Crazy and picked up a DVD of Gamecube titles. One of the clips was Animal Crossing, shown as an ad ripping on the Real World (a show she loves.) Her interest in the game grew so much she bought a Gamecube and Animal Crossing within a week. After showing her other titles that got her interest (Burnout, Mario Sunshine, Mario Kart, Resident Evil 4), I eventually got her to play Halo 2. Now I'm playing games online and my girlfriend even has her own Gamer Tag. So if I had to give anyone a tip, show her something she can't say no to. Then you can work up to whatever you want."
-David

"The way I got my girl to game was so simple: I just gave her an ultimatum. Either you game with me at least 3 times a week or you get none of my good loving! And well what can I say? Naturally she decided to game with me. We have been going strong for a while now. Sometimes if you want your girl to game you just have to be a little harsh at first. Eventually it all works out in the end, trust me."
- Aaron Margerum


"I personally attempted to get around a dozen girls interested in these games over the years, but it never happened.... Take my sister, who over the years had an ample opportunity to embrace gaming. She had the same access to computers that I did. (my family had a computer/gaming system in the house since 1985 - I was 5 and she was 1) She had an enormous library at her fingertips. She had a brother constantly telling her how good these games were and that they would soon be an accepted mainstream entertainment medium. Is society really messing with your heads so badly that you cannot deviate from the norm enough to risk being 'dorky?'"
-Jim Larimore


"Well, I met my girl friend because of ska music and DDR. I started by showing her other Bemani games, like Space Channel 5 and Samba DeAmigo, then puzzle games, such as Sega Swirl and Tetrisphere. Once I had a foot hold with the type of games just about anybody can enjoy, it was time to find that genre that every one person likes. Turns out she likes RTS games. Soon, I had bought her Starcraft and she bought herself Ages of Empire. She plays other games sometimes, but mostly just those. Also, she is the best minesweeper player I've ever met. 134 seconds on expert. I'd love her even if she didn't play games though."
- Reid Barber


"To be honest, I haven't really tried. The players I hang out with are awesome guys, but they are absolutely brutal. At that level, you need a month of serious practice before you can even have fun. Actually winning on a consistent basis can take many months. That's not something I would even try to push. As far just introducing girls to my gaming buddies goes, we usually just wind up going to movies or dinner or parties together. There's plenty of things we do as a group away from games, so there's opportunities to just hang out without requiring my girl friends to spend a year learning all sorts of insanely complex strategy."
- Art (Majestros)


"It's my college girlfriend that I took on as a challenge. The last time she gamed was back in the era of the original Super Mario Bros and Duck Hunt, so the biggest problem was getting her used to the changes made in gaming in the last decade. I picked Project Gotham Racing as the first game I tried to get her hooked on, and as a secret weapon, I ripped a lot of her favorite CD's to the Xbox's hard drive. She wasn't all that amused at first, but she did enjoy the music. Not too long after that, she wanted more and more kudos, and she wanted me to teach her how to drift and slide through the corners. Once I got her hooked on driving games, she plays them all the time now, her current favorite being Burnout 3. The biggest time-suck that I ever got her involved in happened with Animal Crossing. She started playing because she thought the animals were cute; she kept playing because she got addicted to getting new furniture and items to decorate her house. I have no doubt that she'll be grabbing my DS out of my hands later this year to spend some time with Animal Crossing DS."
-Adam Barney


"I've always encouraged girls to play and look forward to doing so with those who are better than me. A girl who is better than me is more likely to help me improve my game verses a girl who doesn't play at all. In my experience, not counting preteens, there have only been two types of girls (with regards to gaming). There have been girls who don't want to play and those who say they do but almost never seem motivated enough to actually do so... What I have seen is girls who don't want to play. I would love to change all that but I don't see how. Gaming isn't just about fun, it's also about choice. When the bulk of the female population seemingly chooses to do something other than gaming... From my perspective, I've seen mostly positive feelings from guys who can manage to get their girls to pick up a console controller. In fact, a very good friend of mine is getting his daughters to play his Xbox. A few years ago, I bought a GameCube and GBAs for some nieces of mine. I guess, it might be easier to get them to play if you start them young.
- Sergio


"Easy! Throw on just about any music game. If you've got Bust a Groove (Bust a Move in Japan), Parrapa, Space Channel 5, or Samba de Amigo playing I haven't seen any girl (or guy for that matter) who can resist. After a good gaming session where they've seen that all games don't involve shooting or killing something, it's very easy to get them to try something else. Tetris is a classic failsafe as well."
-Rob Oliveira

Check back very soon for updates and the GGtG Guide feature. Make sure to take a look at Bonnie's original Girl Gamers Are People, Too article for more information on the subject.