Calling all St. Charles gamers! On July 18,2013 we will be running two video game tournaments. We just don’t know which! We are relying on you to tell us which are your favorite among three games. Two will be chosen to take place in the morning and the afternoon.

Please leave a comment, indicating your grade level this school year and your two favorite games among Mario Kart Wii, Kinect Just Dance 4 and Super Smash Bros Brawl. Due to the rating, only students who have completed 5 – 8 grades will be eligible to register for a Super Smash Bros tournament, should that game be chosen. Thanks!

Some of the new games include: For DS, Chimpact, Etrian Odyssey 2 and 3, and Scribblenauts. For 3DS, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon and Wipeout 3. For PS3, Ni No Kuni Wrath of the White Witch is coming. For Wii and XBOX360 with Kinect, Just Dance Disney Party.

These are just a few of the games coming. For more titles, look at the Library Quick Lists under Youth and Video Games. If you don’t see your favorite, please ask.

Favorite games right now are the old standard, Kinect Adventures, and Twister, a new “twist” on the old Hasbro board game. Other games that cycle in are Kinect Sports, Kinect Sports Season 2, Carnival Games and Kinect Joy Ride. Each day is a new challenge! Come on by and try something new or boost your skill at an old favorite.

On January 4, eight boys in grades 3-5 joined in competition using DS handhelds with their own trainers and collections of Pokémon in our first-ever Pokémon tournament. We chose Battle Revolution because it is the Wii game that can be played using the DS as a controller. This way, we were able to project the battles up on the big screen so that everyone in the room could watch and participate. The competition was heavy all the way to the end as the combatants were fairly evenly matched in skill. One emerged as Pokétopia Master. We were very happy to have Gabriel agree to judge. He even played an exhibition game against the winner. If you would like to see more tournaments like this, please let us know!

The general information and rules are:

When you arrive at the tournament, you must check in with the tournament organizers.
• Tournament sign-in will be open from approximately 1:15 – 1:25 PM. Walk-in registrants will be accepted only if pre-registrants have not arrived by 1:25 PM.
• No new registrations will be taken after 1:25 PM. We will begin the tournament once all players are signed in.
• All players may remain for the entire tournament. Cheer your friends to victory!
• Trash talking is allowed, but no swearing or bad behavior.
• Prizes will be Target gift cards.
• The tournament may end early.

Tournament rules
• Players will combat using their own DS handhelds and their Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, HeartGold, SoulSilver or Platinum.
• Certain Pokémon are forbidden. The forbidden list can be accessed at Smogon University’s Uber list.
• Players will be assigned numbers at registration and will be paired randomly.
• Players 5 or more minutes late to any round will automatically take a game loss.

Several students tried their hand at achieving their best time to compete with libraries all over the world in the Mario Kart time trials. Our top three players have compared very well against other libraries. Ethan’s time came in second on Luigi Circuit, Sophia’s time was second lowest on Mario Circuit and on Mushroom Gorge. Everett’s time on Coconut Mall is, so far, the best. All libraries haven’t been posted on the leaderboards yet, but St. Charles players are stacking up very well.

This was the fifth year that libraries across the country have set aside a National Gaming Day. The popularity grew to include libraries around the world, and the day has been renamed International Games Day.

Calling all Mario Kart players! New this year will be Mario Kart trials. We will be comparing our highest scores against scores from libraries all over the world!

Even if Mario Kart or video games aren’t your thing, we hope you will join us for board games. The online game company, Ravensburger, has donated their new game, Labyrinth, a race for treasures in a moving maze. We’re looking forward to trying it out.

After hours, from 4:30-9 pm, Humans vs. Zombies will be roaming through the Library. You must be in high school or older. If you would like to test your survival skills, register by November 1 at the Information Services desk on the main level of the library. Parents of students under the age of 18 must sign a permission form.

Do you want to be one of the first to be able to play them? Just visit our catalog and place them on hold with your St. Charles Library card number and PIN.

For PS3, Wii and WBOX 360:

Ben 10 Galactic Racing, Brave the Video game, LEGO Batman 2, Madagascar 3 and Pro Evo Soccer

For XBOX360 and PS3:

FIFA Street 4

For Wii and XBOX360:

Ice Age Continental Drift

For XBOX360, of course:

Kinect Rush: Disney Pixar

For Wii, only:

Rhythm Heaven Fever and Sonic Colors

When you are in the library, come by the Youth Services department to see what’s here. You can also place holds on all of them through our catalog.

Want to join our next tournament? On January 4 we will have a Pokemon Battle Revolution tournament. Registration begins on September 8.