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Mom and Dad are defense. Baxter is offence. The goal, the ball, the mission and the mystery is the television remote control (we’ll call him Roger). Bold colours, bright lights and soft buttons make Roger the most coveted toy in the treasure chest. He’s not even in the treasure chest—he’s that important. Roger is able to frolic alone, enjoying prime living room views, perched high on the arms of furniture. Often, Roger can summon Mom and Dad by his inaudible call. Sure they can play with ol’ Rog all they want. It seems rather unfair.
Baxter can be found in a variety of bouncing gizmos; sitting up with his toys on the floor, the sofa; or standing with the aid of any neighbouring brace. He can be sad, happy, cute, funny, sleepy or any manner of mood. But nothing, absolutely nothing, will deter him from his ultimate mission to capture and suck Roger. You may think Baxter is squirming to nestle in close to you, until you realize his ploy: Roger.
Briefly captured, the taste of Roger so delighted Baxter he was oblivious to the sudden change in the room’s mood—in an instant, there were loud voices, loud noises and a mad scramble of confused adults. The big moving picture box went from pretty pictures of a turn-of-the-century English Abbey to an ultra-violent altercation in a jail in Atlantic City—and the volume grows louder still. Baxter revels in his last fleeting moment with his cher ami, then Roger is once again in the hands of the defense.
Last week, I went on an exciting adventure.
After a lovely banquet with princesses and kings, my three year-old daughter and I travelled through enchanted woods and forests with our wands, discovering magic crystals, opening up treasure chests filled with gold, collecting enchanted runes and taking instructions from a wizard. Oh, and there was a fire-breathing dragon as well.
And no, we weren’t in our living room playing pretend (as fun as that can be).
We had the privilege of experiencing MagiQuest, a new adventure available at the über family-friendly Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls. The first of its kind in Canada, the MagiQuest adventure is an interactive role-playing game that includes a variety of quests that you can go on as a family, or send your older kids on by themselves.
What did Ally love? Her magic wand caused amazing things to happen—chests opened to reveal surprises, fairies spoke to her, crystals glowed and she got to go on an interactive treasure hunt taking her from one floor to another until she completed her ‘task’.
What did I love? Aside from the simple ‘cool’ factor that came with the design, I really appreciated the fact that the game included a multitude of quests, meaning that it wasn’t something that could be finished in an hour and easily forgotten. Even cooler, the wands have a virtual memory, allowing the player to continue on their quests during future visits without having to start from scratch again.
Keith Simmonds, the General Manager of Great Wolf Lodge made a point of sharing how the MagiQuest adventure fit perfectly with the lodge mandate in helping to “create family traditions, one family at a time” and I have to agree. I wasn’t the only parent enthusiastically waving a wand at the walls and other objects. In fact, my mother (who came along for the adventure) spent the evening poring over the quest book to determine which one to try in the morning.
In short, it looks as though Great Wolf Lodge and MagiQuest is about to inspire a new generation of wannabe wizards (move over, Harry Potter).
And okay, I liked the magic wand too. The only trouble I had was when I brought it home and pointed it at all my dirty laundry and piles of dishes, nothing happened. I’m hoping that they can work on that for the future.
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