How nerdy pursuits could save your life.

Recently I spent a good proportion of a day in a dark, smoky room, confused by loud noise while other people snuck around and tried to shoot me. What on earth was I doing? I was playing Quasar with some friends, and it struck me that this was remarkably good practice for the end times. Hear me out. It sounds weird, but in a country where guns and assault courses are only really available for the military or over-priced stag weekends, what better? And that made me think about other nerdy or weird pursuits and how they may help with your survival choices.

Quasar:

I might as well go with this first. Quasar is basically a laser-gun game. You go into a dark room with any even number of people and you can choose from a number of games (for best survival skills I would advise either a ‘team’ game, where two teams fight each other or a game where you’re all trying to kill each other).  It teaches you quick reactions, dexterity, how to move in a combat environment and how to aim. It also teaches you tactical skills, such as when to hold position, when to run, and when to hide. It’s surprisingly good exercise, too- my group were all out of breath when we were done, so it’s good for your stamina and strength. As I mentioned before, there is nothing more useful for your success than your fitness.

 

Video Games:

Less active, so not as good for your fitness levels, but for other things? Hell yeah. Recent research suggested that the playing of certain videogames can improve visual acuity, spatial awareness and tactical thinking.  It makes sesne, if you think about it- especially with some modern video games demanding their players make split second decisions in stressful circumstance. And hey- some video games are specifically set in post apocalyptic worlds! Just think of them as vitual reality training exercises.

 

LARP:

Oh, now, any nerd will know of LARP. LARPers are considered nerdy even by nerd standards. But let’s think about this for a second. My LARP friends spend their free time running around in the woods, wearing armour and learning how to fight effectively with melee weapons. Let’s not forget, guns and ammo may be limited in availabilty when the end comes. Knowing how to hit someone with a sword until they stop moving is a valuable life skill.

 

The Geek SHALL inherit the earth.

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