New games for old fogies!

Who's Gaming Now? Seniors Turn To Wii Bowling
by JOSHUA BROCKMAN

Say goodbye to shuffleboard and hello to Wii.

The introduction of the Nintendo Wii and its sports and fitness games has greatly expanded the appeal of video games " especially among senior citizens.

At 9:30 on a recent Monday morning at a rec room inside the Langston-Brown Senior Center in Arlington, Va., there is coffee and Danish pastry on one table. And on another table, there are four Wii controllers.

Mary Stewart-Malcolm, Sofia Henriquez, Violet Fenty and Willa Mae Graham reach for the controllers and turn toward the large-screen TV.

These four women are members of Langston-Brown's Wii bowling team, and they're dressed for the part: Each of them has on a handmade tie-dyed T-shirt emblazoned with the team's name " LBSC Wii.

They're not the only seniors taking Wii bowling seriously: There are 186 teams and more than 1,000 bowlers in the throes of a virtual competition from California to New York as part of the National Senior League's Wii bowling competition.

Eva Mayor, director of the Langston-Brown Senior Center, sets up the Wii and asks the bowlers if they're ready.

"Ready!" they shout back.

And so are the spectators. On the sidelines, a crowd of seniors has gathered at tables to watch the competition while they play dominoes and assemble a large puzzle.