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Solutions Twin Cities is mainly known for its events where organizations talk about their progressive solutions to local and world problems using slides and three–minute, rapid–fire pitches. They have recently added an "Urban Gaming Division" dedicated to turning the city into your favorite childhood outdoor games.

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Throughout the year, the fine people at MNZero host interactive puzzle games and tag. On Saturday, October 25 from noon to 6 p.m., they will host Mugs and Molls, an outdoor game that revolves around solving puzzles as quickly as possible.

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Another Saturday night sitting around playing MarioKart? Tired of watching Terminator for the thousandth time? This weekend you can live the dream in a city–wide manhunt!

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Chris Chike, the Rochester teen who is the world's greatest Guitar Hero player, was featured on the front of the New York Times' Arts & Leisure section Sunday.

We first wrote about Chike in April, when he set a new high score on the popular videogame and was honored by the Guinness Book of World Records. Later, we updated the story when Chike was signed to an endorsement deal by The Ant Commandos, a company that manufactures the plastic guitar controller used in the game.

Now the vaunted Gray Lady has deemed fit to pick up the story.

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CONvergence
Bloomington Sheraton, July 3-6
Review by Fish DeSmith
Photos by Ward Rubrecht

Every year during the first weekend of July, a strange force draws geeks from miles around to Bloomington's Sheraton Hotel. This mysterious tractor beam is emitted by CONvergence, a sci-fi and fantasy convention run by MISFITS (the Minnesota Society for Interest in Science Fiction and Fantasy). The con isn't just a big get-together (and winner of this year's City Pages Best Fan Convention); it also raises funds for the non-profit group's other cool activities year-round. The days of Con went mostly like this: mornings and early afternoons filled with panel discussions, demonstrations, autograph signings and craft time, while evenings were for showy mainstage events and then devolved into a booze-and-sugar-fueled party.

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Spin magazine recently reviewed iPod games. While the magazine's timing was right, it made an eggregious omission: Peggle, the device's first five-star game.

I recently upgraded from an iPod mini to an iPod classic. Impressed with the fidelity of the screen, I of course downloaded a bunch of music videos I watched once, then swiftly moved into the more interesting waters of iPod games.

There is not much to recommend here, I'm afraid. Previous to my discovery of Peggle, the only game that got more than a few plays on my iPod was Phase, which is by Harmonix, the maker of the popular Guitar Hero series as well as the new Rock Band. Phase offers a much more limited input--rather than a fullblown plastic guitar, you're crippled with a clickwheel, which you use to cycle between three circles (left, center, right) in time with the beat. But what it lacked in control mechanics it made up for in customization: You create "Phase Playlists" of your favorite music which are converted into levels to play in the game.

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Dating games have come a long way since the days when Chuck Woolery invited mullet-sporting contestants to bump uglies on Love Connection. In Japan, the "dating simulator" video-game craze has raged stronger than a schoolboy's hormones since the early '90s. But here in America—where our gaming interests lean more toward Rambo than Romeo—reception to the fad has been somewhat limp. That doesn't stop Brooktown High: Senior Year for the PSP, the latest attempt to bring dating sims to the States. As first dates go, however, this one's a little awkward. Put it this way: If Brooktown High handed you a note asking, "Will you play me?" you'd probably want to check "maybe."

Read the rest of Chris Ward's review of Brooktown High: Senior Year in Gaming.

The Hold Steady's been given props from the New York Times, a 9.4 on Pitchfork and a reasonably positive review here, but critical success might not be quite as heartening as their latest feat: "Your Little Hoodrat Friend" is on the soundtrack to upcoming sure-to-be-blockbuster video game Tony Hawk's Project 8. Nothing beats Craig Finn singing over polygonal Bam Margera faceplants.

What video games are folks looking for on this Black Friday? According to the Yahoo! Buzz Index, the Legend of Dragoon may festoon the needly nether-regions of many of America's Christmas trees. Here are the top ten video game searches...

1.  Legend of Dragoon
2.  Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
3.  Metal Gear
4.  Dead Or Alive 4
5.  Dragon Ball Z Gt
6.  Doa Kasumi
7.  Sims Online
8.  Halo 3
9.  Perfect Dark
10. Gangsters: Organized Crime
11. Battlefield 2
12. Metal Gear Solid 4
13. Jewel Quest
14. Nba 2k6
15. Burnout