My mother (Sweetelfette/Hitmanslady: Dentarg), my father (Himantheone: Dentarg), my brother (Hitmanjr: Dentarg), and I (Watchitibite, Deadhitgirl, Ibublaway: Dentarg), all began playing World of Warcraft a little over three years ago.

We were growing apart in real life, each of us going our own ways to do our own things. My father's friend suggested to him that he play World of Warcraft with him. Dad saw this as an opportunity to have fun while bringing us all back together. It would be something that we would all enjoy, because we were all gamers at heart.

That's when our adventure began. Mom and Dad rolled tauren shamans, my brother rolled a tauren hunter, and me being me, I decided to roll an undead warlock.

We leveled together, all reaching level 70 a couple of months later. As we played we slowly began to come back together, smiling and laughing at all of the things this wonderful game has to offer. Eventually, we were close again. We formed a guild named Elite Renegades at War and began to raid.

What started out a WoWing family of four (Technically a family of seven, five kids and two parents. My younger brothers only play on occasion.) ended up becoming a big family of well over one hundred. We enjoy laughing and messing around with our guildies, most of whom we have become very close with.

People often criticize an entire family playing, but there are others who are in awe ("I wish my parents played!")

World of Warcraft brought us back together as a family. Don't be afraid to introduce your parents to a game. They might actually get interested, and even though you think that you might be annoyed with your old-timers asking you how everything works or for help, you'll actually come to appreciate the time that you spent together. It may seem like a little thing, but truly gaming together can be an enjoyable experience for the entire family.

And if you ever want to become part of what is sometimes know as "The Hitman Family," pop by Dentarg and whisper Hitmantheone, current guildmaster and head of the family of Elite Renegades at War.

When I first started playing World of Warcraft I didn’t know what kind of character and class I wanted to be. My dad had made a hunter and he had made it to 70, and I wanted to be one of those people to make a 70. I have been trying to and I’m now at level 58. My shaman is the best character I have ever made. She has made a lot of friends on there and I have a lot of good times with them.

When I first started playing, I didn’t know what to do, so I asked my dad and he told me how to do the controls and everything. I had finally figured it out and the day after that I had made level 10. When I did I just started loving it more and more each day I played it.

Before I started playing, I used to ask my dad "why do you play that dumb game all the time?" then here I am like six months later with a level-58 shaman, and I told him "I take back what I said to you"; I still laugh about it today. The thing that has inspired me to play was the excitement, the joy, and just having fun and playing and meeting people from around the world. I LOVE World of Warcraft, I think it's an awesome game to play, and someday I hope to make level 70 and have the best shaman ever made.

So that’s why I make my goal I plan on being a good 70 like my dad, and hopefully you will be a great 70 too.

Mother's Day 2008 was a wonderful day. My real-life daughter (character named Cynovmen) and I were questing together in Nagrand when we both achieved our eagerly awaited level 70 at the same time. We had just finished the quest Buying Time for Altruis the Sufferer and raced to turn it in. I knew we were close to leveling but I held my breath as we turned in the quest; would SHE ding before me or would I be the one? I had started playing World of Warcraft in July 2007 but it took until November for me to convince her to give it a try. She made a hunter just like I had and from that first day she was as much into World of Warcraft as I was. Day after day she got closer and closer to my level. It soon became a race to see how fast she could catch up with me so we could quest together; then she and I were neck and neck. So, there we were on Mother's Day 2008, questing together as we often are wondering which of us would reach that magic plateau of level 70. And, it happened! We 'dinged' together. I was so excited I took a screen shot. What a wonderful 'new beginning' it was for us. Who knows what Mother's Day 2009 will bring for us; we can hardly wait!

I am a 65-year-old grandmother and have been playing World of Warcraft since October of 2006. Why, you ask? Well, let me start from the beginning.

I took early retirement in late 2005 to take care of my ailing husband (who by the way also plays World of Warcraft). After working for so many years, it was hard to find ways to keep myself busy and the days became pretty boring and repetitious. Our youngest daughter, her husband, and stepdaughter were already playing World of Warcraft for quite some time, and one evening when we were visiting them, our daughter suggested taking home a 10-day free trial disc and seeing if we liked playing the game. If we decided we enjoyed playing, they would get us into the guild that our son-in-law started (Clan of the Toes) and help us to learn all the ins and outs of playing and leveling.

Well, needless to say, we enjoyed playing so much that it is now 2009 and we are still going strong! I, myself, have two level-80 characters, and six more that are 70+. By no means am I as fast nor as good as my younger counterparts, but I enjoy playing at my own speed and abilities. A few people that I have grouped up with to do dungeons and instances have asked me my age and when I tell them, they are floored! I have had nothing but positive input about my playing and others wish that they had parents/grandparents playing with them.

Besides our daughter's family playing, we also have two grandsons from another daughter playing World of Warcraft on the Illidan realm, and another daughter and grandson playing on Laughing Skull that live in another state. Might you say that we have a family-based game-playing experience going on? You bet and we love it! I firmly believe in the old adage "the family that plays together, stays together."

Also while we're playing the game, we talk to each other via a voice program which helps us all work together on quests, dungeons, and instances in a constructive manner, plus it allows us to keep in touch with each other.

I really have to say that playing World of Warcraft has kept my mind sharp by making me think about my moves while playing, and my reaction time may be sharper than if I wasn't playing this game. Will I be giving up playing anytime soon? Not as long as I can make my fingers work the keyboard, and my brain can function well enough to quest and reasonably keep up with younger family members! I love being the World of Warcraft playing grandma, and I'll be around for quite some time. See you in-game!

It is a very early Tuesday morning, the rain a heavy drum on my ceiling. I open World of Warcraft, apprehension and anxiety coursing through me. My friend sends me a text, advising me of the correct course of action to create my account -- he had been kind enough to install the game for me. It takes me about 10 minutes, if only because I keep re-checking things to make sure I have them right, but I’m finally at the part where I can create a character.

And I freak out!

What is the side I should choose? What creature type should I pick? What class is the best to use? All sorts of questions flew out of my mouth, and were translated into text as I messaged my friend for help. Encouraging me, he helped me create the character I would focus on, a blood elf priest. As I clicked the arrows to adjust her appearance, he told me about some of the spells that I will get to use. Healing and resurrecting were the ones I was really excited about.

As I click the finish button, he springs a surprise on me -- he created a blood elf character, too! As I appear on the steps of my starting point, he joins me with his character. Walking me through, step by step, I learn the basics. Simple things like walking, jumping, and using the basic spells I started with. Although his spells are different -- he created a hunter instead of a priest -- he had done his research so that he could help educate me in my baby steps.

As we embark on the first mission, killing mana worms, he’s shocked at how fast we’re gaining experience points! After only a few minutes, we’ve reached level 2 and are steadily moving to level 3. He is excited, which makes me excited, and we go around and complete another mission. I was scared when I suddenly died, but my panic attack was short-lived when he mentioned to me that I just needed to run back to where I died so that I could be resurrected.

After several hours of playing, I realize that it is time for me to get to bed, especially if I want to go to work awake later in the day. He imparts a few final words, as well as telling me how great I did, and I log out of the game.

And that was the first time I played World of Warcraft. Since then, I’ve played enough to level several characters and found other people who enjoy the game with the same passion I do. But I still find a few hours every week to spend specifically with my friend, and we reminisce about old times where I was still a newbie and we killed mana worms. Those are always the good times, and I have World of Warcraft to thank for it.

Thank you!

-DECEMBER 2007-
It's a rainy Saturday evening. J steps out of his front door and waves as I pull into the driveway. J is beaming as he gets into the car. We've been dating for a couple of months now, and things are going pretty well so far. We're headed out to dinner tonight.

We exchange greetings. I get about halfway down the block before J says, "Hey, is it alright if I talk about WoW?"

I chuckle. I've never played World of Warcraft before, but a few of my friends are enthusiasts. Occasionally, they get together and say things like "My level-70 troll shaman is exalted with Netherwing!" and I smile and nod along as if I understand. J generally avoids World of Warcraft talk around me, but I can tell he's really excited, and besides, he's cute when he's geeking out.

"Sure," I say. "Tell me all about it."

He excitedly tells me the details of the Karazahn raid he just left. They kept wiping on Curator, J says, but his warlock's DPS was 1,100+ ("What's DPS?" I ask.), so he didn't feel too bad about it. The raid was still going as he left.

I smile and nod. "I'm not keeping you from anything, am I?"

"Nah," J says. "My guildmates are cool with it." He pauses for a moment, then adds, "One of them said I should pat you on the bum, because 'girls like that sort of thing.'" We both laugh, and move on to other subjects.

-APRIL 2008-
I decide that I'm tired of not knowing what J and my friends (who now talk about World of Warcraft whenever they're together) are talking about, so I decide to try a free trial of the game. I tell myself it's just so I can pick up the lingo and so I can follow along in conversations. Besides, it's spring break, and the trial will be over by the time I start school again....

I create my first character, a night elf hunter. J creates a night elf priest so we can level up together. We battle Mangy Nightsabers, pick flowers, and get attacked by bears all through Ashenvale together.

-MAY 2008-
I'm really into World of Warcraft now. My hunter is shooting everything that moves in Dustwallow Marsh and capping Warsong like nobody's business. During road trips, I have lengthy conversations with my brother on whether or not Fandral Staghelm's actions are morally justifiable. Despite this, I ace my finals and get on the dean's list for the semester.

-APRIL 2009-
I've finished with undergrad. My main (a holy priest) is now ready for Ulduar. I raid on a weekly basis with the fellow who suggested that J pat me on the rear during our date (he turned out to be, in no particular order, hilarious, an amazing player, and one of the nicest people I've met in World of Warcraft). I've talked my brother into joining our guild, and we have a blast playing together.

As for J? Things are still going great. I love him dearly, and we are having a great time kicking Scourge butt in Northrend. He's the best death knight a gal could ask for.

But I still pwn him in PvP.

One day I was in a raid group for [For the Alliance], we met at Ratchet and were awaiting the go-ahead to start the raid on Orgrimmar, and the raid leader asked if everyone had their epic mounts. As a joke I said, "No I'm 700g from getting mine," and he replied by saying, "No, your epic land mounts not your flying mount." I then said, "Oh yea that I have lol."

Then someone from the raid said to everyone, "Maybe we should all chip in to help. 700g isn't that much." I was sitting there kind of stunned. I sent him a whisper saying, "Thanks! You're the only person who has actually tried to help me." He then said, "I will -- come meet at the top of this building." So I did thinking that he was just joking, but then he opened up the trade box and put in 700g. I was shocked thinking that at the last second he was going to click cancel and when I saw the trade box light up green on one side I clicked trade on my side and sure as heck, I got 700g more for a total of 5000g.

I went back to Dalaran and bought my epic flying lessons and am now enjoying flying 280% faster. For all those reading, the name of the guy who helped me was Ohurs, and I immediately added him to my friends list. So I have found something rarer than an artifact weapon drop -- someone who was generous without looking for any payback.

About four years ago a friend of mine introduced me to World of Warcraft. I started out with a night elf priest on the Uldaman server. Maybe a year into me playing the game my brother moved back to the states after leaving the navy (Flamedancer, warlock on Runetotem). He was in a guild at the time named Time Off. He was at my house one night running a dungeon and had voice chat on with only speakers. All of a sudden I heard a new voice come over the speakers, and from that moment on I was hooked on the guy who had spoken. I transferred my priest to the Runetotem server and joined Time Off.

I met a lot of really cool people in that guild. Some have become friends out of game also, but the real excitement was when I finally got to meet, run instances, and talk to Carolynn (actually a guy -- he just has a female character). We spent two years talking, starting new characters together just to have "alone" time to talk with no one else knowing who the characters were and it ended us up with four max-level characters each.

In January of 2008 he flew down from Minnesota (this would be the first time we met in person and first time we had even seen what each other looked like). He arrived two days before my 26th birthday and was only supposed to stay for a week, but he never went back. Now we have a beautiful son together and have been married for almost a year. I can honestly say that if it wasn't for this game I wouldn't have met and married my husband, and had a beautiful son. We are still going strong, still playing World of Warcraft, and still enjoying the time we spend on the game together. Now we roll with Plays Well With Others and he plays his tankadin and I play my healadin and we have a blast doing it.