When it comes to gaming, consider me Poseur Pete from Nintendo's old "Skate or Die" cartridge. Or Glass Joe from “Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!” Or some other loveable level one loser whose certain defeat was a building block of self esteem for all 10-year-olds circa 1987.

But somewhere between “Zelda’s” Link hitting puberty and AARP member Super Mario catching early bird buffets down in St. Petersburg, I lost interest in gaming. And time passed.

Then before I knew it, nostalgia had fueled a second binge of popularity for game consoles like Atari with less technology than a lunch box. Soon, video games had their own TV channel.

And my friends (with babies at home) were lining up outside retail superstores 24 hours before new games were released, munching on Pop Tarts and text-messaging “Phantom Menace” trivia. And then the weirdest bit of gaming news: Old farts were now playing video games in nursing homes.

What the hell happened? Gaming as the new social club? Cool.

This is why I first went through the up, down, up down, left, right, left right B, A start “Contra” cadence many moons ago. Not to defeat a game by myself holed up in my bedroom, but to hang out with buddies of equal or lesser social status.

And I quickly found out that it wasn’t just Gertie and Ethel rolling Wii bowling spares down at Shady Acres retirement home who were building little gaming communities. In fact, an already well publicized Pew Internet & American Life Project study released this week showed that 99 percent of teen boys and 94 percent of teen girls play video games.

But that wasn’t the surprising part. The shock came when the study found those who played games were often more likely to be engaged with the community and participate in civic activities. (Well, maybe not those who play “Manhunt 2.”) Take that video game haters!

That overly long introduction leads us here: With the uprising of social video gaming gathering steam, I decided to find the best place to play games – and hang out – right here in the River City.

The Trading Post

Planning to meet up with gamers at any of those mega retail stores, like your Circuit City or Best Buy, is kind of like celebrating a birthday at the post office. Not fun.

I talked to only two people while poking around the Wii games bargain bin at a local Circuit City. One dude told me he had a copy of "The Simpsons" for Wii in his car – and that he'd sell it to me in the parking lot. (Never buy anything in a parking lot from a stranger besides a car and a car wash.)

The other guy complimented my pink tie before predictably trying to get me to join his pyramid scheme. I'd rather have Tetris over tea than Quixtar over Starbucks.

A friendlier social commerce alternative exists in Carytown’s new Play N Trade. While it’s a big-time chain, the new franchisee features a friendly staff, already faithful shoppers and a few surprises that are hard to find with the aforementioned retail big boys.

"We have a couple of things we do differently than other folks in town,” store manager Lexie Haglund said. "The biggest things we do is ‘try before you buy. ’"

Now I can find out if that Wii ping-pong game is any good before throwing down $40. There was nothing more defeating as a kid than to have saved up your allowance for six months only to waste it on a Nintendo game that was less fun than gout.

Play N Trade also has a couple other cool wrinkles, such as old school consoles to play your fave Atari, Nintendo and Dreamcast games. They’ll also buy and trade your old games. And soon they’re adding tournaments for local gamers to bond over.

Garage Gaming

There are a number of experienced gaming outfits around town that have sprouted up like quilting bees from the days of yore. Although unlike quilting on your front porch, gaming in your garage probably won’t get you egged on Halloween.

Twice a month, Brad Carroll’s Mechanicsville garage is a PC gaming Thunderdome, complete with an HVAC system, upgraded power, ceiling fans and more.

Since 1997, Carroll and friends have partaken in LAN (local area network) parties. And it’s B.Y.O.C – bring your own computer.

Once connected, up to 20 gamers go at it in the first-person shooter “Call of Duty 4” and other titles. There are just a few rules: No booze, up-to-date shots for your PC, you need to be 18 and all newcomers are screened.

“Response is a mixed bag,” Carroll said. “We are not actively recruiting since the goal has always been for the recreation of the core group … Some of our best LAN nights have been with eight people.”

Long-distance Dedication

You would think one of the biggest gaming breakthroughs of our time would rip apart the social fabric of the hobby. But online gaming has done just the opposite.

In fact, massively multiplayer online video games (MMOs), have demonstrated the ability to actually “promote sociability and new worldviews,” according to the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication (sounds legit, right?).

Apparently, roaming through these virtual games is akin to slugging back happy hour ales at your favorite watering hole, the study finds.

This includes hugely popular MMO games like “EverQuest,” “World of Warcraft” and “Second Life.” Many even have virtual economies; so the richest person in the virtual world could be wearing bunny slippers in their parents’ pool house.

Fun fact: Ben Stein’s son Tommy became so addicted to “EverQuest,” a.k.a. EverCrack, that he dropped out of school.

Personally, I’ve lived with a couple of roommates who hooked their Xbox 360 up to the Web to talk smack to anonymous tweens living 900 miles away -- just like Vince Vaughn in “The Break-Up,” but nothing like Stein’s son.

These days, my two golfing buddies only battle on Tiger Woods’ virtual links under two scenarios, according to Fan rat, gamer and confirmed bachelor Eddie Lanza.

“Either you're too lazy to go out (whether to the golf course or a bar). Or it's raining, so you can't play the real thing, but you have the golf itch and still want to compete,” Lanza said.

If you’re looking to find online gaming action with fellow River City revelers, many gamers connect through message boards and forums on site including omgn.com, ugo.com and ign.com.

Workin’ 9 to 5, err, 4:30ish

Unless you’re one of the lucky few workers who punch in at Rockstar Games every day, or you were an extra in “Grandma’s Boy,” video games and the workplace rarely intersect on good terms. But the Nintendo Wii has changed that. Due to its simple and friendly game play, almost anyone can pick up a game like Wii bowling in minutes.

Linda in accounting, who’s never played a video game in her life, can serve Bruce the programmer a surprising TKO in the first round of a Wii boxing match. And workplace after workplace is upgrading from the dusty Yahtzee box to the Wii as an instant shot of workplace culture and community building. Richmond is joining this national phenomenon.

This includes my full-time workplace: The Innsbrook-based job search website SnagAJob.com, where we got half of our employees to play in a Wii bowling league.

Now it’s time for my team, Spare me the drama, to go “turkey” hunting for three straight strikes with a Wii remote and virtual bowling bowl. Heck, maybe I’ll even strike up some small talk in between frames, too.

Gaming Sites

Looking to bring some old school gaming flavor to your bachelor party or family BBQ? Why not rent a Donkey Kong machine and do your best Billy Mitchell impersonation from “King of Kong.” Locally-based MTW Enterprises (silverballsolutions.com) has arcade games for rent or purchase – and they can refurbish your old pinball machine.

Do you like washed up game reviews with a potent dose of cynicism and observational humor? Then check out the Angry Video Game Nerd at www.cinemassacre.com.

One of the three worst movies of all time was about the video game craze of the ‘80s. And it starred Fred Savage. If you’ve forgotten (good for you!), check out “The Wizard” on imdb.com: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098663/

Mike Ward is Richmond-based writer and editor. Check him out at www.underdogcopy.com