Counter Strike in China

I was in China on business in early July. Never one to stay at the hotel myself, I ventured out into Suzhou to see what the locals did for fun. A work acquaintance had asked me if I played Counter Strike (CS to those in the know). I was evasive in my response, but learned that it was popular with the locals. They play in Internet Clubs, which turned out to be a Chinese version of The American style Internet Café. I asked the hotel staff for a recommendation, and then set off in a cab for a CS adventure.

I arrived at a small building cramped with computers and all manner of people after a ten-minute cab ride. I asked the attendant if I could rent a computer, he obliged. For 80 RNB I was given access to the internet on a Chinese computer for three hours. I saw that nearly everyone was playing CS, so I looked for the icon. After a short wait, I was allowed into a game. That was when the fun started. A group of young people had noticed my activities. As soon as I logged into CS, they started clapping, screaming and pointing. By the time the first game started, 15 people were leaning over my shoulder while trying to watch my every move. I died at the hands of a sniper after 27 seconds; the room went wild.

I was alternating between team CT and team T (the good guys and the bad guys). Every five minutes a coke would appear in front of me, my picture would be taken, or I would be offered a very nasty Chinese cigarette. I think I was killed by every person in the room at least one time. At one point, I was sure they were saying, “after you, no I insist, after you” to each other, right before a bullet would find me. I play a sniper myself and killed a bunch of these CS nerds during our time together, but the real joy was in seeing the kick they got out of kicking my ass.

After three hours, I quit and headed back to the hotel for a little R&R. Besides, America was waking up, so I had to hit my email.

endnotes:
- My son Mike and I play CS all the time (last night till 1:30 AM). It is our bonding game. I love it.

- Richard (if you read this), I still think you win the Tech Geek of the Month award for July.

Technorati Tags: CS, PRC, China, Travel, Gaming