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Gloobers!

Album: 32: Hidden Treasures

Episode: 415

Lesson/Theme: Video Game Addiction/Using Time Wisely

Bible Verse: Eccelsiastes 3:2-8; 11

Characters: Jared, Eugene

Writer: John Fornof

Sound Designer:

Original Air Date: November 14, 1998

Last Air Date: August 25, 2009

Description:
The dynamic duo of Dwayne and Jared are at Whit's End, where Dwayne watches in amazement as Jared enthusiastically plays another round of Gloobers, a video game he plays a lot. Eugene Meltsner invites the boys to be the first to try out his new Room of Consequences adventure, which has recreated the Gloobers video game in virtual reality. Assured that the safety protocols are activated, Dwayne and Jared agree and enter the adventure. They play through level four, acquiring gravity boots, but Jared soon tires of playing the same game over and over and decides to deactivate the safety protocols. With the safety protocols deactivated, they find themselves in the forbidden matrix, in the presence of the Master Brain. The Master Brain offers Dwayne and Jared the opportunity to have unlimited access to his Game Room, allowing them to play any game any time they like. The only thing they must give in return is their time. Dwayne has doubts because they won't have time to do anything else, but Jared readily agrees. When a Game Warden tries to fit the boys with helmets that will control their movement, Dwayne fights back and calls out to Eugene for help, landing them in a detention cell. In the cell, they meet an old man named Gregory who describes how he wasted his life playing video games and explains that the Master Brain survives by sucking the life out of kids who waste their time playing his games. The only way he can be stopped is to unplug his power life supply. With Gregory's warning fresh in their minds, Dwayne and Jared escape. The boys reach the Master Brain and are about to unplug him when the Brain affixes them to the floor with their gravity boots. He offers Jared a special game and the ultimate treasure in exchange for his time. Jared tricks the Brain into releasing the gravity and pulls the plug on the Master Brain. Back at Whit's End, the boys warn Eugene to unhook the game because of its danger, but Eugene explains that he and Whit created the game to help the kids get over their obsession with playing video games. Eugene reminds them that time is a precious gift, not to be wasted, and introduces them to the creator of the game: Gregory.

Questions:
What's wrong with spending all our spare time playing video games? Does this mean we shouldn't play them at all? What's a good time limit on playing? Eugene says that time is a gift from God. What does it mean to be a good steward of the time God gives us? What are some ways we can use our time in a way that pleases God?