2016 Geek-A-Long: Starcraft

Blueunicorns13 nominated Starcraft for the 2016 Geek-A-Long, and even though it didn’t make the leaderboards, my husband informed me in no uncertain terms that I would be failing at video game appreciation if it wasn’t included. Unfortunately, Jac and I played once in the 90’s. We really don’t have much to say about it other than that we vaguely remember enjoying it and that everyone we knew wanted to play Protoss, even though we were really more the Zerg sort. In deference to public opinion, this week’s square features the Protoss symbol. Since I am no authority on the game, I invited Mr. Llama to share his passion about Starcraft with all of you. See you next week!

In college, my friends and I ran a computer lab. The job mostly consisted of logging people off of AOL instant messenger and wiping the computers so that they weren’t littered with programs like Adult Friend Finder. Almost immediately we became mad with power and treated the lab like our personal arcade. Every one of the 50 computers had a hidden version of Starcraft installed. As long as there were four computers free, we were playing Starcraft. We had eight player games that ran til 5 in the morning, and we took it much more seriously than going to class. I was never the best player but I knew who was and who to side with. I didn’t quite get the hang of highlighting squads of troops and assigning them numbers, which seemed to be the key to taking out your opponents. I did learn to check whether the computer was warning me, ”Nuclear launch detected,” or if someone just typed it into chat.

Our dedication to playing Starcraft instead of studying has nothing on the South Koreans though. In South Korea it’s such a hit that Sony and Samsung sponsor a professional gaming circuit. True story: Someone DIED from exhaustion after playing for several days straight, without sleep or food. Crazy. I guess the lesson is that you have to take a break every now and then and YOU MUST CONSTRUCT  ADDITIONAL PYLONS. -Kevin

Whether you’re knitting, crocheting, or cross stitching this square, you can download the Starcraft pattern here. Instructions for both knit and crochet are listed in the pattern. When you’re finished making it, don’t forget to tweet or instagram your squares at me @Doctor_Llama and Jac @jac_attacking or with the hashtag #geekalong!

If you’re having trouble with double-sided knitting, we have a how-to video here and a tutorial on crochet here. Want to hang out with other people making the blanket? You can find moral support in the Geek-A-Long group on Ravelry here.

~ Megan-Anne
To glorious battle!

* * * * *

If you enjoyed this post, please consider making a donation to Child’s Play Charity. Here is a direct link to our donation page benefiting the charity. Please help us raise $1,000 this year! No contribution is too small. Wanna make your donation go even further? Louet Yarn is donating 50 cents for every skein of Louet Gems Worsted purchased this year to make a Geek-A-Long blanket. You can get Gems at your Local Yarn Store or through Louet’s website. Just remember to mention the GAL at check out.