Chore Wars: chore charts as RPG

Chores really aren't that much fun. Many people try to find some way to make them more interesting, whether it's charts for kids with gold stars and earn-able privileges, or rewarding yourself with a hot fudge sundae or a nice long bath after all the bills have been paid. Sometimes that doesn't work out, and there are nasty fights between roommates or families over exactly whose turn it is to clean the apartment or pick up milk, especially when each person thinks that nobody else recognizes the work that they do.

Maybe it would help to look at chores in a new way: Chore Wars is both a chore chart and a game. The site, currently in open beta, mimics a fantasy role-playing game in style, assigning "Experience Points" (XP) for completed chores. You can also join an adventuring party, collect rewards, fight monsters, and eventually level up, just like in any other RPG. But the monsters you'll be fighting are real-life dust bunnies. (Who needs a Wii?)

The type of chores each person does also make a difference. An abundance of mind-taxing work will turn your character into a Wizard, but if all you do is chop and tote firewood, your Chore Warrior will probably turn out to be a well-muscled fighter. Tangible equivalents can be assigned to XP and treasure, and all in all, it seems far more entertaining than simple cleaning and vacuuming and sticking a star to a piece of poster board.

Can't get your house-mate's attention away from World of Warcraft for long enough to get her to scrub the sink? Chore Wars might stand a fighting chance. Your kid spent the entire summer playing video games, but now has to devote the bulk of that time to schoolwork? This might help soften the blow. Only one thing is certain: Chore Wars is a great variation on the "chore chart" for gamer households, or for anyone else who believes that their home really is their castle.

[via The New Young Housewife.]

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