"Crafter, or the Mysterious Game": When Children Are Treated Like Adults.

"If you sit idly by, you won't achieve anything in the game or in life... It's always nice to create something yourself, even if with the help of a game."

Daniyar Sugralinov, "Crafter."

Children love fairy tales. At least, most children do. Many become so immersed in the story that they imagine themselves as a fairy-tale hero. However, it's not that easy to place oneself in the shoes of, say, Harry Potter: no matter how many times you wave your "magic wand" and shout "Expelliarmus!"—nothing is likely to change in reality.

It's quite a different matter if a child puts themselves in the place of a hero in a computer game: wow! The hero's journey can be replicated simply by installing something on their computer that closely resembles the world and plot! This is exactly what the new book by Daniyar Sugralinov, "Crafter, or the Mysterious Game", encourages the young reader to do.

By the way, before encountering this book, I hadn’t read anything similar intended for the youngest readership, despite the numerous books of this type available for teenagers.

The main character, like Harry Potter, doesn't have it all smooth in his personal life, although not as grim: his father left the family, and Vasily – that's the hero's name – has to leave Moscow with his mother, leaving behind school friends and relocating somewhere on the outskirts of the country.

Completely unexpectedly for him, a game console appears in the new apartment, with a single game of no specific title, but with complete immersion. Moreover, during the gameplay, reality's time stops: play until you get bored! (Let’s say, for a real gamer, while in the game, time also stops; but, alas, not in reality. Oh, wouldn’t that be great! Or, on the contrary – scary…)

Fortunately, the game does not require Vasily to complete the entire quest to return to reality, unlike the hero of "Labyrinths of Reflections"; he only needed to find a save point...

What captivated me was the description of the visual environment after the hero's first exit from the house: I've seen something almost like that while testing games...

From one gaming session of Vasily to another, young readers are unobtrusively taught the nuances of RPG: relationships and balance between characteristics, the necessity to develop certain abilities, and tactical features in encounters with various opponents.

Vasily plans to run to the save point using an item that grants speed – and the reader realizes the importance of a good understanding of mathematics.

He attempts to craft a primitive axe, to forge a sword – and it's perfectly clear that the hero won't be able to do this if he doesn’t understand how it's done in reality: read books, expand your general knowledge!

The only thing that slightly confuses is the reflection of Vasily's in-game actions in reality: improved the floors of the house in the game, and a new parquet appears in the real apartment... Won't young readers expect the same thing? Especially since laying down parquet in reality is no easy task, while in the game it can happen in a snap (if you know how).

Of course, Vasily doesn't "sit" in the game continuously: he settles into the new place, tries to find friends, and, of course, encounters enemies – just like in the real life of any child.

Finally, a first boss appears in the game, whom he cannot defeat alone; a team is needed: and the reader is shown how important it is to create and stick to a battle plan (which is immediately interrupted by the local Leroy Jenkins!).

In short, a child who reads this work will soon move on to "Disgardium" – thanks to the foundation laid down, they will understand what happens in a more complex world!

However, unlike adults, children do not possess patience... What is it – "everything is just beginning"?! The book ended at the most interesting moment! Where’s the continuation?!? Faster with the continuation!!!

Dear Daniyar – children and adults are waiting!