There are plenty of families that are driven apart by games. In my own household, the post-Christmas dinner ritual of playing Monopoly (in order to determine who is required to do the washing up) is often approached with equal parts anticipation and dread. When it goes smoothly, though, gaming together as a family is a beautiful thing. There is a shining example of this at PC Indianapolis—both Nicholas and Theresa Van Gundy are here competing at the Pro Circuit, playing the same deck and having a great time.

Unlike with some parent-child gaming relationships, it isn’t as if one is highly competitive and the other is just along for the ride. These are both serious gamers who started playing at the inception of the game—Theresa initially got the family into Vs. while she was on the demo team. In addition to being an avid Vs. player, Theresa is often the tournament organizer in her area.

Nicholas and Theresa are part of a collective of gamers from the Colorado PCQ scene who are here this weekend. Nicholas qualified on PC points for this event, while Theresa had a high enough rating to be able to play.

Both mother and son are playing with the Superman Blue deck that sports impressive numbers of Soldiers of New Genesis. While they aren’t quite pushing for top eight yet, it is not for lack of testing. Being able to test under the same roof at the drop of a hat is a luxury that not many other teammates have access to.

Family values are important, and this family clearly values Vs.