Last Saturday night, Doug, Tommy and I went to Versus. We parked for free in an almost empty parking lot less than a block from Versus. I would have preferred a fuller parking lot. Empty lots are creepy. Versus is just a few doors down from the immensely popular Nama. It is also right around the corner from Volunteer Ministries. From the window, you can see what looks like a living room. Incredibly clean hardwood floors and walls with photographs and prints from local artists with low chairs and love seats placed strategically in front of large televisions. Unlike most living rooms, there are more than half a dozen televisions and they are all wired for gaming. Wii, X-Box, PS3 and even the old fashioned game system and thegamingmonitor that started it all. In the back of the room are several Macs, but the entire building has free wi-fi.

The place itself is a gamer’s playground, but the owner is an absolutely charming young woman who knows more about every game in the store than any of the gamers in our house. Her name fits her personality, but you’ll have to drop in and introduce yourself to find out that I am right. The owner wants to see more girl gamers in Knoxville. She feels like it is time for girls to stop lagging in math and science and show the gaming world what they can do. She even has an assignment for girl gamers. Make games for girls that don’t have a maturity level of eight-years-old. I have to agree with her. I don’t want to play shoot-fight-destroy games, but I don’t want to play Hamster Heroes either.

Versus has a lower level with tables and chairs like a cafe and a stage for local musicians. It is the perfect place to have a private party. Instead of congregating at Books-a-Million, local teens should get together at Versus. We like Versus so much that this Thursday, we are having a party for the first graduating class from Knox County’s Aspergers classroom at Bearden High School. Parallel play just screams Aspergers. A female owned business in downtown Knoxville is a step in the right direction. Don’t take my word for it. Go see Versus for yourself.