It began as a joke.

I was going to set up an account on the online game "RuneScape" so that I could send messages to my son along the lines of "Take a bath" or "Bedtime!"

The joke was on me.

I've always avoided playing those MMORPGs (massively multiplayer online role-playing games) that the men in my lives are so addicted to.

However, after my 3-year-old daughter destroyed our game of "Monopoly," I offered to play "RuneScape" with my son. I expected him to refuse. Instead, I ended up spending most of the weekend killing goblins and giant rats, chopping down trees and lighting fires.

And I did it with the help of two fifth-grade boys — my son and his friend — who outfitted me with armor, weapons and tons of gold coins, which I promptly lost upon being killed.

My son consoled me by sending me this message: "I died with armor that costed 120,000 your armor only costed like 2,000 coins its not that bad."

He led me through quests and tried to save me when I died yet again. He even drew me a map so that I could find everything without asking him every five minutes.

It was fun letting him be in charge — letting him be the teacher. He was clearly proud to be good at something I'm absolutely inept at.

He wasn't as thrilled when I had so much fun with "RuneScape" that I decided that I might take over his "World of Warcraft" account, since he's not using it.

Maybe playing "WoW" together will be our summer activity.

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.