That’s not breaking news. What may be breaking news is what I found them playing an hour later. It wasn’t RealRacingHD, a great first-person perspective 3D racing game. It wasn’t ESPN Pinball, the most realistic pinball game I’ve seen in a long time. It wasn’t Labrynth 2 HD either.

It was Checkers. RealCheckers HD to be exact.

And I couldn’t have been happier. They had the iPad on the coffee table between them. One was sprawled on the couch under a blanket and the other on the floor, taunting his little brother with his skills, “I own you!” They were laughing, taunting, being boys. They were engaged with one another.

The size of the iPad, the realistic 3d board graphics and the ability to move the checker pieces with your fingers make this game feel like real checkers. And it is real checkers. It’s “real” because it enables the exact same user experience that a board made from paper and checkers made from wood or plastic would allow – Face-to-face engagement. Only there were no pieces to put away.

This is what I hoped would happen with my iPad. How about you?