MTV's oddly addictive 'Hills' backchannel game

As if being a 31-year-old Hills devotee wasn’t bad enough, last night I found myself in a chat room game with other Hills devotees (who were probably half my age and up past their bedtimes), competing for points based on my oh-so-witty comments about the show. Whaaa, you say? Yes, it’s true: Lauren, Heidi, and Whitney have not only invaded the television, fashion and music markets, they’ve moved into cyberspace, too.

Here’s how it works. Once on the backchannel site, you log in and wait for the next game to start. Not only can you play on Tuesday nights, but also during reruns (there’s probably a game going on right now, can you stand it?!). Once a game starts, you wait your turn to post your brilliant observations and sincerest comments. You know, something mind-bending like, “What’s up with Lauren’s hair?” Or, “Spencer really is the Devil.” When people like your comments, they click on them. The more clicks your receive, the bigger your comment appears, and the more points you get. So if lots of people agree that Justin Bobby is looking fine in a particular scene, it will look like you screamed, JUSTIN BOBBY IS SO HOT…if someone actually thought that, not me, OK fine, me. But I digress. When it’s not your turn to comment, you click on other people’s comments that you like. If other people also like the comments you choose and click on them right after you, you also get points. It’s not brain surgery, people! Just a venting room for us pathetic dedicated Hills watchers.

Ok, so this sounds pretty stupid, and I admit when I first logged on I was quite embarrassed. But the more I played, the more I longed for my fellow gamers’ approval. But alas, I did not fare so well (I blame the generational gap). After last night’s new episode, I only scored 338 points (the winner scored 958), and I came in 19 out of 34 in my particular chat room. Pretty disappointing. My most popular comment was about Audrina’s horse teeth (she’s pretty, but she really does have big chompers). Anyway, I can’t say that I will go back next week, but if you are home, alone, feeling sad that you are in your 30s and watching 20-somethings dribble on about their pathetic love lives and staring oh-so-deeply into space — know you are not alone, that there’s a whole game dedicated to people just like us.

So what do you think, Hills fans: Will you try this game next Tuesday? Or should I get a life, never watch the Hills again, and pick up an age-appropriate hobby such as knitting?