Boy Crazy! Where the Boys Are

To some this may sound like a line from one of those "reality-based" dating shows: Blind Date, Crush, Friend or Lover, just to name a few. But these are actually the stats of one of the teenyboppers in the new trading game Boy Crazy!

The premiere edition of Boy Crazy! features the faces of 363 real boys from across the country. The boys range in age from 12 to 22, and girls (or boys) can collect, trade and use the cards to play games alone or in groups. For example, one can score points when she correctly selects the boy her friend would like.

The models are mainly selected through searches at malls or are spotted by scouts from Decipher, Inc., the Virginia-based manufacturer of the game. These models are not paid for their mug shots, but they are featured on the Boy Crazy! website, http://www.boycrazy.com, where they have a chance to win the Boy Crazy! Boy of the Year award. The winner, chosen by the number of votes he receives on the website, gets a one-year modeling contract, a college scholarship and a car.

But Boy Crazy! is not all pizza and puppies. To some this game may seem like innocent fun, to others it is considered a feminist's nightmare.

According to a recent Newark Star Ledger article, Martha Burk, president of the Center for Advancement of Public Policy in Washington, believes the cards buy into the notion that "girls just compete with each other for boys. I don't see it serving any purpose other than enriching the people who invented it."

Of course, the makers of the game believe the cards are completely harmless. "Girls are giving us feedback that they're having a very good time with this, and they like the fact that this is different from celebrity magazines," says Leslie Hellerman, a spokeswoman for Decipher.

No matter what your opinion, Decipher is still on the look out for more Boy Crazy! boys for future card packs (which, incidentally, sells for $3 a pop and includes nine randomly selected picture cards, including one card featuring the game's philosophy and rules). Those who apply to be on the cards are asked to fill out a questionnaire which includes their likes and dislikes, things that drive girls crazy and their favorite foods, movies, sports, songs, hobbies, cars, clothes, etc.

The fellas are also asked to describe their personalities:"sweet," "emotional," "stubborn," "aggressive." They pontificate on subjects such as their future plans, their "ideal date," their one wish, their "best pickup line" and their best qualities. All of their features are then condensed onto trading cards.

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