Windows XP, Games, and Administrator Privileges?

An anonymous reader asks: "I manage my kids' computer, running Windows XP Professional, with an iron fist. They have limited access rights as I do not want them accidentally deleting the wrong file or downloading trojan software. However, software products, particularly games, fight my user management schemes at every turn. Each user on the computer is member of the 'Gamers' group. This group has full access to the games directory, the place I install all of the game software. I did this since games often need to update configuration files or write save files. Despite these changes, I still run into problems. Our latest two games, Age of Mythology and Battlefield 1942, require administrator privileges irrespective of the file privileges. I have not been able to overcome the problem and it seems, based on Googling, that others are in the same boat. Fellow Slashdot readers, what have you done to overcome this problem?"

Comments

educate / console / play outside

[erroneous]

I'd pass a law that all PCs should be sold with a label on them that says "this is not a tv. this is not a refridgerator. this is not a toy. this is not a consumer device. this is actually quite complicated"

Options include educating your children in the proper use of a PC, buying a console for the kids to play games on, or, and this is radical thought :

How about going outside and playing with a ball, giving them full administrative rights over the size and shape of the ball and the rules of the game, and the option to include additional sticks.

Normally I'm nice and productive and helpful but just occasionally I feel the need to vent and troll. Today is one of those days.