Twelve-year-old Reid Shadle has been in and out of the hospital ever since he was a baby.

Now, he is in the hospital for gallbladder removal.

But in the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital’s brand-new game room, his mind is on the XBox.

That’s not all — three Guitar Hero controllers hang on the wall and three 40-inch TVs with three XBoxes sit in the decked-out game room.

The space features blocked carpet, blue beanbags, and Xbox games ranging from Madden 2010 to Shrek the Third and Kung Fu Panda, among many others from Microsoft.

But the game room, also known as the teen lounge, didn’t always have these luxuries.

The Children’s Hospital ranked first out of the 150 hospitals participating in the Game-Room Giveaway contest, hosted by the Children’s Miracle Network and Microsoft XBox. The top three hospitals with the most votes won game rooms.

On Thursday, mothers sat on the couches of the rec room, talking to smiling nurses and watching their kids take part in the action.

Five-year-old Jack Petty and his 6-year-old brother Luke, intent on the screens, played computer games with their father.

Jack had open heart surgery two weeks ago.

“My favorite game is the Lego Starwars game on the XBox,” he said.

Jack’s mother, Jenny Petty, sat with Vicki Shadle, another mother.

“It is a nice diversion for Jack to get him up and active so he can play with his older brother while he recovers,” Petty said.

Jack got to cut the ribbon in the ceremony that officially opened the game room on Wednesday, along with Bruce Hoffman, a senior marketing manager at Microsoft.

Gwen Senio, a UI Child Life program manager, said the room has received a lot of support from people in the hospital, who got their friends and family to vote.

“Kids were asking and asking when it was coming, and they were all very excited when they came in,” she said. “All the kids at the ribbon cutting made a beeline for the games and couldn’t wait to try them out.”

While the room is open for all ages, certain times will be set aside for specific age groups — younger children earlier in the day and older kids in the afternoon, Senio said.

“Before, the teen lounge had a small pool table and a TV with a VHS and DVD player,” she said. “So this is an upgrade.”

Reid, who was the kid captain for the Hawkeyes at the Orange Bowl in January, said he used to go to the library and rent movies to pass time.

“Reid gets tests where he can’t eat or drink for a long time, and it was nice to come and play during those times to take his mind off of everything,” said his mother, Vicki Shadle.

“This place is a lot better; I will come here a lot,” Reid said, playing as the Kansas City Chiefs on Madden 2010 with his IV pole next to him and looking back at his mom occasionally.

Jo Beil, who has been a staff nurse for 37 years, has cared for Reid since he was a baby.

“Play is important for these kids,” said Beil, wearing the tie-dye scrubs she said the children love. “This is the way kids heal. They have fun to get better.”