"Eww! Man, that looks nasty." Eddie pulled the towel off the printer so the others could see. "I have to eat that?"

Gil laughed and made a face like he couldn't decide if it was funny or gross. "I wouldn't eat that. Not a chance."

"Then you choose to lose." Matt opened the appliance door and retrieved the plate. "They look like someone's pickled eyeballs."

They stared at the plate until the speaker interrupted. "Ha! We call that Big King Butt Taste. No way you wimpy Americans will eat it."

That came from the Skype screen on the tablet occupying the end of the table, where three Korean teens were watching them through a camera in Seoul. The two groups had met as different "good guy" teams in the MMVORPG game "It's the End of the World if You Blow It", a spy game where everyone was up against the AI-played villainous groups and trying to defuse situation after situation that threatened the world.

Gil had pulled his two friends into the game, all three planning to build up their status for university applications. Like most newer games, "Blow It"  required real-world knowledge of math, sciences and even lessons in  fields such as diplomacy to complete missions.

The AI's kept each mission unique with hundreds of twists depending on your skill levels - as a result, cheat sites were nearly useless. And the game knew if it was you and if someone was helping you, so each success was verified.

They'd met the other boys when working on a covert op in virtual Thailand and the two groups had started working in shifts to defeat long-term, and more valuable, scenarios. The Koreans talked about a food game called Grossout and had challenged them to a real world battle of will…and guts. Basically, each team links a 3D printer to the Grossapp, allowing the other team to print a not-so-tasty challenge. Each recipe was a combination of flavors, textures and odors meant to sicken a rival player's stomach, knocking him out of play.

And because they were 3D printed, visuals were a big part of the game. Almost every dish looked disgusting and the game was popular enough parent groups were beginning to talk about it on social media, warning of rising numbers of adolescents whose appetites for a range of foods was shrinking because of Grossout memories (others were claiming their kids were experimenting more, printing foodstuffs they had been unwilling to eat months before the game swept the globe).

Each printed meal offered four bites per player. When you were targeted, you had to eat two bites and hold it down for one whole minute and then eat the last two bites before another minute had passed. Some items were so nasty the minute made the player realize he never wanted to eat the stuff again and then couldn't wolf it down before the rest of the time ran out - even if they were willing to try!

Eddie looked at his plate, leaning his head left and right to get a good look at…them. Two round, orange-brown orbs sat on the plate and didn't look anything like food. Each had a seam identifying where to tear them apart into the two required bites. The browner portions were slimy looking and the orange areas were sort of crusty. Eddie glanced at his grinning opponents and picked one up - Grossout required eating with your fingers unless physically unable to do so.

He split it in two and a black, syrupy liquid poured out onto the plate. An order reminiscent of skunk spray wafted into the air. Eddie took a deep breath and let it out before shoving a piece in his mouth.

Eddie had never had oysters on crackers, but the bite reminded him of stories from those who had tried oysters and never would again. Slimy and crunchy and you couldn't quite find the right place to bite, so it kept shifting around your mouth. The opponents were giggling and yelling things like "Ewww! So gross! Gotta be chewy!"

Eddie worked through it, finally swallowing the first piece. He took a breath and a swig of Dr. Pepper to wash it down. The next piece was harder to chew, his jaws sort of tired from the first bite, but he managed. Another swig of soda and the boys in Seoul help up a phone with a timer counting down 60 59 58 57.

Eddie kept his eyes shut and breathed. He was good at the game, but that was nasty and he wasn't looking forward to the second orb. Forcing himself to get started, he ate the next piece while the time ticked down. As he chewed, he decided the syrup was the worst part. They'd have to find the recipe and work this into their dead squirrel pattern. It was greasy and clingy and it took most of his remaining soda to wash it off his tongue.

"Yeah!" JJ pumped his fist before laying his tablet back on the table (now that it didn't appear Eddie would blow chunks). "Which and who?"

The three scrolled through the list of the recipes they selected and modified for today's game. Eddie smiled at the camera, "Kwan. Kwan goes first." They all knew Kwan was the brains on that side, the same way JJ was the best at building nastiness on their end. "Kwan eats this." Eddie flipped the card to the send icon on the bottom of the screen.

On the other side of the Pacific, just past midday, three teen boys watched their 3D food printer start vibrating. A few minutes later, Kwan was staring at a hairless mouse, cleanly separated into the two back legs, the torso and the head. "Hmmm..." Eddie wondered out loud, "feed or head first?"

Kwan plucked a leg and a smell like sweaty feet filled their room. He took a bite and grimaced at the jellied flesh on bitter, crunchy "bones" and the whole thing still managed to smell like sweaty feet. A minute later, everyone cringed a bit as Kwan bit into the "skull".