Take the opportunity today to warm up for Games Day, which falls on December 20 every year. Video games, live games, card games, board games, mobile games, trivia games people loves games! With good reason, too; games are a fun way to bust some stress. Which is one of the many ways games are good for us.
Considering games are a fun break from routine, and games have been around in some form or the other throughout our civilization. Games sharpen our problem-solving abilities, our goal-focused strategies, focus and concentration, coordination and communication skills, social interaction, and multi-tasking. Games can also be a motivating way to learn, and also give us a better understanding of different cultures.
Originally, Games Day was the name of an annual gaming convention that first took place in 1975. Sponsored by the British game production company Games Workshop, the convention takes place in Birmingham in the U.K. In 1975 itself, a games convention in August got canceled, so Games Workshop decided to fill in the gap by having its own convention. After a few delays, it finally held the event on December 20th at Seymour Hall in London.
The company, which started out producing traditional games including backgammon, later moved on to fantasy games like Warhammer. At the time, the convention was groundbreaking, since there were very few outlets for gamers to come together and play.
Such an event, naturally, contributed to the growth of the gaming scene in the U.K. Soon enough, such conventions showed up all over the U.S. and became very popular, as they were the best platforms to showcase both gamers and gaming companies. Now that you know where the tradition came from, surely the best way to honor Games Day is to play games!
How to Celebrate Games Day
- If you have the means and the opportunity today you should try some of the old classics, including chess, checkers, or tic-tac-toe, Ludo, or Connect4. These are simple games, but far from simplistic.
- Chess is arguably one of the most intellectual games on the planet and is a delight to play with anyone.
- Board games including Monopoly can keep the entire family busy, while its many different versions only add to the fun.
- Catan has emerged as a new favorite for people all around the world.
- Strategic heads can also revert to Battleship or Clue.
- Play card games and we don’t mean Uno Cards or Cards Against Humanity. We meant your classic playing cards comprising games including poker, rummy, and a thousand others card games you can find the instructions to online including Crazy Eight.
- The reason we’ve not mentioned any online, digital, or video games in this entire list is because we people enough screen time anyway.
Facts About Video Games
- Maybe it was due to the pandemic, but an estimated 2.7 billion people played video games in 2020 alone
- Long gone are the days when games were for kids a recent study deduced that the average age of a gamer is 34 years.
- Did you know the popular phrase “Finish him!” comes from one of the most successful fighting games of all time? “Mortal Kombat” which was developed by just four people in 10 months.
- Sony’s PlayStation 2 remains the best-selling video game console of all time, passing sales of 155 million units so far.
- Alexey Pajitnov’s gaming classic “Tetris” was the subject of researchers’ study in 2009, where they discovered it reduces trauma and may cure insomnia too.
Why we love Games Day
Playing games with your friends and family will probably strengthen that bond you have with them. No matter how competitive you or they may get. Playing together is a bonding experience for many animals, including adults.
Paying games can reduce stress even if it’s a brainy game, it will still leave you feeling relaxed.
Realistic video games are a great option to reduce stress.
Games sharpen skills, reflexes, focus, and reasoning abilities. Playing games makes us better at problem-solving, achieving goals, strategizing and foresight planning, coordination, and communication.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
