A Brief History
Since their commercial debut in the 1970s, video games have always toyed around the tagline of “fun for all ages” concept, but, the vast majority of PC/ Smartphone games seem largely dominated by younger millennials. The fact is the premise of almost every modern games are heavily focused around the idea of making action-filled strategies, and not to forget the overstretched amount of duration required to finish a single game. Also, one of the key elements of modern smartphone games includes bleeding-edge graphics along with the requirement to move around the in-game map for the majority of the game duration. While all these features may sound extremely appealing to most younger generations, older adults do not necessarily reciprocate the identical sentiments.
Such elements of modern smartphone games make them highly incompatible for older adults to try their hands on. In brief, the majority of modern smartphone games are heavily age-restricted and does not necessarily cater to the needs of every age-specific citizens.
Word games, on the other hand, offer something extremely simple, yet highly fun-filled gameplay that makes them an ideal game that gamers of every age can harness the optimum fun out of. Unscrambling words with answers still encourages gamers when they are stuck without any clues. Use it for cracking the word puzzles at ease; however take care not to let your opponent know that you are using cheaters for winning.
So, what contributes to the gameplay mechanics that make word games and puzzles ideally compatible for players of all ages?
Digging Deeper
Simplicity
Unlike most modern smartphone games that fall under the category of an action-adventure genre that depends on a vast array of complicated gameplay aspects, word games offer a straightforward and extremely simple concept. The objective of finding the correct word out of a mixed-up pile of random letters does not seem too complicated, does it? Word games such as a puzzle, scrabble, or crosswords offer the most basic gameplay, but in a fun and challenging way, so the players can sharpen their mental and cognitive attributes as well. This combination of simplicity, along with a compelling thought-provoking aspect, makes a word game ideally suitable for gamers of all ages.
Fun
While most action-adventure gamers may disagree with the concept of obtaining the fun element out of simple word games, it is important to note that there are generous iterations of word puzzle games that come with distinctly modern twists. The list of word games on both the Google Play Store and Apple Store is extremely diverse, and every game offers something unique and distinct, apart from a simple crossword puzzle gameplay. Games like Bonza, Wordbubbles, Four Letters, etc. are just some examples of how modern word games have successfully incorporated unique gameplay ideas to make them even more interesting and fun as well.
Minimal requirement
Most modern mobile strategy games demand a good deal of certain attribute requirements both in terms of physical and skill level as well. For instance, players need to get themselves familiar with the distinct gameplay of a specific game before they can proceed to play comfortably with other players; however, word games, due to their extremely simple gameplay concepts do not require players to spend a considerable amount of time trying to master the art of playing the game. The mechanical skill level required to play word games is extremely minimal, and hence, they are ideal for almost every age category. Of course, the analytical skill level plays a crucial role, but that is something that every player can develop eventually.
Stimulates analytical thinking
Unlike most modern smartphone games that focus primarily on the particular objective of the game, word games compel the players to explore the mental and analytical thinking section of their cerebrum. Since the primary goal is to construct valid words out of a cluster of jumbled letters, it allows players to utilize and challenge their vocabulary knowledge in addition to achieving the genuine goal. This unique aspect is extremely helpful for both the younger and well as older adults to sharpen and test their mental ability.
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Historical Evidence
(Credits to instawordz.com for contributing the article)
For more information, please see…
Hansen, Dustin. Game On!: Video Game History from Pong and Pac-Man to Mario, Minecraft, and More. Square Fish, 2019.
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