Games are the best things ever invented. They have filled our lives with joy and amusement for thousands of years. There is no other word that can describe what games are to us. Games have become the source of recreation and diversion for millions of people all over the world. Games have also become a source of livelihood for millions of people who play them as a business to earn some money.
A game is a systematic set of action, normally undertaken for fun or entertainment, and at times used as a teaching tool. Games are very different from work, which almost always is done for monetary remuneration, and from arts, which are generally more an expression of artistic or aesthetic values. In work, you produce a product based on certain rules and regulations, whereas in games you do not produce anything but just act. In the work you produce something, whereas in games you merely enjoy being in the environment that produces the product. In both cases, your actions have real-world effects, though the conditions are artificial.
There is a lot of talk these days about violence in video games. The reports generated by media monitoring agencies invariably focus on the negative aspects of violence in video games such as shooting, killing and the destruction of life. But the more disturbing thing is that a large number of children are spending a lot of time alone in front of the television playing violent games. These children often grow up to be criminals and adults do not even recognize that the games they played are responsible for the growth of such bad characters in their lives.
Children’s studies show that a person’s response to a game does not necessarily coincide with his aptitude or interest in it. Even experts cannot pinpoint the reason why a player makes a choice of a particular game. Certain types of games are better liked by certain people and not liked by others. The psychologists say that it is an attempt of the human mind to create a particular type of entertainment, which can be associated with a particular feeling or thought. This is one of the reasons why a lot of people have been trying to develop games, such as chess, for kids.
However, the psychologists also say that playing games may have a lot of other advantages than enhancing the mind. Games like board games and card games also help a child learn about mathematics and logic. These games encourage the children to come up with strategies to beat their opponents. They are also helpful in sharpening the mind. They also teach the children how to think and solve problems.
The Internet too has a lot of exciting games for kids. Some of them involve the use of online money while others require the kids to work for score points. However, playing games on the Internet is not necessarily dangerous for kids. Some of the games do not require any violence and are designed to keep kids engaged and entertained. A few hours spent playing games can really make a difference in the overall development of a kid.