Saving Money on Your Nerdy Hobbies

Nerdy hobbies can open a lot of doors for you. They can connect you with new people to make friends and give you something fun to do. But they can also be pretty expensive! Depending on your hobbies, they don't have to cost you a lot, but some of them can get pricey. Things like supplies for your hobbies or travel costs to go to events can add up and cost you a pretty penny. Money doesn't have to stop you spending money on your hobbies though. If you think your hobby is getting a little expensive, you can find ways to save.

Budget for Your Hobbies

The first thing you need to do if you want to save money on your hobbies is to create a budget. If you don't set an amount that you're allowed to spend, you can end up spending way too much. Start by looking at your income and expenses to work out how much you have available. Consider your other expenses and savings goals so you're not spending all your spare money on your hobbies. Of course, your hobby can sometimes be used to boost your income too, so you have more to spend. And if you're planning to spend on your hobby, make sure you've estimated the prices. For example, a Trading Card Price Guide can help you anticipate how much you'll need to save to buy the trading cards you've been eyeing.

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Look Beyond Official Merchandise

It totally makes sense that sometimes you need to buy official merchandise that comes from a specific brand. You might want to get something that has to be compatible with things you already own, for example. But there are other times when that might not be so important. You can often save money by buying MTG proxies instead of sticking to official cards. There are a few reasons you might do this. One of them is that some older and rarer cards can sell for a lot more money than you can afford. You can get cheaper versions that do the same job.

Make Your Own Things

Another great way to save money is to learn to make your own things. This is something you might do if you want to have a costume to wear to a convention, for example. It could be cheaper to make a costume, rather than pay to have one made for you. Making things yourself doesn't always work out cheaper, but it depends on what you're comparing it to. Plus, if you learn to make something, you might find you can sell the things you make so you'll have more money to spend on your hobby.

Swap and Sell with Your Community

Connecting with a community of people who share your hobby can be a great way to save money. When you're connected with others, you can swap things or buy and sell within your community. It's a good option if you're looking for some cheaper items or you want to make some money from the things that you no longer want. Swapping with others can help you save a lot of money too.

Your hobbies can get expensive but you can find ways to save money so you can continue to do them.

How You Can Make Extra Cash By Playing Games Online

If you’re a bit short on cash and you’re looking for a way to earn a little bit of extra cash, you probably start by looking at ways to earn money online. There are all sorts of things you can do like website testing or filling out surveys to earn a bit of extra money on the side. The only problem with that stuff is that it can get a bit boring. You don’t usually make that much money from survey sites and other similar money making schemes so you’ll have to spend a while doing the same boring tasks over and over before you get any real money out of it. But what if there was a way to earn money online while you’re doing something fun at the same time. It might sound too good to be true but you can actually do that.

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Playing games online is usually considered a fun pastime, not a good way to make money but what a lot of people don’t realize is that you can actually do both. There are plenty of different ways that you can play games online and earn money while you’re doing it. These are just some of the best ways to earn money online by simply playing games.

Streaming

Video game streaming sites have really exploded over the last couple of years, the most popular one being Twitch. All you have to do is set up a webcam and stream yourself playing your favorite games and people can drop in and watch. Then there is a donation section on there and if people like to watch you, they’ll send you some cash. You’ll also make money from ad revenue if you feature certain games. It takes a while to build a fanbase before you start making any big money but if you enjoy playing games anyway, that’s not really a problem. The most successful channels are the ones run by people with a big personality that people can relate to and the ones that do something interesting with their games. If you’re just playing through a game normally then people will get bored and switch off, but if you can think of a new and interesting way to play it, you’ll get lots of subscribers.

As well as streaming on sites like Twitch, you can start a Youtube channel to make money more directly. Once you hit a certain number of views on a video, you’ll start getting paid advertising revenue by Youtube. If you can build a loyal fanbase that watches all of your new videos, you can make a lot of money this way. There are popular Youtubers out there that have made millions just from playing games.

Esports Competitions

This one is a bit harder to get into and you really need to be good at a game to make money from it. There are a lot of new competitive gaming competitions out there and the prize money is in the millions for the biggest ones. Those are for the best players in the world and you’ll probably struggle to get into those unless you’re really good, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make good money from some smaller competitions. If there is a game that you play regularly and you think you’re pretty good, why not see if there is a local team that you could join?

Casino Games

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Getting into professional gaming or building a Youtube channel takes a lot of time and dedication and if you aren’t a serious gamer, you’re probably not going to manage it. That doesn’t mean you can’t make a bit of extra money by playing games though. Casino sites are one of the easiest ways to do it. There are plenty of online gambling sites where you can play with real money and sometimes win big. There are, of course, risks involved so don’t think that this is an easy way to make money fast. However, if you bet small and limit the amount of money you spend on there, you can use it as a way of making cash.

Bingo

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If you’re not too keen on the idea of casino games, why not try something simpler like bingo instead. There are so many bingo sites online where you can play with real money and you don’t have to spend that much at all. Some of them let you play with pennies per game so you’re not risking that much. Obviously, the more you play with the more you stand to win but ingo sites are often a cheaper and safer alternative to playing casino games.

Second Life

Second Life is a massively popular online game which, as the name suggests, lets players live out a completely virtual life of their own. You can do pretty much anything you want in the game whether that be working in a store, being a cab driver, becoming a businessman or even being a criminal. The most exciting thing about it though is that you can trade the in-game currency for real money once you’ve accumulated enough. There are people that have become millionaires from playing the game and, while you might not have that many hours to dedicate to the game, you could still make a lot of money.

One of the most popular ways to make money is trading in virtual real estate. If you build up enough in-game cash to buy some good properties, people will pay you a lot for them and you can then trade that for real money. Other people that own businesses in the game will pay you to work for them and you’ll earn a wage, just like in real life, which can then be swapped for real money. It’s a strange concept but there are plenty of people that are making a lot of real money just by playing a game online.

It seems too good to be true but if you put a bit of work in, it is possible to make some money on the side or even make your living from playing games online.

Everyday Skills and Activities That Can Boost Your Gaming

Gaming can give you a lot of awesome skills to use in your "real" life. But can you do things in the rest of your life that might help you to improve your gaming? If you're a gamer and you want to get better, it's not only playing games all day that could help you to improve your skills. There are lots of ways to develop the necessary skills in real life, which you could then apply to your gaming, whether it's for money or just for fun. So even when you're not playing games, you could be working on some vital skills using the right methods.

Watch Other Gamers

Before you consider anything outside of gaming, you could find that watching other gamers helps you to improve your skills. You can see the techniques that they use and watch how they figure things out to see if you can make changes to your own techniques. Many top gamers stream their play on Twitch, Youtube or other sites, where you can watch and learn from them. You might also be interested in gaming tournaments and meetups, where you can watch other gamers play and maybe even get someone to teach you some new things.

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Play Other Types of Games

Even though you might like to spend your time playing Call of Duty, Fortnite or GTA, there are plenty of other non-video games that can help you develop your gaming skills. Both online and computer games, as well as more traditional board games and card games, might help you build some essential gaming skills. Playing casino games is one example of how playing different games can grow your skills. If you want to play online, take a look at online casino reviews to find the best ones. You want a reputable option that you can trust. Of course, you don't have to play for money.

Play Sports

Gamers are often seen as nerdy people who don't ever go outside, but in reality, all sorts of people play video games. Believe it or not, being sporty could help you develop your skills with a controller. Playing sports and being active helps you with your motor skills, your coordination, speed and reaction times. It can also help you to improve your teamwork if you're playing with other people, which is useful for playing any video games where you might need to work as a team.

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Practice Problem-solving

Problem-solving is an essential skill for many games. You need to work out how to complete tasks, beat villains and finish puzzles to get to the end of a game. You can learn good problem-solving skills from games that you can use in the rest of your life, but you can also pick up skills from elsewhere that you can apply to your gaming. You might find yourself having to solve problems at work, around the house or in other areas of your life. Being able to solve problems in real life should help you out when you're gaming too, helping you think more creatively.

Try Multitasking

Doing things that require some form of multitasking can improve your gaming performance too. Although the human brain isn't really designed for true multitasking, like watching TV and reading a book at the same time, there are lots of things we can do at the same time perfectly well. You might get practice with multitasking doing something like playing a musical instrument, where you might be reading music, playing and even singing at the same time. If you add an audio looper to the mix, you’ll have even more to focus on. When you're playing games, you can find you need to do several things at once too, so your practice in other areas will help you.

Learn Good Strategy

Having the right strategy can be important for a lot of video games. If you're not a naturally gifted strategist, you can develop your strategy skills in a few different ways. Some games other than video games can be useful, such as chess or checkers. You can also find opportunities to think more strategically while you're working or studying, developing plans to help you meet goals, work with other people, and take a smart approach to getting things done. If you really want to develop your strategic thinking, you could even take a course or workshop.

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Boost Your Concentration and Focus

A lot of people seem to think that younger generations lack the ability to concentrate and have short attention spans. But as most gamers will know, focusing on something that you want to do is not something that you struggle with. However, improving your concentration and focus can help you with your gaming, as well as other areas of your life. To improve your concentration, you can work on things that require intense focus, from arts and crafts to studying for exams. You can also make some lifestyle choices that improve your focus, like getting enough sleep and having the right diet.

Improve Your Memory

Good memory is often necessary for gaming too. You might need to remember a series of steps that you took to get a particular action to take place, for example. You can find many ways to improve your memory, and it will be good for your studies, as well as your gaming skills. Making sure to keep your brain active should help you boost your memory, so look for things that will give it a good workout. You can also improve your memory by eating the right foods, such as fish containing omega-3 fatty acids, sleeping well, and engaging in physical exercise too.

Build Social and Teamwork Skills

If you enjoy playing team games, when you might team up with people in the same room or online, you can improve your teamwork skills so you can play better with other people. Things that might improve your teamwork skills include working with others while studying or working, playing sports or even just completing everyday tasks with other people.

Boost your gaming skills by working on important skills in other areas of your life. You might notice a huge difference in your performance.

What Reading Reveals About Our Hidden Psyche

One of the best things about being a kid was getting read stories. Whether it was the teacher at school, or your parents that read to you, we first had out imagination switched into overdrive when we listened to novels. It was exciting as you put yourself into a completely different world and you went through the stories playing as the main characters. Trying to feel what their experiences could be like, interacting with their friends and hopefully wishing to make the right decisions. It's a shame then that as we get older, we stop reading novels in favor for magazines and online news articles. Little do we know what a disservice we’re doing to ourselves by not continuing to read books. Even if it's not fiction, we should be reading to keep our minds sharp and able to absorb and process complex information. However, novels do have the most philosophical impact in our lives, because of what they reveal about ourselves.

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You’re not an angel

Horror, crime, drama and adventure genres often reveal our ruthless nature. In society, we like to think that we wouldn’t hurt someone almost in any case, least of all if it somehow only benefited us. This is because we have a sense of right and wrong but also a moral obligation to be fair. However, when we’re put into a situation where we have an option to make a harsh decision in our minds when reading a novel, we feel a little more free to be bad.

Treasure Island is one of the most famous books of all time. The Long John Silver character was pretty much made famous and some say born in the mind of the author Robert Louis Stevenson. He is kind on the surface but a ruthless murderer underneath. He has one leg so he garners sympathy from strangers. Yet, as we read through the plot, we begin to be more and more like him. We hope that his treachery is repaid in full, just the way he would act, with pure violence. We suddenly lose our ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude, and we want to see him shot by a musket or cut into pieces by the Cutlass of the captain. Just like John, we too reveal our bloodlust.

You’re not that tough

One of the great things about horror novels is that, we are challenged in a primal sense. Our fight or flight mechanism is activated, and we try to imagine what we would do when being attacked, haunted, hunted and being tortured. One of the most powerful books by Stephen King ‘The Shining’ does this is spades. We put ourselves in the shoes of little Danny and Wendy, the son and wife of Jack who goes insane. Secluded and far away from civilization and the rule of law, we are challenged by the notion that we must kill the people we love to survive. Haunted by the slaughter or thousands, the hotel reveals the dark side of humanity. We’re frightened by our own capabilities of savagery and murder of loved ones by our own hands.

Fiction novels take us on journeys of not just different worlds and lives, but into our own minds. We show parts of our psyche that we normally keep locked up. Reading such books can show us that we’re not that tough but we’re not that innocent and void of sin either.

Why PC Gaming Is The Best

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Gaming is a huge institution and a hobby which brings tougher people from all over the world from many different walks of life. Playing games is a great way to escape from real life for a short amount of time, make new friends and increase memory retention and spacial awareness. When gaming there is always a debate over whether PC or console is best, and today we are going to prove why PC gaming is the best of all.

You control the hardware

The first thing that a lot of PC gamers will say when asked why they love playing on their computer rather than a console is the control you gain over the hardware which you use for the games. When you have a computer for your gaming you can play around with the RAM, circuits and the processor to ensure you have the best possible machine to keep up with the graphics of the game and to stay responsive in game. With a console there is nothing you can do to improve the hardware and you get updates sent to you by the manufacturer.

You can make your own setup

The fun part of having a computer to play your games with rather than just a small console is the showmanship you can bring to it all. You can decorate your PC tower, play around with your setup and create a whole station in your home or gaming den which will make the whole experience of gaming feel that much more exciting and more real right from the start. It is way more fun than simply plugging in your console and pressing play!

There are so many amazing games out there

The beauty of gaming and its popularity all over the world is the fact that there are thousands of games out there which will suit any type of gamer you can imagine. When on the PC you have less regulations and therefore there is more scope for inventive and fun ideas than on the console. You can use more information to download games to your PC and it will open up a whole world of gaming opportunity for you.

You can enjoy the community

The sense of community between gamers is one which cannot be beaten when you play on a PC. It you have ever used Discord or Twitch alongside your gaming you will know that you can create really close knit friendships and communities out of your shared love for the gaming world. Just look at Pewdiepie: he is the most subscribed to YouTuber in the world and he started out playing games alongside his friends. He now has over 65 million people who watch his videos every day and follow along when he plays a game on his PC.Gaming has an ability to bring people together and feel as if they are taking part in something which is exclusive to them and the gamer. It can be wonderful and it is certainly worth getting into.

Play The Game? Make The Game! Essential Skills In The Industry

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Growing up, geeks all over the world share a common dream. Having spent a huge portion of your life with your eyes glued to a screen and a controller in your hands, it would be selling it short to say that you like to play video games. When you enjoy something this much, it only makes sense that you would want to tie it into your career, but this is where a lot of people stop with their aspirations. Becoming a game developer doesn’t have to be as hard as you think, though. To help you out, this post will be exploring the sort of skills you’ll need to be able to make it in this industry, along with some of the ways to earn them.

Programming

Of course, any video game has to start with some code, and you will need to start working on programming skills as early as possible. There are loads of systems out there which are designed to make the process of learning something like this easier. In reality, though, this can often take longer than simply going in as deep as you can. Systems like Unity make it very easy to get started with professional-grade tools which will force you to learn to code in useful languages like C# and JavaScript.

Creativity

While a lot of people see the life of a programmer as one filled with mathematical problems and other logic-based issues, a lot of the solutions you come up with when you’re coding will be creative ones. A huge portion of the jobs you want your game to do simply won’t exist yet. This means that you have to be able to find ways to simulate events and other actions, and this isn’t a problem reserved for game developers; it’s found in all programming work. Small puzzles and games can help a lot with this.

Dedication

Development companies often have to run on incredibly tight schedules, producing games much faster than they should be able to. To achieve a goal like this, they often have to work their employees into the ground, and this means that you will spend a lot of time working when you shouldn’t have to. This will take a lot of dedication, but will be worth it once you are rewarded upon the game’s release.

What Will You Get?

As a gamer working in the gaming industry, it’s easy for most people to see what they would get from a role like this. Not only will you have the chance to focus your life around gaming, but you will also be able to start learning more about the games you play. While it may take away some of the magic, sitting down and figuring out how a game was built is very entertaining, and will open your eyes to the shortcomings of even the largest development companies in the world.

With all of this in mind, you should be feeling excited about the prospect of working in an industry like this. It will take a lot of effort, but getting a job in video games is a dream come true for a lot of people, and you are probably one of them.

Best Career Ideas In Games

The image of the typical game lover has changed dramatically. Nowadays, more and more companies are looking for playful activities with their staff. It not only has become more acceptable to enjoy games, but it’s also a factor of success. After all, every strategy from fitness apps to team building workshops relies on gamification scenarios to create a positive experience. Consequently, if you are looking for a career change, embracing your inner gamer might be the best idea you’ve ever had. Abandon the typical cliché that is associated with video games. In our modern times, being able to sell a game to your clients is an essential growth strategy. 

Can you transform games into a business tool?

The transferable skills of games

Moving to the professional game sector doesn’t mean that you can’t repurpose the skills you’ve learned and used in your past career. Games, indeed, have reached out to a variety of industries where being a team player and a time management expert can make a great deal of difference. At the heart of it, a game is designed to tackle a problem – whether it is part of a collaborative team tool or a training application for seniors. Therefore your ability to provide a creative solution to everyday issues is crucial to the success of your game company.

Manage a creative team

The creative team behind a game requires expert management. Ultimately, the development of online games – even those that are used as part of a team building or task management asset – is highly technical. For the creative team who is responsible for the UX design, the testing and the fluidity of actions, it is often difficult to maintain a professional approach to day-to-day projects. Consequently, there is a need for leadership experience. You don’t need gaming knowledge to land in this position. However, you can study online at Deakin University to boost your IT profile. This can give you the keys to understand how each function interacts with each other and to manage the creative game team effectively.

Develop your business game

Burnout. Depression. Stress disorder. People in offices struggle more and more to release their tensions and to express their emotional discomfort. Consequently, more and more startup companies are looking to create a virtual platform to allow stressed-out employees to manage their situations. A well-being application that keeps the management team informs of stress levels, and pressure in a playful manner can help to avoid serious health issues. It would be beneficial to use a graphic design such as the 7 cups path to track emotional complaints within the workplace. This can also act as a self-improvement tool for employees.

Create a live game

Not all games happen online. Escape room games have gained strong popularity as a team building exercise. Consequently, you can develop your own live game to welcome teams and encourage them to work together. You will need to build custom-made puzzles. But more importantly, you need to provide a follow-up workshop that helps people to cooperate towards a single objective.

Ultimately, games are there to stay. They have now become part of the professional landscape. Therefore it is the ideal time to embrace the potential of gaming to build a new profitable and professional career.

Play That Pays: How to Earn Money From Your Love of Gaming

Earning money doing something you love- it sounds too good to be true but it is very possible. Thanks to the accessibility of the internet, more people than ever have been able to monetize their hobbies and passions and genuinely earn cash doing something they enjoy. If you love to game, did you know there were ways to gain money from doing so? Here are just a few ideas.

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Play games that pay

If you’re a bit of a risk taker and can afford to potentially lose money in your quest to win- how about playing betting or casino games? Thanks to sites like Onlinecasinocarnival.net there are plenty of options right at your fingertips, and it can be an exciting way to gain yourself some extra cash. Lots of survey sites actually offer points for playing the games they have on offer which you can then cash out once you’ve earned a certain amount. It’s something you could do from your phone or computer when you’re bored, and then at Christmas for example cash it out and you have a chunk of money to spend.

Start a gaming blog

If you’re a seasoned gamer with knowledge, passion and experience then why not share your thoughts and views by writing a blog? You could review games, talk about characters, share tips and pointers and so much more. While it can take time to get a blog established to the point that it’s earning money, it makes a great hobby and is a way to meet and speak to like minded people. In time, if you keep putting out good content you will be approached by sponsors and could earn a decent amount of money just by doing what you love. You can earn this from Google Adsense where you get money for anyone viewing or clicking on the ads on your site, or affiliate links where people click and buy from the links you have recommended. Most of your income as a blogger will come from sponsored posts where companies will pay you to include their link on your site. While the money you earn won’t come directly from gaming here, you’ll need to be playing games in order to stay up to date and in the loop with everything.

Earn sponsorship from game playing

This won’t be an option for everyone, but if you’re a top level games you might be able to secure a sponsorship from playing games. Upload videos to YouTube or play on Twitch and if you’re exceptionally good you might get noticed and just like how famous sports people get sponsorships, you could be sponsored by a game or brand. If you’re already gaming as a hobby then it’s something that could end up happening for you if you’re very good. Of course, you don’t want to give up your day job and play video games every day in the hopes of becoming a famous gamer, but if you’re playing as a hobby online and gaining interest then it could develop from there.

Being Smart With Your Time Spent Gaming

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It can be very easy to feel like your wasting time when you’re dedicating a large part of your life to video games. People often lump this sort of entertainment into the same basket as watching television, often making gamers feel lazy for doing what they enjoy. These titles can offer much more than simple fun, though. Along with this, if they are used correctly, you can improve a great deal of your life with them, and this post is going to show you how to do it. Exploring three areas, it will give you all of the tools you need to be smarter with the time you spend on games.

Use Them To Improve Your Skills

While it may seem like staring at a screen isn’t a great way to learn, video games can be a powerful tool when you’re trying to improve certain skills. A MOBA, like Dota 2 or League of Legends, can give you the ability to deal with stressful situations, along with helping you to make quick decisions. First-person shooters, on the other hand, are best for people who want to boost their dexterity. To figure out which games you’ll need to work on the areas you want to make better, you’re going to need to do some research, using websites which list titles by the skills they require to play as your guide.

Use Them To Make Some Money

Along with helping you to improve yourself, more and more options are opening in the world of gaming which enable you to make some money. If you want to stick to normal games, low-level Esports can be a great way to achieve this, and it doesn’t have to be hard to get into them. Of course, though, finding an online casino is where the real money is in this part of the field. Relying on the gaming skills you already have, a lot of these sorts of sites can appeal to those who like a challenge, while also helping you to earn something in the process. Of course, though, you have to be careful not to spend too much on it.

Use Them For Your Social Time

Finally, as a slightly different approach, a lot of people find that it starts to get harder and harder to find time for things like seeing friends, playing games, and enjoying other entertainment as they get older. With a tough job making you busy, you will need to look for ways to bring these parts of your life together, and gaming could be the best way to do it. Online games and voice chat make it very easy to spend all of your social time playing. You’ll need to find titles which everyone enjoys, and this can be done by using websites like Steam to see what they already play.

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Hopefully, this post will give you everything you need to start making more of the time you spend playing games. There is never a reason to feel bad about doing what you enjoy, but there’s also nothing wrong with using an emotion like guilt to improve yourself in a healthy way.

Skills Video Games Can Help Develop

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Video games have had a bad rep since they first came out. They were considered to be time-wasters which played no role in developing any real-life skills. However, studies have been conducted to the contrary of this, showing that video games can enhance certain abilities. Of course, like all media forms, if you play them too often, there are various detrimental effects out there as well. But here we will focus on the positive side of things.

Patience and Perseverance

The most complicated games, in particular, require a great deal of patience and perseverance if you are going to see them through to their conclusion. For example, in role playing games, you need to be patient for your characters to develop the skills that you require to complete them. And this has an obvious link to growing and developing a career. You can’t expect to skip to the finish line without first putting in the necessary work to get there.

Strategic Planning

Many of the most interesting video games out there require you to take the time to pursue a successful strategy through them. And forward-planning is also a skill which will stand you in good stead when you are moving through life as well. The ability to think a few steps ahead can help you out in social situations as well. And just like you are rewarded by being able to progress through the game, the same is true of experiencing rewards in real life too.

Social Skills and Leadership

Perhaps the most common and lasting negative stereotype about gamers is that they are antisocial loners. But video games have always been developed with an idea of interactivity in mind - just think back to the early days of arcade games. In today’s online multiplayer gaming world, people interact with each other via voice and video chats. And since a lot of games involve cooperation, you can also develop your leadership skills through this medium as well.

Mental Abilities

There are plenty of games out there which are directly linked to improving brain functionality. And there are the ones which are indirectly linked. So, casino games like kaszinohu.com can end up boosting mathematical abilities. But all sorts of games can play a big role in your hand-eye coordination, memory, strategic planning, thinking outside the box etc.

A Sense of Empathy

As video games have become steadily better with their graphics and more cinematic, creators are working hard in creating characters with whom you can have some empathy. And there are also many games in which your decisions directly impact the fate of the characters. So, far from being emotionally numbing, video games can also elicit all sorts of different emotions.

Unlike watching TV - which is a largely passive activity - video games play a role in developing all sorts of different skills. Are you a gamer yourself? What sort of life skills do you think video games have helped you out with?