What’s the difference between games and sports? A game is generally a competitive physical activity undertaken under an agreed framework, usually with a specific, non-negotiable purpose: for fun or competition or both. A game, like football, is often played between teams within a field, sometimes using sand or synthetic turf. Most games, however, involve players stepping onto an artificial surface, such as a skateboard or a basketball court. (In some sense, even the definition of the word “game” has become increasingly blurred over time, since most sports actually involve some form of contact, though not necessarily touching, and therefore technically fall under the broad heading of “physical activity”. But that’s pretty far removed from the way most people think of sports.

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A Brief History of Video Games

What’s the difference between games and sports? A game is generally a competitive physical activity undertaken under an agreed framework, usually with a specific, non-negotiable purpose: for fun or competition or both. A game, like football, is often played between teams within a field, sometimes using sand or synthetic turf. Most games, however, involve players stepping onto an artificial surface, such as a skateboard or a basketball court. (In some sense, even the definition of the word “game” has become increasingly blurred over time, since most sports actually involve some form of contact, though not necessarily touching, and therefore technically fall under the broad heading of “physical activity”.} But that’s pretty far removed from the way most people think of sports.

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In the US, for example, most kids’ sports are indoor activities in a gymnasium, and while there’s no doubt that many, if not most, kids’ athletic activities are intensely competitive, few kids spend much time thinking about what the term “sport” means. Kids don’t learn the game of golf, basketball or baseball by playing a round of horseshoes, so why would they learn a game like billiards or chess by playing a round or two of bowling? The reason is that sports are competitive games, based on competition. But it’s also true that many games, including those that most kids do like to participate in, have almost nothing to do with competition.

Take board games, for example. Yes, board games have become almost extinct, but they can still be a lot of fun for a lot of people, despite being largely ignored by the major media and academia, and even by many parents. Board games have been around for hundreds of years, and in many ways they provide children with a wonderful diversion from all the serious business of school and day care and of growing up. Children learn a lot just by playing a simple game of cards, dice or perhaps monopoly!

Why is this? Well, much of it has to do with the design of the board games themselves. In the case of monopoly, this is where the familiarity of a well-designed game environment (a clean board, nice pieces, lots of fresh cards) can help create an environment in which the game can be enjoyed. Monopoly games are generally very competitive games, but they also have a lot of different elements: business strategies, land developments, dealing with competitors and so forth. By putting these various components into the mix, a new player can quickly start learning the rules and the intricacies of the game – and feel almost confident that he or she is actually building a profitable board business.

The same thing is true of a lot of the learning systems and interactive games that are now available on the internet. A lot of the computer-based games now available involve some form of strategy – and many are designed specifically for children. By playing a game of Scrabble or chess for instance, a child is doing far more than just learning how to beat someone at the game; the child is learning strategy and skill. This then teaches a child a very valuable skill set and self-confidence, all of which are important things for building a child’s self-esteem.

There is no doubt that video games are a wonderful medium for teaching and learning things. And one could argue that there are far greater benefits than simply keeping children entertained. But even though they can’t replace games consoles like the Nintendo Wii, they can still be used to introduce children to games and help them develop skills and habits that they may not otherwise pick up – and teach them about concepts that they may not otherwise learn in school. Video games will probably continue to evolve for a long time to come, but they are certainly an excellent way of getting kids to think in a structured way. And who knows, perhaps we’ll look back ten years from now and see that this was the peak of gaming culture – we just don’t know.