In the main article for this site, I briefly mentioned a handful of misconceptions and false beliefs about gaming, such as how supposedly all gamers are lifeless teenage boys (they’re not), or how board games only cover fun, lighthearted, mindless subjects (they don’t). Inspired by that post, I decided to write an entirely separate article that’s specifically dealing with nothing but misconceptions in the world of gaming. Keep in mind that I’m going to be talking about ALL of gaming – videogames, roleplaying, gambling, you name it. So, without further ado, let’s get down to business!
Misconception #1: Board Games Are Party Games Only
I already spoke about how not all games are just mindless fun – some can cover some pretty heavy subjects, for example “This War of Mine” (an adaptation of the videogame of the same name) which deals with a group of ordinary people trying to survive in the middle of a bloody civil war that has torn their country apart. Aside from a very intriguing premise, the game is also peculiar for one other thing – it can be played by as many as 6 players and as few as one. That’s right – you can play the game all on your own, without anyone else. In fact, there’s plenty of game which, while offering the chance to team up with friends, also allow you to play by yourself. I’m not going to give any more specific examples because there’s literally dozens of them, but Googling “single player board games” should give you a whole ton of results.
Misconception #2: Online Gambling is Fake
We’ve all heard the rumors – online casinos aren’t actually random, like they proclaim to be. They all run on complicated algorithms that decide whether or not you win and ensure that you get just enough winnings to keep playing while also losing more money than you gain. It’s a complete sham, right? Well, actually, there is a little bit of truth to this misconception – there is, in fact, an algorithm in place to ensure that players lose more money than they gain, it’s how the casino stays in business. Between 2 and 5% of all the money invested in a game go to the casino… But how the rest of it is spread out is entirely random. You could invest $1000 and go away with nothing, or you could play 25 cents and become a millionaire. In fact, there’s numerous non-government organizations (different for every country) which put online casinos to the test and make sure they’re not cheating before certifying them as legitimate. Trust me – as long as you go to the “big” online casinos in your area, you’re going to be fine.
Misconception #3: Gamebooks Are Dead
Throughout the 80s and 90s, gamebooks were all the rage – series such as “Fighting Fantasy” and “Way of the Tiger”, among many, many others, were extremely popular and beloved by kids and teenagers everywhere. But as videogames became more advanced, gamebooks were kind of left in the dust. Most weren’t really all that well-written, and with the interactive element being no longer a novelty, gamebooks slowly went the way of the dodo… Until a few years ago, when they made a gigantic resurgence and are now once again a prominent genre of interactive entertainment. The secret is that they didn’t return on paper – most are now on your phone, and they are beautiful! They combine the best of the genre from its prime with the advances in modern technology, and let me tell you as an old-school fan of gamebooks, combining the best of both worlds is an experience unlike any other!
Today, we look at games as little more than mindless entertainment. Board games that aren’t called Chess are seen as either children’s entertainment or exclusively for sweaty virgin nerds who like to fantasize about slaying dragons. Videogames are nothing more than just a sign of our never-ending consumerism, with non-gaming people frowning about the fact that gamers (which, again, are mostly personified as the aforementioned sweaty virgin nerds) are willing to pay up to $60 for the opportunity to sit on their ass, push some buttons and pretend like they’re shooting aliens in the face. People who play casino games are seen as desperate drunks who gamble away their earnings and are like a cancer on their family, putting them in debt for their own addictions. And online gambling is worst of all, since it not only puts people in debt, but there isn’t even a chance to win! Games are horrible, ruin people’s lives and wipe children’s brains… Or so a lot of people over 45 would like to believe.