

The simplest and easiest way to play as a family or on your home TV is by using a games console: a PlayStation, Xbox or Nintendo Switch. You can play games on PCs, laptops or Macs too, but it’s a little more complicated. If you have a relatively recent smartphone or tablet, you can download plenty of amazing games to play solo from the App Store/Google Play – such as Monument Valley, a puzzle game in which you guide a little girl through fascinatingly beautiful Escher-esque buildings. (That last one is called Coffee Talk and it’s well worth checking out.) There is really something for everyone, so here is how to get started. There are whole worlds to be discovered in gaming: you can garden, ride dragons, go deep-sea diving, hunt ghosts, have a wild romance or even work as a barista in a town full of vampires. And now, with a socially distanced winter looming, the halting of big gatherings and the possible threat of more lockdowns, video games have quickly become one of the safest – and most popular – ways to socialise.

All kinds of people have discovered – or rediscovered – a passion for video games: from retirees with extra time on their hands to stressed parents looking for something to do with the kids. With much of the world stuck indoors in 2020, video games have been experiencing a boom – in fact we are spending more time, and more money, on gaming than ever before.Īnd if you’re imagining that it’s lifelong gamers who are leading the surge, you’re wrong.
