How to Get the Whole Family into Playing Video Games

When it comes to Family Fun Night, which is usually a night once or twice a month (sometimes weekly), where a family will just unplug and spend some time together. This could include some old fashion board games such as Monopoly or Twister. Other times, card games such as Poker or Gold Fish can come into the mix. While these are all classics, they can eventually feel fairly stale, right? Well, why not try some video games?

This doesn’t only need to be for those traditional Family Fun Nights, but this can include just some general quality time with someone in the household. Video games and family time may sound a bit off, compared to the traditional methods of bonding. But truth be told, video games can work! Whether you’re thinking of playing some of the most popular video games around, or kicking it back to old school, here’s how you can get your family into video games!

What are the Benefits of Playing Video Games?

Video games are great for children and adults alike. They provide many benefits like cognitive, social, and emotional development. Playing video games is a great way to learn new skills, develop new interests and make friends. It also increases your creativity and problem-solving abilities. Video games can also help in managing stress and anxiety levels as well as they can help in improving your mood.

Video games have been proven to be beneficial in many ways, so it’s best to play them responsibly! But it’s just not video games either, this can also include card games and board games as well. This activity has other benefits too, for the developing minds, but those that are fully developed.

Video Games Stimulate Brain Activity and Prevent Memory Loss

Video games are a great way to keep your brain sharp. You’re just doing it wrong if you think otherwise. They can also help prevent memory loss in dementia patients. Researchers have found that playing video games can stimulate brain activity and help the elderly maintain their mental abilities. They also help to improve cognitive function, such as attention span and problem-solving skills.

 Usually, relaxing games such as Animal Crossing have been given to elderly family members to keep themselves busy, but this has the great event on keeping the brain sharp. Plus, games that include puzzles (such as The Legend of Zelda) can be excellent for sharpening the mind of children as well.

The Benefits of Gaming Includes Improving Social Skills and Engagement

Research shows that gaming can positively impact children’s social skills and engagement. Gaming has typically been seen as a time-waster or something that is bad for children to do. However, recent research has shown that gaming can positively impact children’s social skills and engagement. In fact, the benefits of gaming are being recognized in schools across the country, as educators turn to video games for help with learning about STEM topics, such as coding.

Games can improve social skills and engagement. They also help with problem solving and cognitive development. The best thing about gaming is that it allows kids to be creative, explore their surroundings, and experience new things without any risk.

It Breaks Away from Dull Routine

You read that right, video games have a great way of just breaking routine. There’s no denying that time just seems to fly in a flash of an eye the second that a video game begins. It’s a great way to keep a person occupied, and at times, it can be fairly educational as well. So, this could be a great reason to get your family into playing games. There are all sorts of twist and turns in games, and there is more than enough games and consoles to choose from. Whether you’re in the mood for something action-packed or want to take it a bit slower, then a video game can be excellent for this.

How to Get the Family to Play Video Games with Each Other

Since the benefits of video games have now been covered, it’s time to move on to how to introduce this to the family and how to get everyone on board to use this as a way to spend some time together. If you’ve ever looked back on old Nintendo commercials, you’ll notice that they have a more family-friendly image compared to other brands. At one point in time, for their Wii commercials years ago, it was directly advertised for family fun. While video games and video game consoles have changed, these commercials are the perfect example of how families-anyone of any age can have lots of fun.

Choose the Right Game For Your Family

Games are a great way to spend time with your family. They can be used to teach children valuable life skills, and they can be used as an activity for the whole family. The most important thing is to choose the right game for your family. There are many factors that you need to take into account before buying a game, such as age-appropriateness, content and genre of the game, and how much time it takes to play it. 

Ideally, you’re going to want to look into multiplayer games so everyone has a chance to have some fun. There are some great choices such as Mario Party. Rocket League, or maybe even some old fashion fighting games such as Tekken. But overall, choose games that not only you’re going to like, but games everyone in the family is most likely going to enjoy.

Start With a Less Complex Game and Work Your Way Up to More Complex Games

The best way to start is by playing games that are less complex. This will help you understand the basics of the game. The next step should be to play games that are more complex and gradually work your way up to playing the most challenging games. Having something fun and easy for the whole family to pick up is going to be that nice little hook to introduce other games into the mix.

Just bear in mind that getting the family hooked on video games just doesn’t need to be only for quality time or “family fun night”, it can also be just to get your family members into new hobbies or even let them get an understanding of what your hobbies are all about. But overall, make sure you get a game that’s easy enough for anyone to easily pick up and enjoy, that’s going to need to be one of the major steps to having the family get into playing video games.

Give Them Goals To Accomplish

This is fairly straightforward, nearly all video games have goals, and they have tasks that need to be done. Some slower-paced games like Sims, Harvest Moon, and Animal Crossing, even ones that are heavier. Having set tasks to certain goals that need to be done can all be pretty good ways to get yourself, and also your loved ones into something to enjoy about the game. Plus, a lot of games will give that dopamine rush that makes games enticing as well.

Keep The Skill Level of Players Involved in the Game Fair and Part of The Goal

The skill level of players involved in the game should be fair and should be an integral part of the goal. Some games have a practice mode or a tutorial to help players learn how to play. However, that is not enough. It is important to ensure that the game is providing a fair challenge for all players, regardless of their skill levels. For example, if you are playing a racing game and you don’t know how to control your car, then it’s not really a fair challenge for you. You will lose because you don’t have the skills necessary for success.

You’re also going to have to keep in mind that when you’re picking games for your family to enjoy, you’re going to need to look into something that will allow multiple players. This gives everyone an equal chance to have some fun and enjoy the games.

Introduce New Games Slowly To Break Out of A Routine

People often get bored with the same routine. This is why companies tend to introduce new games slowly so that people can gradually get used to playing them. They should not just introduce new games all at once because it will result in a lot of players quitting the game altogether. Plus, there’s nothing wrong with shaking up routines either. 

No matter how old you are, playing the same game over and over can eventually get pretty tiring, right? You want to make sure that you and your family enjoy the games, so make sure to break the monotonous routine by either investing in multiple games or even consider buying DLC for games if everyone has been enjoying it.

In general, video games can be one of the best ways to not only get in some family bonding but could be a great way to help out family members as well. From your young little ones to your grandmother, video games most certainly have plenty of perks that deserve to be utilized.