If like me, you are really fed up with the gloom and doom of evening TV news, and need a little distraction, then why not dip your toes into the world of online gaming.
By this, I do NOT of course mean, the ones that (sadly) today’s younger generation seem glued to. Which let’s be honest, seem to be extremely violent, both in noise, and image. I expect like me, it can seem a bit worrying when you overhear them on their various gadgets, and see the concentration involved.
But online gaming can encompass many things; word games, mahjong, card games and so on.
One I’ve found that might appeal to you is called hidden objects.
It’s really easy to follow, and the object of the game is to find the hidden objects in various settings, such as a garden, a castle, a kitchen, and so on. This one is accompanied by plinkety plonk music, not gunfire and screams!
The setting comes up on the screen, with the hidden objects shown beneath, and then you have to click on the corresponding things, as you find them in the settings. There is a timer, and you are playing against yourself, but trying to beat your own times, and levels.
At first, you whizz through, and there’s a nice little ping, as you kind of tick them off, but, as always, it gets harder as you go along and the objects become increasingly more difficult to find.
This does require a degree of concentration, but at the same time, its really absorbing, and challenging.
The settings are interesting, and well put together, I particularly liked the garden one, as it was full of weird and wonderful objects, but the colours are nice and bright and it’s uplifting.
The kitchen setting was quite involved, so many spoons, and utensils, and obviously the pre-requisite toasters, kettles and food mixers, that you might find in any kitchen in your home.
Most of us now have either a phone, iPad, or laptop to access these games, and when you get fed up with the newspapers, word search, or Sudoku, and need something to occupy yourself, I think these are a really good idea.
There’s lots to choose from. Nostalgic card games, like Gin Rummy, Black Jack, Crazy Eights, and if Word Search is your thing, then there is something there for you too.
These little online games can be helpful to calm your mind, or maybe even help you sleep if your brain decides to get busy in the middle of the night.
Good also for long journeys, by train or plane, ( probably best avoided if you are actually driving!). And for those tedious times in waiting rooms, you can just get down with the youngsters and whip out your phone, and do some online gaming.
One things for sure, at least it won’t be noisy, or aggressive, unless of course you can’t find one of the hidden objects, then you might just use some colourful language yourself, out of frustration.
Try it out, I guarantee you’ll be hooked!
If like me, you are really fed up with the gloom and doom of evening TV news, and need a easy little distraction, then why not dip your toes into the world of online gaming.
