Although it’s been a few years since I played it, I’m no stranger to the game of Candy Crush. There, I’ve said it. But it seems a bit old hat now that there are so many more online gaming options to choose from.
Online gaming has become an increasingly popular activity for adults of all ages. It can be a great way to keep your brain active and engaged, while also providing a fun activity to share with grandchildren or friend
No matter why you choose to play, maybe whilst travelling, waiting for someone, or simply to while away the time during your coffee break, studies have shown that playing online games can help improve memory, concentration, and reaction time in adults. So there are some secret benefits of online gaming for adults
Nowadays, there is an online game to interest everyone, from gardening and cookery, to learning about money, or how to run a burger bar. All are designed to help you develop new skills, all from the comfort of your own home!
As people get older, the old ‘use it or lose it’ adage becomes a kind of mantra. Many mature folks turn to crosswords or Sudoku to keep their mind and brain active. But online games provide so many more benefits than simply sitting with a pen and filling in squares with letters or numbers.
You will find gaming can improve your concentration and focus, and enhance your hand-eye coordination, and reflexes because you need to have quick reactions and precise movements, and complete multiple tasks all at the same time.
Some of the key advantages of regularly doing some online gaming are that they present you with challenges that need creative thinking, logical reasoning, and planning, which you then carry forward into other areas of your life.
Some of the most challenging online games I’ve come across are to be found quite unexpectedly here
The choice is amazing, and there is something for everyone. I especially like this one it’s absorbing and not too frantic. The idea is to build a salad, from the ingredients shown on the grid. You move things like tomatoes, onions, and various salad items around until they ‘merge’ into one, and you’ve created a plate of salad. Each completed salad moves you further toward an upper level.
There is a tutorial to help you get started, and you could quite easily play this game with children of any age to help them recognise different vegetables and salad ingredients. You can turn off the toot-toot music if you want to, although I don’t find it intrusive at all.
This game needs cognitive skills, and decision-making, and will also need to recognise patterns and retain information. All of these online skills can extend and help you with real-life situations.
Online gaming can improve concentration and focus but it’s important to say that too much gaming can have negative effects too. It’s crucial, as you get older, to maintain a healthy balance between gaming and other activities and to prioritize physical exercise, social interactions, and other aspects of well-being.
So when you feel it’s time to move on from Candy Crush, you might find else something that appeals to your sense of creativity, and helps you to use it, not lose it!
