Why Do You Play? What Should You Play?

Why do you play? And what should you play? This question has been on my mind for a while now, and repeatedly comes back to me whenever the concept of playing games together with other people is mentioned – it can be quite challenging (and frustrating!) to find a game that all of your friends will enjoy equally. In this article I will attempt to shed a light into the mindset of a veteran variety gamer such as myself, and suggest a few legitimately good games for every different type of gamer I can readily identify.

Playing video games is an awesome experience, when done for the right reasons. It seems to me, as a long-time gamer, that many fellow gamers never really think about what exactly motivates them to start up a game. Sure, we want to be entertained, and it’s supposed to be fun – that much is obvious. But there is a wide variety of flavors to amusement offered by different games, and realistically, any single one game can only satisfy one or a few of the gamer types detailed below. Do you know which gamer type you tend to be? We tend to strongly lean one direction or another in our tastes and preferences, but it is, of course, also common to enjoy a wide variety of games, and with different people, or even in different environments.

Game developers obviously try to make products that please a wide variety of gamer preferences – naturally they want their games to entertain as many people as possible and in many different ways. But if a game stretches too thin in this regard, it often ends up feeling bland, not deep enough, lacking focus, or in the worst case; it fails to satisfy anyone.

In the following text I identify a few different gamer types and offer my recommendations for games that each one should play, in my humble opinion;

The Skill Challenge Gamer

Playing to test or prove your skill, is a fairly obvious and common reason to play a game. We want to be challenged in fair and balanced ways, and we want to learn, practice, and experiment to optimize our performance, whether it is about;

• Hand-eye coordination
• Precision
• Reflexes
• Game knowledge
• Problem solving
• Performing under stress
• All of the above

This type of gamer probably enjoys high score tables, achievements, leaderboards, or online PVP games.

Games You Should Play

Almost any game can be played with this mindset, but if you are fresh out of ideas, I would suggest looking into arcade fighting games, such as Street Fighter or Tekken. Most 16-bit retro games are also great for this, as they are typically extremely challenging, and easy to pick up and play. On that note, check out the excellent Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn for a tough (but mostly fair) challenge! 90s arcade games and Shoot ’em Ups such as Gradius Origins and Dariusburst Chronicles Saviours are excellent for pattern memorization, performing critically accurate actions / combos, and challenging your personal best scores.

The new trend trail-blazed by Vampire Survivors is another great example of a game where you accumulate game knowledge and grow in power over multiple play sessions, as well as challenging the player’s skill, decision making, and execution.

The Strategy & Tactics Gamer

This type of gamer might still enjoy the challenge and thrills of high difficulty games, but are not necessarily in it to perform exacting button combinations in time-critical situations. Here instead, the amusement may lie in analyzing a challenge, thinking ahead, and making critical decisions with a strategy in mind.

Games You Should Play

If you’re the type of gamer who enjoys strategy and tactics, an obvious choice would be to look into turn-based games like Civilization V, or the excellent Heroes of Might & Magic-series. If you’re looking for a more story-based game, Baldur’s Gate 3 and Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader are excellent choices, each offering a plethora of different character options and enemies to battle in tactical combat. Aside from turn-based games, there’s also great real-time strategy games like the Ages of Empires-series, the Total War-series (Total War: Warhammer easily being one of the best games in its genre), or even action RPGs like Path of Exile or Last Epoch.

The Recreational Gamer

Turning to video games for a moment of respite, relaxation, or simply to “reset ones brain” after a rough day of work is a tried and true concept, and a perfectly valid way to enjoy games. We may all have our personal “comfort games”, where we can enjoy some well deserved escapism and relieve stress, but if you’re looking for some inspiration, read on.

Games You Should Play

Practically any game could fulfill this basic need, as it is a highly personal one. Personally, I tend to seek relaxation from games that are easy to pick up and put down. Bonus points if they fuel a nostalgia feeling, such as arcade shooters like Tiger Heli or Earthtion, or classic platformers such as Castlevania. Puzzle games like Tetris Forever and pinball games such as Pinball FX3 are also perfect for this particular need.

Many people also agree that there’s something cathartic about driving cars, so racing games should be mentioned here; excellent choices would be Dirt Rally 2.0, or the WRC games. A really relaxing driving game is obviously Euro Truck Simulator 2 where you can just drive freely on highways and let your mind meander while listening to your favorite music; like a virtual road trip!

Obviously, sandbox type games are also top picks for this use case; games where you are free to roam, explore, and just enjoy at your own pace. More than once have I started up ARMA 3 in the game editor to just spawn in a vehicle and enjoy driving (or flying!) in an otherwise serene environment – an excuse to practice my rotten helicopter flying skills.

The Story Gamer

Some gamers enjoy playing games for the story, the world building, and the interactive narratives. Gameplay and game mechanics could completely take the backseat in these games, as they instead tend to rely more on rich atmosphere, interesting dialogue, and thought-provoking themes. The main attraction here would be to take part in the story as it unfolds.

Games You Should Play

The archetypal story game in my mind is Shenmue, and it should definitely be on your play list, if you are looking for a great story game. Similarly, the Yakuza games offer an equally amazing experience with a deep, dramatic story set in an intriguing environment, featuring fast paced fist-fighting action, in all the right ways. Red Dead Redemption 2 also offers a deeply immersive and intriguing story, set in a vast world to explore.

If you’re looking for something more relaxed, I would suggest point and click games such as the Monkey Island-series, or you might want to look into the Walking Simulator genre of games. Many indie games focus on expertly delivering a story; for example, check out The Stone of Madness.

The Competitive Gamer

Do you want to test your skills and challenge the best players around? Just imagine the bragging rights, the chicks (and the massive paycheck that would come from playing professionally!) – yeah, totally realistic dreams! 😉 Jokes aside, it can be very thrilling and motivating to compete in video games whether it is a friendly competition, or a more organized clan battle of some sort.

Games You Should Play

To me the obvious choice for some of the best competitive games are DOTA 2, Counter Strike 2, League of Legends, and Valorant. These are all team-based games, where your rate of success is heavily dependent on playing with a competent team, and coordinating said team.

If, however, you’re looking for something more personal, then Street Fighter 6 is probably the best one-on-one fighting game at the moment, or another great choice would be something like Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel. You might also want to take a look into MMORPGs, as there are many games offering quite competent PVP modes, such as Guild Wars 2.

For a more friendly and casual competition, I think there is a time and place for survival crafting games where you play in teams against each other (on a private server), or party games like Mario Party or Sonic Shuffle.

The Social Gamer

There’s a plethora of games that are best played in co-op, or with a small group of friends. These games shine in that they provide a dynamic environment for player interaction; trading, coordinating, and communicating. Furthermore, many of these games feature survival and exploration themes as a common goal to strive for.

Games You Should Play

As of writing, there is a trend in gaming going on right now, affectionately called “friend slop”; indie games that heavily feature co-operation with friends, typically with a simple (yet challenging) goal that requires coordination and communication. It’s a very playful style of gaming, and I can definitely see the appeal. Phasmophobia is a fantastic co-op ghost hunting horror game that makes for a fantastic social experience, as it masterfully exposes something very personal and common to us all; fear.

Other great social games would be party games such as Wii Sports, Mario Party, or, if you have a larger group of friends, building and fighting side by side in Valheim or V-Rising might be very entertaining. Other than that, you should look at MMORPGs if you’re looking to join clans and interacting with random people – the ultimate nightmare for introverted gamers.

The Creative Gamer

Almost everyone I know has some level of nostalgia for the old Sim City or Sim City 2000 games, and for good reason; I believe these games unlocked something primal in many of us – planning, building, managing, and creating the city of our dreams, putting us in a role where the fate and well-being of our citizens were in our hands.

Games You Should Play

The best “city building” game according to me is Open TTD; not only is a very addicting game that allows you to build almost anything you can imagine and challenges your planning and managing skills, it also supports countless mods that can expand the game and take it to dizzying proportions. It really can become a virtual “bonzai tree”, where you easily sink in hundreds of hours optimizing your various supply lines and transport communications. And the game is completely free to play, no predatory monetization. Lovely stuff.

Another phenomenal game in this category is Conan Exiles; originally intended to be a PVP focused game, but it just so happens to also have some of the best base building features around (along with some of the best PVE content as well!), especially when mods are in the game. If you really just want to build and explore, I’d recommend running your own private server and avoid the PVP servers completely.

As mentioned above, ARMA 3 features a built-in scenario editor where you can create your own scenarios and really go wild with it; people online are playing life simulator style games on there. I’ve also had a blast creating levels in various level editors such as those for Duke Nukem 3D and Blood – a learning curve for sure, but extremely rewarding at the end of the day. If those particular games are not to your taste, it may be worth looking up other games that feature built-in level editors, it’s great fun to build and play!

Another excellent choice is Tabletop Simulator, as it allows you to play and create practically anything in terms of tabletop board games that use tokens, cards, or miniatures; I’ve ran Dungeons & Dragons campaigns, played cards, Chess, and even Warhammer 40,000 battles in it, as well as an assortment of custom made home games.

There’s lots of ways to be creative with video games, other than the mentioned building and managing type games. You could host your own servers and create a space of your own, you could experiment with mods and create a unique experience that way. There’s also roleplay servers in various games (check out the absolutely insane GTA V FiveM roleplay communites!) where you are encouraged (or even required!) to stay in character while interacting with others, living the life of a citizen in the crazy GTA world.

The Game Streamer

Playing games in an effort to entertain an audience can be done in a multitude of different ways; for example, you could showcase your skills and game knowledge, or you could build up said skills by practicing in a public arena, perhaps even sparring with members in the audience for the ultimate streamer-to-audience interaction experience. More commonly though, we see streamers struggling in a game, and the audience either cheering them on, or cheering for the enemies.

Games You Should Play

If you are a streamer, you should probably be looking into games that make for good spectator experiences. Popular choices are the above mentioned social games and “friend slop” games such as PEAK or rage games such as Getting Over It, as they invite the audience to participate in the banter and shenanigans that is unfolding in front of their eyes.

Any notoriously difficult game like Dark Souls, or the classic Ghouls & Ghosts can easily be highly entertaining to watch, because the streamer is expected to fail a lot, and seeing how they recoup and retry can be both educational and a virtual bonding experience.

I think fighting games make for good spectator sports, if the audience is interested in the specific game you are playing, because there will invariably be a huge variety in skill levels engaging with the game and the stream. Speed running or record attempts can also be good value entertainment for audiences that are interested in those aspects of gaming.

In my experience, the typical “normie streamers” just tend to play the latest game releases and call it a day; that’s one way of staying relevant and topical, I guess…

The Gamer With a Moment to Spare

Sometimes we just have a moment to spare; whether we’re on a lunch break, or otherwise operating within a limited time frame, for one reason or another. We’re looking to fill the gap with some gaming, plain and simple – this happens a lot when commuting, doing laundry, cooking food, waiting for someone, etc. – you get the idea.

Games You Should Play

Obviously you should look at games that are easy to pick up and put down, and they should be quick to boot up as well; my go-to choices are arcade style games that provide instant gratification and can be enjoyed even in the shortest bursts. Check out Capcom Arcade Stadium and its sequel – these classic, high quality arcade games can be played in score mode, where your goal is to accumulate as much score as possible with a single credit. UFO 50 is a collection of 50 8-bit retro style games, each well designed and polished; incredible value and great entertainment for playing in short sessions.

There’s also a new release of the fantastic, original Puzzle Quest game called Puzzle Quest: Immortal Edition – this is a “match three” type game set in an epic fantasy campaign where you collect gold, complete quests, and fight monsters. It’s incredibly fun and quite enjoyable in short bursts, while still maintaining a meta progression of sorts in the background.

The Casual Gamer

Casual gaming was all the rage back when mobile gaming came to prominence back in 2008 or so. Some players want to enjoy games without necessarily having to feel the pressure of performing well, steep learning curves, or needing to memorize deep lore, obscure game knowledge, which is perfectly understandable! 🙂

Games You Should Play

I think the best casual games are puzzle games like Magical Drop IV, Puyo Puyo Tetris 2, or card games like Shadowverse – games with simple rules, and at the same time offering depth and an infinite replay value. If, however, these games aren’t scratching your itch, you could take a look at puzzle adventure games like The 7th Guest, or rhythm games like Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix+.

On an ironic note, I think many current AAA games as of writing – traditionally the “core games” that every gamer is more or less expected to play – could, at some level, be considered casual games. The developers go to such great lengths is providing accessible difficulty settings – some games even allowing the player to skip combat sections altogether – , with the goal to be playable by as many gamers as possible.

The Gamer Kid

This type of gamer is simply not old enough to play all the cool and violent games, so typically they’re limited to play games designed for kids, or perhaps more preferably games with less complexity and dialogue.

Games You Should Play

I can’t recommend any games exclusively made for children (they’re typically of subpar quality anyway), but I can recommend games that I’ve played as a kid myself, or games I’ve enjoyed and seen children enjoy as well. If you like collecting and adventuring, Pokémon would be an obvious choice – the game is very kid friendly but also has more depth than many other games with its many secrets and mechanics hidden from plain view. Minecraft appears to be popular with children as well, for obvious reasons. Who doesn’t love building crazy stuff with blocks, and exploring endless, randomly generated worlds together with friends?

Once again, there’s a case to be made for Racing games, as they provide exciting thrills and endless entertainment, while typically being as inoffensive as it can get. Check out games like Trackmania 2, or Hot Wheels Unleashed (bonus points if you enjoy the Hot Wheels toy line).

For more action- and shooting oriented gamers, you can’t go wrong with a personal favorite of mine; World Defense Force: World Brothers 2 – a cute, and relatively simple game, packed with lots of challenge and action, for all ages!

I think it’s easy to underestimate the mind of a child – I played lots of complicated games as a kid such as ACE and Gunship (both being flight simulators for the Commodore 64), even if I didn’t understand much of anything about them, it was still entertainment for hours on end. We’ve even played Japanese games where we didn’t understand a single word, and still had a blast… “If there is a will, there is a way”, as the saying goes. It’s just something to think about.

The Senior Gamer

People who didn’t grow up playing games may find it difficult to get into gaming now when they’re retired, and it’s not often you see someone recommend games for our older generations. So, here are some games that I personally know can be enjoyed, even by a non-gamer senior, given that they have at least some interest in the proposed genre, of course.

Games You Should Play

The Nintendo Wii console did a phenomenal job in its approachable controller design, allowing many non-gamers – especially seniors – to play their first rounds of tennis in Wii Sports Resort or Virtua Tennis. I remember even reading in the newspaper about pensioners playing Wii Sports Resort and enjoying it – so wholesome! Unfortunately, the console and its games are no longer sold, so hunting for used consoles and controllers would be the only option to play those games nowadays.

Other than the Wii console, there are some great sports games on other platforms. Check out the Pro Evolution Soccer-series, or a golfing game like PGA Tour 2K25. Even without the user-friendly Wii-mote controller, these games have a relatively low barrier to entry, and provide a stress free environment to practice and experiment in.

Pinball games like Pinball FX or Pinball Arcade are also great picks, whether you play on a tablet, smart phone, or desktop PC – simple to play, easy to understand, and incredibly satisfying. Bonus points if you’ve played the featured pinball tables in real life at some point.

Racing games with a steering wheel peripheral is another unforgettable and very immersive experience. People who have driven cars all their lives will instantly recognize the feeling and joy of driving in a video game – and if the game in question is a quality racing game like Assetto Corsa, or a modded Richard Burns Rally, gaming bliss is a guarantee!

In Closing…

What I really wanted to convey here is that there’s a wide variety in gaming, and there’s really something for everyone out there. There are many reasons to enjoy games, not all of them are compatible. Merely following the trends, or playing the latest releases with the biggest marketing campaigns may not at all be what you’re looking for in gaming, so it’s well worth the effort to dig into your own specific preferences and find your hidden gems – there’s so many out there, you are very unlikely to fail if you try! Happy hunting, and happy gaming!