why are video games good for problem solving

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Neag School of Education

Well-designed video games can enhance problem-solving skills and make learning more effective.

• May 29, 2013
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The tragic December deaths of 20 first-graders and six school staff members in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, along with the Boston Marathon tragedy and other recent attacks, have brought the decades-old debate over the behavioral effects of video games back onto legislative floors throughout the nation. Citing the fact that gunman Adam Lanza, 20, played violent video games, members of the U.S. Congressional Gun Violence Prevention Task Force detailed their plans to address “our culture’s glorification of violence” through media, and commentary stemming from reports like Katie Couric’s May 2013 video game violence exposé has highlighted the need for greater clarification of how we should read and interpret video game research.

Clearly, it’s a complex and emotional issue further complicated by discussions that focus almost exclusively on the negative effects of gaming. The reality, however, is that there’s little research outlining whether or not violent video games beget actual violence: many existing studies, like one described in a recent edition of the UConn Today , focus on aggression without explicitly acknowledging the complex relationship between cognition, transfer, and real world behavior. This has led to two major problems, the combination of which throws a wrench in the socially and politically-charged rhetoric surrounding violence: 1) the dismissal of other, more influential factors common to violent criminals—biological predisposition to mental health issues, instability at home and/or work, lack of positive role models, having no one to confide in, access to weapons, and in-the-moment opportunity versus need; and 2) neglect for how learning in all types of games—violent or not—actually happens.

While the first problem may better fit sociologists and psychologists who have direct experience with individuals who commit violent crimes, the second is something that we as teachers, administrators, and researchers can tackle head on. There’s general consensus in the educational psychology community that the nature of environment-learner-content interactions is vital to our understanding of how people perceive and act. As a result, we can’t make broad assumptions about games as a vehicle for violent behavior without attending to how environment-learner-content interactions influence transfer—the way learning and action in one context affects learning and action in a related context.

It might help to think of transfer in terms of what we hope students will do with the information they learn in our classes. For example, you might teach geometric principles in your math class thinking that those techniques will help your students craft a birdhouse in shop. However, one of the most well-cited studies of the subject (Gick & Holyoak, 1980) showed that only one-fifth of college students were able to apply a particular problem solving strategy—using ‘divide-and-conquer’ to capture a castle—in another, almost identical context less than 24 hours after exposure to the first. Even with explicit direct instruction explaining how the same strategy could be used to solve both problems, fewer than 50% of students were able to make the connection. Though links between situations might seem self-evident to us as teachers, they usually aren’t as obvious to our students as we think they should be.

This gives us reason to believe that, regardless of subject, students—or in the case of video games, players—are rarely able to take something they’ve used in one context and independently apply it in a totally different one. Put another way, even if violent gaming raises general aggression, increased aggression doesn’t automatically translate to real world violent behavior . Gamers might use more curse words while playing Call of Duty , but they won’t learn to steal a car solely by playing Grand Theft Auto —there needs to be a mediating instructor who can provide well-guided bridging between the game and reality, especially for in-game activities that aren’t isomorphic with real world action (i.e., firing a gun).

This relationship between environment-learner-content interaction and transfer puts teachers in the unique position to capitalize on game engagement to promote reflection that positively shapes how students tackle real-world challenges. To some, this may seem like a shocking concept, but it’s definitely not a new one—roleplay as instruction, for example, was very popular among the ancient Greeks and, in many ways, served as the backbone for Plato’s renowned Allegory of the Cave . The same is true of Shakespeare’s works, 18th and 19th century opera, and many of the novels, movies, and other media that define our culture. More recently, NASA has applied game-like simulations to teach astronauts how to maneuver through space, medical schools have used them to teach robotic surgery, and the Federal Aviation Administration has employed them to test pilots.

To be clear, this is not a call for K12 educators to drop everything and immediately incorporate violent games like Doom or Mortal Kombat into their classrooms. Instead, it’s a call to consider how we can take advantage of game affordances (including those of violent games) to extend beyond predictable multiple-choice materials that leave students wishing they could pull out their smartphones. It’s a call for legislators to give greater consideration to the role of transfer before passing sweeping bans on violent video game play. It’s a call for all of us to use games as a vehicle to talk about racial, social, gender, and other inequities that are very much a part of the world we live in.

It’s a bold idea that can feel scary, but the potential benefits are beyond exciting. Research generated by people like Kurt Squire, Sasha Barab, and James Paul Gee suggests that interactive games can be used to teach children about history, increase vocabulary, challenge them to set and achieve goals, and enhance their ability to work in teams. They expose students to culturally diverse casts of characters in addition to providing instant feedback about goal-oriented progress. Most importantly, perhaps, they can be powerfully engaging, giving students a reason to pursue learning beyond the classroom.

To maintain a positive trajectory, teachers looking to make the most of the instructional affordances of video games should keep an eye out for games they feel comfortable playing alongside and discussing with their students, take advantage of opportunities to participate in university game-based learning research studies, and remain open to modifying their instructional approaches. Parents should connect with teachers for up-to-date research coming from organizations like Games+Learning+Society and have their children reflect on material they’ve been exposed to during play—for example, social and cultural stereotypes, gender roles, and ways of thinking presented in each game. Legislators should consult university researchers in both communications and educational psychology to get a wider perspective on how play and learning merge to generate behavior in the real world.

Our collective understanding of game-based learning is evolving at lightning speed, and we need to dispel false information that ignores how games actually affect player thinking and action. More work, involving teachers, administrators, researchers, designers, parents, and politicians, is needed. The next step is to enhance our collaboration by working to create multi-disciplinary games that incorporate not just academic content but educational practices that lead to broader critical thinking and problem solving. Though far from complete, our combined effort has the potential to move beyond the swamp of video game violence and excite kids about school before they say “game over.”

Stephen Slota is doctoral candidate in educational psychology at the University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education as well as an unashamed gamer. An educational technology specialist and  former urban high school teacher, he has a bachelor’s in molecular and cellular biology and Master’s in curriculum and instruction. His research interests include the situated cognition underlying play, the effects of gaming on student achievement, and prosocial learning through massively multiplayer online role-playing games ( MMORPGs).

The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) accredits the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut. Read more about CAEP Accreditation, including the programs covered and the accountability measures .

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Video Games Play May Provide Learning, Health, Social Benefits, Review Finds

• Learning and Memory

Authors suggest balancing questions of harm with potential for positive impact

• The Benefits of Playing Video Games (PDF, 202KB)

WASHINGTON — Playing video games, including violent shooter games, may boost children’s learning, health and social skills, according to a review of research on the positive effects of video game play to be published by the American Psychological Association.

The study comes out as debate continues among psychologists and other health professionals regarding the effects of violent media on youth. An APA task force is conducting a comprehensive review of research on violence in video games and interactive media and will release its findings in 2014.  

“Important research has already been conducted for decades on the negative effects of gaming, including addiction, depression and aggression, and we are certainly not suggesting that this should be ignored,” said lead author Isabela Granic, PhD, of Radboud University Nijmegen in The Netherlands. “However, to understand the impact of video games on children’s and adolescents’ development, a more balanced perspective is needed.” 

The article will be published in APA’s flagship journal, American Psychologist .  

While one widely held view maintains playing video games is intellectually lazy, such play actually may strengthen a range of cognitive skills such as spatial navigation, reasoning, memory and perception, according to several studies reviewed in the article. This is particularly true for shooter video games that are often violent, the authors said. A 2013 meta-analysis found that playing shooter video games improved a player’s capacity to think about objects in three dimensions, just as well as academic courses to enhance these same skills, according to the study. “This has critical implications for education and career development, as previous research has established the power of spatial skills for achievement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics,” Granic said. This enhanced thinking was not found with playing other types of video games, such as puzzles or role-playing games.

Playing video games may also help children develop problem-solving skills, the authors said. The more adolescents reported playing strategic video games, such as role-playing games, the more they improved in problem solving and school grades the following year, according to a long-term study published in 2013. Children’s creativity was also enhanced by playing any kind of video game, including violent games, but not when the children used other forms of technology, such as a computer or cell phone, other research revealed.

Simple games that are easy to access and can be played quickly, such as “Angry Birds,” can improve players’ moods, promote relaxation and ward off anxiety, the study said. “If playing video games simply makes people happier, this seems to be a fundamental emotional benefit to consider,” said Granic. The authors also highlighted the possibility that video games are effective tools to learn resilience in the face of failure. By learning to cope with ongoing failures in games, the authors suggest that children build emotional resilience they can rely upon in their everyday lives.

Another stereotype the research challenges is the socially isolated gamer. More than 70 percent of gamers play with a friend and millions of people worldwide participate in massive virtual worlds through video games such as “Farmville” and “World of Warcraft,” the article noted. Multiplayer games become virtual social communities, where decisions need to be made quickly about whom to trust or reject and how to lead a group, the authors said. People who play video games, even if they are violent, that encourage cooperation are more likely to be helpful to others while gaming than those who play the same games competitively, a 2011 study found.

The article emphasized that educators are currently redesigning classroom experiences, integrating video games that can shift the way the next generation of teachers and students approach learning. Likewise, physicians have begun to use video games to motivate patients to improve their health, the authors said. In the video game “Re-Mission,” child cancer patients can control a tiny robot that shoots cancer cells, overcomes bacterial infections and manages nausea and other barriers to adhering to treatments. A 2008 international study in 34 medical centers found significantly greater adherence to treatment and cancer-related knowledge among children who played “Re-Mission” compared to children who played a different computer game. 

“It is this same kind of transformation, based on the foundational principle of play, that we suggest has the potential to transform the field of mental health,” Granic said. “This is especially true because engaging children and youth is one of the most challenging tasks clinicians face.”

The authors recommended that teams of psychologists, clinicians and game designers work together to develop approaches to mental health care that integrate video game playing with traditional therapy. 

Article: “The Benefits of Playing Video Games,” Isabela Granic, PhD, Adam Lobel, PhD, and Rutger C.M.E. Engels, PhD, Radboud University Nijmegen; Nijmegen, The Netherlands; American Psychologist , Vol. 69, No. 1. 

Isabela Granic can be contacted by email , cell: 011.31.6.19.50.00.99 or work: 011.31.24.361.2142

The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA's membership includes more than 134,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people's lives.

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Groundbreaking new study says time spent playing video games can be good for your well being

With the UK in a second national lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Christmas on the horizon, many will stay indoors to play and socially connect through video games. New research from Oxford University has delivered a surprising finding; time spent playing games is positively associated with well-being.

The new study is the first of its kind. Rather than asking players how much they play, it uses industry data on actual play time for popular video games Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The study suggests that experiences of competence and social connection with others through play may contribute to people’s well-being. Indeed, those who derived enjoyment from playing were more likely to report experiencing positive well-being.

These experiences during play may be even more important than the actual amount of time a player invests in games and could play a major role in the well-being of players.

Professor Andrew Przybylski , Director of Research at the Oxford Internet Institute , University of Oxford, and lead-author of the study, says, 'Previous research has relied mainly on self-report surveys to study the relationship between play and well-being. Without objective data from games companies, those proposing advice to parents or policymakers have done so without the benefit of a robust evidence base.

'Our findings show video games aren’t necessarily bad for your health; there are other psychological factors which have a significant effect on a persons’ well-being. In fact, play can be an activity that relates positively to people’s mental health – and regulating video games could withhold those benefits from players.

'Working with Electronic Arts and Nintendo of America we’ve been able to combine academic and industry expertise. Through access to data on peoples’ playing time, for the first time we’ve been able to investigate the relation between actual game play behaviour and subjective well-being, enabling us to deliver a template for crafting high-quality evidence to support health policymakers.'

Our findings show video games aren’t necessarily bad for your health; there are other psychological factors which have a significant effect on a persons’ well-being

The study explored the association between objective game time and well-being, examining the link between directly measured behaviour and subjective mental health. It also explored the roles of player experiences, specifically how feelings of autonomy, relatedness, competence, enjoyment and feeling pressured to play related to well-being.

In their study, the Oxford researchers looked at patterns of player behaviour for two popular video games. More than 3,270 players were asked to complete a survey designed by the researchers to measure well-being, self-reported play, and motivational experiences during play. The survey findings were combined with objective behavioural data for the survey participants, collected by the video game companies.

 Key findings include:

• Actual amount of time spent playing was a small but significant positive factor in people’s well-being

• A player’s subjective experiences during play might be a bigger factor for well-being than mere play time.

• Players experiencing genuine enjoyment from the games experience more positive well-being

• Findings align with past research suggesting people whose psychological needs weren’t being met in the ‘real world’ might report negative well-being from play.

See an extended interview with Professor Przybylski here.  

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Global Report Reveals Positive Benefits of Video Gameplay

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• Press Releases

New report outlines the social, mental and emotional benefits of gameplay according to academic research and affirmed by a survey of nearly 13,000 active players across 12 countries.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10, 2023 – The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), in partnership with video game trade associations in Australia, Canada, Europe and South Korea, today released the first-ever Power of Play report . The report highlights the findings from peer-reviewed academic research about the positive effects of gameplay, which are confirmed by a survey of 12,847 active (weekly) players (ages 16 and older) in 12 countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, South Korea, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. The survey revealed that in addition to entertainment, video games provide players with a number of social and emotional benefits that are shared on a global level. 

Having fun is the top reason people play video games (69% of global players), but they also play for a variety of other reasons including to keep one’s mind sharp (36%) and because playing games offers the ability to explore new worlds and ideas (27%). Nearly a quarter of respondents (24%) globally say they play video games to manage and/or improve their mental health. In all 12 countries, 71% of respondents said playing video games helps them feel less stressed. In the U.S., 78% of respondents said the same, pointing out that video games also help them feel less anxious (68%) and less isolated/lonely by connecting them to others (53%). Of the countries surveyed, only Brazil had a greater number of respondents than the U.S. saying video games help them feel less stressed (87%) and less anxious (78%).

“The Power of Play report affirms globally what we already knew to be true in the United States: video games have the power to transcend entertainment,” said Stanley Pierre-Louis, President and CEO of the ESA. “The social and emotional benefits of video gameplay are felt by a global, diverse group of players that build communities and have the power to affect positive change in each other’s lives.” 

More than half (52%) of global players say video games helped them get through difficult times in their lives, with that number increasing to 59% for U.S. respondents. Players also agree that video games provide other mental health benefits: 

• About 75% of global players believe video games provide mental stimulation and stress relief. 
• Nearly two-thirds also find that video games provide them with a healthy outlet from everyday challenges (64%) and help them feel happier (63%). Players in Brazil (83%) and Poland (76%) were most likely to say games help them feel happier, with U.S. players at 71%.

Crossing geographic borders, video games also provide a platform for community building where otherwise not physically possible: 

• More than half of global respondents (51%) say they play games with other people online and 38% play with other people in person weekly, with 68% across all markets rating their experience of playing with others – both online and in person – as positive or extremely positive.
• More than two-thirds (67%) of global players agree video games introduce people to new friends and new relationships. This number was highest in Brazil (86%), lowest in Japan (47%) and close to the global average in the U.S. (71%). Nearly half (42%) of global players have met a good friend, spouse or significant other through video games.
• More than three-quarters (77%) of global players agree video games bring different types of people together and nearly two-thirds (60%) say video games create a feeling of community. 

People are not only skilled game players, but they also say they have gained valuable life skills applicable outside of the virtual world of video games: 

• Nearly three-quarters of global players (73%) agree video games can improve creativity (78% of U.S. respondents said the same).
• Across the world, 69% of players agree video games build problem-solving, cognitive and teamwork and collaboration skills, with 84% of U.S. players saying video games improve problem-solving skills. 
• Video games also promote adaptability and communications skills with 65% and 60% of global players agreeing, respectively. 

Other noteworthy results from the global Power of Play report include:

• On a weekly basis, people tend to play mostly by themselves (87% globally, 90% in the U.S.) but also make time to enjoy gameplay with others online (51% globally, 52% U.S.) and in-person (38% globally and in the U.S.). Players in Brazil (62%), Poland (46%) and South Korea (45%) are the most likely to play with others in person. 
• More than a quarter (28%) of global players say they never use in-game communication functions while just 8% say they always use them. 
• Of global players, 75% believe there is a video game for everyone.

Access the Power of Play report at www.theesa.com/power-of-play-2023

About the ESA

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) serves as the voice and advocate for the U.S. video game industry. Its members are the innovators, creators, publishers and business leaders that are reimagining entertainment and transforming how we interact, learn, connect and play. The ESA works to expand and protect the dynamic marketplace for video games through innovative and engaging initiatives that showcase the positive impact of video games on people, culture and the economy. For more information, visit the  ESA’s website  or follow the ESA on Twitter  @theESA .

About the Power of Play Report Methodology 

AudienceNet conducted an interactive online survey of 12,847 respondents in 12 countries. In each country, respondents were recruited via a screening survey sent out in accordance with quota samples that were statistically and demographically representative of the respective 16 year+ online populations. The screening questions ensured that, in each country, there was a final sample of 1,000+ active gamers, all of whom played video games for at least an hour per week. All survey respondents were accessed through professionally accredited consumer research panels. AudienceNet is a fully accredited global consumer research company, currently conducting nationally representative research in 52 countries. As a Market Research Society (MRS) Company Partner, AudienceNet is bound by the MRS Code of Conduct, as well as GDPR in relation to the collection and handling of consumer research data.

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Benefits of Play Revealed in Research on Video Gaming

Video gaming leads to improved cognition, creativity, sociability, and more..

Posted March 27, 2018 | Reviewed by Ekua Hagan

In previous posts, and in my book Free to Learn , I described the decline in children’s opportunities to play and explore freely that has occurred over the past several decades. I also presented reasons to believe that this decline is a cause of well-documented declines in mental health ( here ), empathy ( here ), and creativity ( here ) among young people over this same time period.

The one variety of play that has not declined over these decades, but has increased, is video gaming. For the most part, children can no longer go outdoors and find others to play with, freely, away from adults, as they once did; but many of them can and do go onto computers and play video games. Over time, these games have become increasingly varied, complex, creative, and social. This is especially true with the increasing popularity of multi-player online games. If you believe the scare articles in the media, you might believe that the rise of video gaming is a cause of declines in psychological health, but, as I have suggested elsewhere (e.g. here ), the opposite may be true. Video gaming may in fact be an ameliorating factor, helping to counteract the harmful effects of the loss of other forms of play.

If video gaming worsens psychological wellbeing, then we should expect to find more mental health and social problems in video gamers than in otherwise similar people who are not gamers. If video gaming, like other forms of play, generally improves wellbeing, then we should find that gamers are mentally healthier, on average, than non-gamers. By now, many dozens of studies have examined psychological correlates of and consequences of video gaming, and, taken as a whole, the results overwhelmingly support the idea that video gaming produces many of the same kinds of benefits as other forms of play. Here is a review of that research.

Cognitive Benefits

Most of the video gaming research to date has focused on cognition . Correlational studies have consistently revealed that young people who play video games extensively have, on average, higher IQs and perform better on a wide variety of cognitive tests of perceptual and mental ability than do non-gamers. Moreover, a number of experiments have demonstrated improvement in previous non-gamers' cognitive abilities when they take up gaming for the sake of the experiment. I summarized many of those findings in a previous post ( here ). Research more recently has confirmed and extended those findings.

In a recent article in Psychological Bulletin , Benoit Bediou and his colleagues (2018) reviewed all of the recent research (published since 2000) they could find concerning the cognitive effects of playing action video games. They found 89 correlational studies, which related the average number of hours per week of action video games to one or more measures of cognitive ability, and 22 intervention studies (true experiments), in which non-gamers were asked to play action video games for a specified number of hours per week, for a specified number of weeks, and were compared with other non-gamers on degree of improvement over that time on one or more cognitive tests.

Their analysis of the correlational studies revealed, overall, strong positive relationships between amount of time gaming and high scores on tests of perception, top-down attention , spatial cognition, multitasking, and cognitive flexibility (ability to switch strategies quickly when old ones strategies don’t work). Their analysis of the intervention data indicated that even just 10 to 30 hours of video play, over the duration of an experiment, significantly improved performance on tests of perception, attention, spatial cognition, and cognitive flexibility.

Of course, different sorts of video games exercise different kinds of mental abilities. In contrast to fast-paced action games, strategy role-playing and puzzle games exercise problem-solving skills of a more reflective nature. Both correlational and longitudinal research have indicated that play at these games improves general problem-solving ability and may even result in higher academic grades (see Granic et al, 2014).

Most video game research has been conducted with teenagers or young adults as participants, but one large-scale study conducted by Columbia University’s Mailman School of Mental Health examined correlates of video gaming in children ages 6 to 11 (Kovess-Masfety et al., 2016). In this survey, 3195 children and their parents estimated the average number of hours per week that the children played video games, and parents and teachers filled out questionnaires regarding each child’s intellectual, social, and emotional functioning. The primary finding was that those who played video games for 5 hours a week or more evidenced significantly higher intellectual functioning, higher academic achievement, better peer relationships, and fewer mental health difficulties than those who played such games less or not at all.

Creativity Benefits

To date, there has been little research into possible links of video gaming to creativity. An exception is a study by Linda Jackson and her colleagues (2012) in Michigan, in which the participants were 491 12-year-old children. These researchers assessed the hours per week that each child typically spent playing video games, and also assessed time spent on cell phones or on the Internet not playing games. They assessed various aspects of creativity in each child using the well-validated Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (see here for more on this battery of tests).

They found significant positive correlations between amount of time playing video games and every aspect of creativity measured by Torrance’s Tests, which for some aspects were quite large and which held regardless of the child’s gender or race. In contrast, they found no significant correlations between creativity and non-gaming computer use.

Other research has shown significant positive correlations between amount of video gaming and the personality characteristic referred to as openness to new experiences (Chory & Goodboy, 2011), which itself correlates with creativity. The results indicate either that highly creative children are drawn to video gaming or that video gaming increases creativity (or both).

In a quite different sort of study, David Moffat and his colleagues (2017) assessed the immediate effect of video game play on creativity. They assessed young adults for creative thinking, using the Torrance Tests, before and right after 30 minutes of playing a computer game. The game used, for different groups, was Serious Sam (a shooter game), Portal-2 (a problem-solving game), or Minecraft (a sandbox game involving building and destroying whatever the player wishes).

The result, overall, was a large, significant gain in creative thinking, especially in that aspect of creative thinking referred to as flexibility . The gain occurred for all three types of computer games, but was greatest for Portal-2 . This study shows that even a short period of video gaming can put one, at least temporarily, into a highly creative frame of mind. This finding is quite similar to findings in previous research that other forms of play can also boost creativity (see Ch. 7 of Free to Learn ; also Gray, 2018).

Motivational Benefit

Video games are structured in such a way that the level of difficulty can be continuously increased, so players are challenged to solve ever more difficult problems. A general lesson from video games, reported by many gamers themselves, is that persistence pays off. If you keep trying, using various strategies, you will eventually succeed in meeting your goal within the game.

On the basis of this, Matthew Ventura and his colleagues (2013) hypothesized that gamers would be more persistent—less likely to give up early—in solving difficult problems than would non-gamers. They subsequently confirmed this hypothesis in an experiment with college students. They found that those who played video games many hours a week persisted significantly longer at attempting to solve very difficult anagrams and riddles than did those who played video games less or not at all. This gain in persistence may help explain the positive correlations between video gaming and school grades, noted earlier.

Emotional Benefits

A very general theory of play, which I have discussed in previous posts and articles ( here and here ), is the emotion regulation theory . According to this theory, children (and also other young mammals) deliberately put themselves into fear -inducing and sometimes frustration- or anger -inducing situations in play, and by doing so learn how to regulate their fear and anger.

I have heard from many parents who curtail their child's video gaming because they see the intense excitement and emotions, including negative emotions, the child experiences during and sometimes for a period of time after the gaming, and they are worried that this is not good for the child. But research supporting the emotion regulation theory indicates that a major purpose of play is to provide practice at dealing with fear and anger in the relatively safe context of play (Gray, 2018).

In play, children learn that they can experience these emotions and can subsequently calm themselves. They don’t have to panic or have a tantrum. There is evidence that children who have been “protected” from experiencing such emotions in play are subsequently less able to deal with the inevitable fear-and anger-producing situations of real life, outside of play (see, for examples, here and here ).

Consistent with the hypothesis that video gaming helps children learn to regulate their emotions is the evidence (mentioned earlier) that children who played video games for more than five hours a week exhibited fewer mental health difficulties, outside of play, than children who played such games less or not at all (Kovess-Masfety et al., 2016). Also, in studies in which they describe their own perceptions of benefits of gaming, gamers often talk about how video play helps them to deal better with the stress and frustrations of their non-play life (see here , and also Granic et al, 2014).

Social Benefits

There are many ways by which video play might be expected to produce social gains for players. As noted earlier, many of the most popular games today are social in nature, as players interact online with other players. Moreover, whenever possible, friends enjoy playing the same game together, at the same computer or at least in the same room. And when they are not gaming, children frequently discuss their games and gaming strategies with their friends.

Play has always provided the major context through which children make and interact with friends, and there is reason to think that video gaming serves that function for many children today. Children deprived of video gaming are likely to be left out of conversations among their peers, because so many of those conversations focus on games. Thus, it is not surprising that research, such as the study mentioned earlier involving children 6-11 years old, has revealed positive correlations between video gaming and social competence (Kovess-Masfety et al, 2016; for other studies, see Granic et al, 2014; and Olson, 2010; & Stevens et al, 2008).

Many games today are played cooperatively, with two or more players working together to achieve a common goal. John Valez and his colleagues have conducted several experiments showing that such cooperative play leads to at least a temporary increase in the players’ likelihood of cooperating with or helping other people, outside the realm of play (Ewoldsen et al, 2012; Valez et al, 2012).

If you are wondering why so many people continue to disparage computer gaming, despite the weight of contrary research evidence, you might read the new book, Moral Combat , by Patrick Markey and Christopher Ferguson. The book describes how moral panics tend to emerge whenever young people develop passionate interests that older people don’t understand.

These moral panics lead the media and people in general to attend to and exaggerate anything about the new passion that seems negative and ignore anything that seems positive. The result, often, is absurd claims of harm, such as that New York Post article about “digital heroin” that I referred to in my last post .

And now, what do you think about this? … This blog is, in part, a forum for discussion. Your questions, thoughts, stories, and opinions are treated respectfully by me and other readers, regardless of the degree to which we agree or disagree. Psychology Today no longer accepts comments on this site, but you can comment by going to my Facebook profile, where you will see a link to this post. If you don't see this post at the top of my timeline, just put the title of the post into the search option (click on the three-dot icon at the top of the timeline and then on the search icon that appears in the menu) and it will come up. By following me on Facebook you can comment on all of my posts and see others' comments. The discussion is often very interesting.

Bediou, B., et al (2018). Meta-analysis of action video game impact on perceptual, attentional, and cognitive skills. Psychological Bulletin, 44 , 77-110.

Chory, R. M., & Goodboy, A. K. (2011). Is basic personality related to violent and non-violent video game play and preferences? Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 14 , 191–198.

Ewoldsen, D. R., et al (2012). Effect of playing violent video games cooperatively or competitively on subsequent cooperative behavior. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 15 , 1-4.

Granic, I., Lobel, A., & Engels, R. (2014). The benefits of playing video games. American Psychologist, 69 , 66-78.

Gray, P. (in press for 2018 publication). Evolutionary functions of play: Practice, resilience, innovation, and cooperation. In P. K. Smith & J. Roopnarine (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Play: Developmental and Disciplinary Perspectives .

Jackson, L, et al (2012). Information technology use and creativity: Findings from the children and technology study. Computers in Human Behavior, 28 , 370-379.

Kovess-Masfety, V., et al (2016) Is time spent playing video games associated with mental health, cognitive and social skills in young children? Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 51 , 49-357.

Moffat, M., et al 2017). Some video games can increase the player’s creativity. International Journal of Game-Based Learning, 7 , 35-46.

Olson, C. K. (2010). Children’s motivation for video game play in the context of normal development. Review of General Psychology, 14 , 180-187

Stevens et al. (2008). “In-game, in-room, in-world: reconnecting video game play to the rest of kids’ lives. pp 41-66 in K. Salen (Ed.), The ecology of games: Connecting youth, games, and learning . The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation series on digital media and learning. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Valez, J. A., et al (2012). Ingroup versus outgroup conflict in the context of violent video game play: The effect of cooperation on increased helping and decreased aggression. Communication Research, 20 , 1-20.

Ventura, M., Shute, V., & Zhao, W. (2013). The relationship between video game use and a performance-based measure of persistence. Computers & Education, 60 , 52-58.

Peter Gray, Ph.D. , is a research professor at Boston College, author of Free to Learn and the textbook Psychology (now in 8th edition), and founding member of the nonprofit Let Grow.

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6 surprising benefits of video games for kids

By Gail Belsky

Expert reviewed by Jodi Gold, MD

At a glance

While there are downsides to playing video games, there are also surprising benefits.

Video games can help kids build skills and make social connections.

Kids who play video games are often very creative.

There are clear watch-outs for families when kids play video games. Some kids have trouble shutting down or transitioning off games . Others have mood swings during or after playing, or become hyperfocused . And there are kids who are totally consumed by games. However, there are some upsides, too.

Here are six surprising benefits of playing video games.

Studies show that kids who play video games may get a small boost to their reading skills. This is true even for kids who struggle with reading, and even when playing action games.

Researchers think that this may happen because kids need to figure out text instructions to play. There’s also a fun factor. Kids who are reluctant to open a traditional book may rush to read a website or internet forum to get the latest on their favorite game.

That doesn’t mean video games should replace books, though.

2. Visual-spatial skills

Many games — like Minecraft  — are set in 3D virtual worlds that kids have to navigate. And there’s no GPS or smartphone map app to lead the way.

The result is that kids who play these games have the chance to practice their visual-spatial skills . This can lead to a better understanding of distance and space.

Hear an expert’s tips for helping kids maximize learning from popular video games

3. Problem-solving

At the heart of every video game is a challenge. Some games can be mindless, like Space Invaders. But many others — from puzzles and mysteries, to managing virtual cities or empires — offer kids the chance to take on a problem and work to find a solution.

Some researchers say kids who play these video games improve in three areas: planning, organization, and flexible thinking . But don’t get too excited about this. It’s not clear that these gaming problem-solving skills carry over into daily life. And there’s no evidence that so-called “train the brain” games  can improve real-world skills.

4. Social connections

Some kids have trouble fitting in and making friends in real life. Video games can be a refuge for them to find people to connect with in positive way. In our busy lives, games offer virtual playdates with real-life friends.

Video games also give kids something to talk about at school. These days, games are a mainstream topic of conversation for kids, just like sports and music. An interest in gaming can help kids who have trouble coming up with topics to discuss.

On the flip side, kids who struggle socially in real life  may also have trouble online. Learn how this can play out in multiplayer online video games .

5. Imaginative play and creativity

When kids are young, there’s a lot of space for imaginative play, from LEGOs to dolls to make-believe. But for tweens and teens, society sometimes frowns on that play. Video games give kids a chance to continue imaginative play.

There’s also some evidence that games encourage creative thinking. In one study, 12-year-old gamers were asked to draw, tell stories, ask questions, and make predictions. All the kids showed high levels of creativity and curiosity.

6. Video gaming careers

The 16-year-old winner of the first Fortnite World Cup won $3 million. The other 99 solo finalists won anywhere from $50,000 to $1.8 million each.

Just as with professional sports, the chances of becoming a professional video gamer are very small. However, the video gaming industry is growing by leaps and bounds, much faster than traditional sports and entertainment.

There are lots of careers in this growing industry — careers like coding, marketing, or running events.

Those are some of the potential benefits of video games. Now learn how to choose video games and apps for your child .

Key takeaways

Video games give older kids a chance to continue imaginative play.

Kids can get extra reading practice through video games.

The gaming industry is growing, and your child’s interest could spark a career.

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Video games can change your brain for the better

"Video games are played by the overwhelming majority of our youth more than three hours every week, but the beneficial effects on decision-making abilities and the brain are not exactly known," says Mukesh Dhamala. "Our work provides some answers on that." (Credit: Getty Images )

You are free to share this article under the Attribution 4.0 International license.

Frequent players of video games show superior sensorimotor decision-making skills and enhanced activity in key regions of the brain as compared to non-players, according to a recent study.

The authors, who used functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) in the study, say the findings suggest that video games could be a useful tool for training in perceptual decision-making.

“Video games are played by the overwhelming majority of our youth more than three hours every week, but the beneficial effects on decision-making abilities and the brain are not exactly known,” says lead researcher Mukesh Dhamala, associate professor in Georgia State University’s physics and astronomy department and the university’s Neuroscience Institute.

“Our work provides some answers on that,” Dhamala says. “Video game playing can effectively be used for training—for example, decision-making efficiency training and therapeutic interventions —once the relevant brain networks are identified.”

Dhamala was the adviser for Tim Jordan, the lead author of the paper, who offered a personal example of how such research could inform the use of video games for training the brain.

Jordan, who received a PhD in physics and astronomy from Georgia State in 2021, had weak vision in one eye as a child. As part of a research study when he was about 5, he was asked to cover his good eye and play video games as a way to strengthen the vision in the weak one. Jordan credits video game training with helping him go from legally blind in one eye to building strong capacity for visual processing, allowing him to eventually play lacrosse and paintball. He is now a postdoctoral researcher at UCLA.

The new research project involved 47 college-age participants, with 28 categorized as regular video game players and 19 as non-players.

The subjects laid inside an FMRI machine with a mirror that allowed them to see a cue immediately followed by a display of moving dots. Participants were asked to press a button in their right or left hand to indicate the direction the dots were moving, or resist pressing either button if there was no directional movement.

The researchers found that video game players were faster and more accurate with their responses.

Analysis of the resulting brain scans found that the differences were correlated with enhanced activity in certain parts of the brain.

“These results indicate that video game playing potentially enhances several of the subprocesses for sensation, perception, and mapping to action to improve decision-making skills,” the authors write. “These findings begin to illuminate how video game playing alters the brain in order to improve task performance and their potential implications for increasing task-specific activity.”

The study also notes there was no trade-off between speed and accuracy of response—the video game players were better on both measures.

“This lack of speed-accuracy trade-off would indicate video game playing as a good candidate for cognitive training as it pertains to decision-making,” the authors write.

The paper appears in the journal Neuroimage: Reports .

Source: Georgia State University

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Monday, October 24, 2022

Video gaming may be associated with better cognitive performance in children

Additional research necessary to parse potential benefits and harms of video games on the developing brain.

On Monday, April 10, 2023, a Notice of Retraction and Replacement published for the article featured below . The key findings remain the same. The press release has been updated, in line with the retracted and replacement article, to clarify that attention problems, depression symptoms, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) scores were significantly higher among children who played three hours per day or more compared to children who had never played video games.

A study of nearly 2,000 children found that those who reported playing video games for three hours per day or more performed better on cognitive skills tests involving impulse control and working memory compared to children who had never played video games. Published today in JAMA Network Open , this study analyzed data from the ongoing  Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study , which is supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and other entities of the National Institutes of Health.

“This study adds to our growing understanding of the associations between playing video games and brain development,” said NIDA Director Nora Volkow, M.D. “Numerous studies have linked video gaming to behavior and mental health problems. This study suggests that there may also be cognitive benefits associated with this popular pastime, which are worthy of further investigation.”

Although a number of studies have investigated the relationship between video gaming and cognitive behavior, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the associations are not well understood. Only a handful of neuroimaging studies have addressed this topic, and the sample sizes for those studies have been small, with fewer than 80 participants.

To address this research gap, scientists at the University of Vermont, Burlington, analyzed data obtained when children entered the ABCD Study at ages 9 and 10 years old. The research team examined survey, cognitive, and brain imaging data from nearly 2,000 participants from within the bigger study cohort. They separated these children into two groups, those who reported playing no video games at all and those who reported playing video games for three hours per day or more. This threshold was selected as it exceeds the American Academy of Pediatrics screen time guidelines , which recommend that videogaming time be limited to one to two hours per day for older children. For each group, the investigators evaluated the children’s performance on two tasks that reflected their ability to control impulsive behavior and to memorize information, as well as the children’s brain activity while performing the tasks.

The researchers found that the children who reported playing video games for three or more hours per day were faster and more accurate on both cognitive tasks than those who never played. They also observed that the differences in cognitive function observed between the two groups was accompanied by differences in brain activity. Functional MRI brain imaging analyses found that children who played video games for three or more hours per day showed higher brain activity in regions of the brain associated with attention and memory than did those who never played. At the same time, those children who played at least three hours of videogames per day showed more brain activity in frontal brain regions that are associated with more cognitively demanding tasks and less brain activity in brain regions related to vision.  

The researchers think these patterns may stem from practicing tasks related to impulse control and memory while playing videogames, which can be cognitively demanding, and that these changes may lead to improved performance on related tasks. Furthermore, the comparatively low activity in visual areas among children who reported playing video games may reflect that this area of the brain may become more efficient at visual processing as a result of repeated practice through video games.

While prior studies have reported associations between video gaming and increases in violence and aggressive behavior, this study did not find that to be the case. Though children who reported playing video games for three or more hours per day scored higher on measures of attention problems, depression symptoms, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) compared to children who played no video games, the researchers found that these mental health and behavioral scores did not reach clinical significance in either group, meaning, they did not meet the thresholds for risk of problem behaviors or clinical symptoms. The authors note that these will be important measures to continue to track and understand as the children mature.

Further, the researchers stress that this cross-sectional study does not allow for cause-and-effect analyses, and that it could be that children who are good at these types of cognitive tasks may choose to play video games. The authors also emphasize that their findings do not mean that children should spend unlimited time on their computers, mobile phones, or TVs, and that the outcomes likely depend largely on the specific activities children engage in. For instance, they hypothesize that the specific genre of video games, such as action-adventure, puzzle solving, sports, or shooting games, may have different effects for neurocognitive development, and this level of specificity on the type of video game played was not assessed by the study.

“While we cannot say whether playing video games regularly caused superior neurocognitive performance, it is an encouraging finding, and one that we must continue to investigate in these children as they transition into adolescence and young adulthood,” said Bader Chaarani, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Vermont and the lead author on the study. “Many parents today are concerned about the effects of video games on their children’s health and development, and as these games continue to proliferate among young people, it is crucial that we better understand both the positive and negative impact that such games may have.”

Through the ABCD Study, researchers will be able to conduct similar analyses for the same children over time into early adulthood, to see if changes in video gaming behavior are linked to changes in cognitive skills, brain activity, behavior, and mental health. The longitudinal study design and comprehensive data set will also enable them to better account for various other factors in the children’s families and environment that may influence their cognitive and behavioral development, such as exercise, sleep quality, and other influences.

The ABCD Study, the largest of its kind in the United States, is tracking nearly 12,000 youth as they grow into young adults. Investigators regularly measure participants’ brain structure and activity using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and collect psychological, environmental, and cognitive information, as well as biological samples. The goal of the study is to understand the factors that influence brain, cognitive, and social-emotional development, to inform the development of interventions to enhance a young person’s life trajectory.

The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study and ABCD Study are registered service marks and trademarks, respectively, of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

About the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA): NIDA is a component of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIDA supports most of the world’s research on the health aspects of drug use and addiction. The Institute carries out a large variety of programs to inform policy, improve practice, and advance addiction science. For more information about NIDA and its programs, visit www.nida.nih.gov .

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov .

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  B Chaarani, et al.  Association of video gaming with cognitive performance among children .  JAMA Open Network.  DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.35721 (2022).

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Are There Mental Health Benefits of Video Games?

There are many misconceptions about video games and the impact they have on mental health. The truth is that video games have many benefits, including developing complex problem-solving skills and promoting social interaction through online gaming. Video games can be a great way to stimulate your mind and improve your mental health. 

Benefits of Video Games

Playing video games has numerous benefits for your mental health. Video games can help you relieve stress and get your mind going. Some benefits include: 

Mental stimulation. Video games often make you think. When you play video games, almost every part of your brain is working to help you achieve higher-level thinking. Depending on the complexity of the game, you may have to think, strategize, and analyze quickly. Playing video games works with deeper parts of your brain that improve development and critical thinking skills.

Feeling accomplished. In the game, you have goals and objectives to reach. Once you achieve them, they bring you a lot of satisfaction, which improves your overall well-being. This sense of achievement is heightened when you play games that give you trophies or badges for certain goals. Trying to get more achievements gives you something to work toward. 

Mental health recovery. Regardless of the type, playing games can help with trauma recovery. Video games can act as distractions from pain and psychological trauma. Video games can also help people who are dealing with mental disorders like anxiety, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) , and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Social interaction. Multiplayer and online games are good for virtual social interaction. In fast-paced game settings, you’ll need to learn who to trust and who to leave behind within the game. Multiplayer games encourage cooperation. It’s also a low-stakes environment for you to test out talking to and fostering relationships with new people. 

Emotional resilience. When you fail in a game or in other situations, it can be frustrating. Video games help people learn how to cope with failure and keep trying. This is an important tool for children to learn and use as they get older. 

Despite what people may think, playing video games boosts your mood and has lasting effects. Whether you’re using gaming to spend time with your friends or to release some stress, it's a great option. 

Playing for Your Well-Being

Playing video games has been linked to improved moods and mental health benefits. It might seem natural to think that violent video games like first-person shooters aren’t good for your mental health. However, all video games can be beneficial for different reasons.

Try strategic video games. Role-playing and other strategic games can help strengthen problem-solving skills. There’s little research that says violent video games are bad for your mental health. Almost any game that encourages decision-making and critical thinking is beneficial for your mental health. 

Set limits. Though video games themselves aren’t bad for your mental health, becoming addicted to them can be. Spending too much time gaming can lead to isolation. You may also not want to be around people in the real world. When you start to feel yourself using video games as an escape, you might need to slow down.

If you can’t stop playing video games on your own, you can contact a mental health professional .  

Play with friends. Make game time fun by playing with friends. There are online communities you can join for your favorite games. Moderate gaming time with friends can help with socialization, relaxation, and managing stress. 

Limits of Video Games as a Mood Booster

Video games stop being good for you when you play an excessive amount. More than 10 hours per week is considered “excessive.” In these cases, you may:

• Have anxious feelings
• Be unable to sleep
• Not want to be in social settings

Another troubling sign is using video games to escape real life. As noted above, this type of behavior can lead to video game addiction, which then leads to other negative behaviors. Too much gaming can become a problem, but in moderation, it can do great things for your mental health.

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• Posted June 29, 2021
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Parents and educators alike may wonder why a child can spend hours playing Minecraft but can’t engage with an app that runs through multiplication facts with the same focus. Why are some games more “fun” than others?

“What’s really motivating about a good learning game is the learning,” says Louisa Rosenheck , researcher at MIT’s Education Arcade Lab and a an adjunct lecturer at HGSE. “Humans like to learn, and we like to get better at things.” But, she observes, many games used in classrooms or that are deemed “educational” tend to focus on content and procedural skills, and don’t necessarily encourage learning that sparks intrinsic motivation and genuine engagement.

With this in mind, Rosenheck and a team of other researchers at the Education Arcade Lab developed a series of design principles that inform the development of what they term “ resonant games ” — games that are open ended, exploratory, allow learners to make connections to bigger systems and concepts, and promote deeper learning overall.  

Choosing a Good Learning Game

Parents and educators need to be able to navigate a tremendous amount of content and options when selecting games that will engage children in authentic learning. While not an exhaustive list, Rosenheck notes that good games will:

• Give players agency or choice in the way they play or their goals in the game.
• Spark curiosity, making players ask more questions and wonder how things work.
• Provide “hard fun” — an appropriate level of challenge that is engaging and satisfying.

Importantly, games with structures that promote these features avoid the trend of “gamification” — a superficial way of spicing up a learning task with extraneous elements like points, badges, and leaderboards. But these features are often separate from the learning experience, serving to “trick” kids into learning. Instead, games that put authentic learning first focus on deeper concepts, exploration and experimentation, and developing a sense of accomplishment by building skills and applying them to real-world contexts by:

• Spending time on playing and figuring things out for themselves, rather than instruction or explanation. 
• Providing feedback to a player so they can form their own understanding of the game’s systems.
• Helping players make connections with real systems and authentic problems — for example, focusing on conceptual math, rather than drilling addition facts.

Going Beyond Entertainment

Many adults have a tendency to truncate or limit game time, but it’s important to understand that fun and learning can often be one and the same. Instead, the challenge may not just be to find a high-quality game, but to find ways to support kids in making meaningful connections between their play and the world around them. Adults can also add structure and depth to games by providing opportunities for reflection and conversation. To better support game-based learning, educators and caregivers can:

• Talk to kids about what they’re playing on their computers. A great starter question is “what have you figured out?”
• Emphasize skills like persistence or working through frustration. Games provide a valuable opportunity to reinforce social emotional learning in addition to academic competencies. 
• Recognize that these games provide children with a chance to build social connections and that during the pandemic, online games have been a major social support. Cutting out computer time isn’t just cutting back on screen time but could also limit social interaction.
• Let go of some control. Instead of devoting time to explaining how a game works, let kids explore and carve out time for reflection and sharing instead. 

Key Takeaways

• A good game puts the learning first and doesn’t rely on bells and whistles to motivate kids to engage with its content.
• Leave room for kids to explore and solve problems independently, as figuring out the rules is half the fun. The teacher or caregiver shouldn’t feel they must have all the answers.
• Encourage conversation and reflection to connect the game with the real world. This could take the form of parents talking to their kids or kids talking about the game with their own social networks. 

Additional Resources

• Games from MIT’s Education Arcade
• A Curious Mind: How Educators and Parents Can Encourage and Guide Children’s Natural Curiosity — in the Classroom and at Home
• Harvard EdCast: What It Means to Learn Science
• Thinking Lessons
• Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of a Video Game
• Cultivating Early Literacy Apps

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9 Benefits of Kids Playing Video Games

Age-appropriate video games played in moderation can help young kids develop educationally, socially, and physically.

As parents, we tend to focus more on the potential dangers than on the benefits of kids playing video games. But since these games are a normal part of modern childhood, it's good to know that video games can be a powerful tool to help children develop certain life skills . Understanding the benefits can help parents choose appropriate leisure-time games, help educators seek ways to supplement classroom teaching, and help game developers create games that teach.

In 2010, I wrote a research paper, "Children's Motivations for Video Game Play in the Context of Normal Development," featured in the Review of General Psychology . The research included results from studies I led at Harvard Medical School and survey data compiled from interviewing over 1,000 public school students. Based on my research, here are nine reasons why video games can be beneficial to your child's growth and education.

Video Games Can Teach Problem-Solving Skills

Video games can help children's brain development. For example, when my son was a young adolescent, I watched him play Legend of Zelda games. He had to search, negotiate, plan, and try different approaches to advance. Around the time of my research, many other games involving planning and problem-solving, such as Bakugan: Defenders of the Core, were being released.

In addition, "modding," the process by which players customize their character's appearance and develop new game levels, also allows for creative self-expression, a deep understanding of game rules and structure, and new ways of highlighting personalities and interests. So, even if video games aren't labeled "educational," they can still help children learn to make decisions , use strategies, anticipate consequences, and express their personalities.

Video Games Can Inspire Interest in History and Culture

The content of certain video games can encourage kids to read and research. For example, video games such as Age of Mythology , Civilization , and Age of Empires may spark a child's interest in world history, geography, ancient cultures, and international relations, especially if parents are alert to opportunities.

To quote researchers David Shaffer and James Gee: "When children have parents who help turn Age of Mythology into an island of expertise, tying it to books, Internet sites, museums, and media about mythology, cultures and geography, the children pick up a wide range of complex language, content and connections that serve as preparation for future learning of a highly complex and deep sort."

What's more, these games often allow children to design and exchange maps or other custom content, helping them acquire creative and technical skills while having fun.

Video Games Can Help Kids Make Friends

In contrast to their parents, most young kids see video games as a social activity, not an isolating one. Video games create a common ground for young kids to make friends, hang out, and provide structured time with friends.

In our research, focus groups of adolescent boys said games were a frequent focus for conversation among their peers. For example, one boy revealed that his peers at school mostly talked about "girls and games—the two Gs."

In addition, our research found that children with mild learning disabilities were likely to choose "making new friends" as a reason they played video games.

Video Games Can Encourage Exercise

In my research, players (specifically boys) talked about learning new moves from sports video games and practicing them on the basketball court or skateboards. Some took up new sports after being introduced to them in video games.

As one boy revealed in a research focus group, "In the games that are real, which are mostly the sports games, you see them do amazing plays. If you go outside and try them and keep practicing, you could get better."

Research showed that playing realistic sports video games (excluding tournament fighting) led to an increased time spent playing sports and exercising in real life .

Video Games Can Promote the Joy of Competition

It's normal and healthy for kids to compete with their peers as they jockey for status and recognition. In my surveys and focus group studies with young teens, "I like to compete with other people and win" was one of the most popular reasons for playing video games—again, especially for boys.

Video games are a safe place to express those competitive urges and can give children who don't prefer sports a chance to excel.

Video Games Can Offer Leadership Opportunities

Children playing video games in groups often take turns leading and following, depending on who has specific skills needed in that game. Explaining and demonstrating games is good for developing leadership skills such as persuading and motivating others and mediating disputes.

In addition, online multi-player games offer teens a rare chance to participate in and sometimes lead, a diverse, mixed-age team. And nobody cares how old you are if you can lead the team to victory.

Video Games Can Spark Creativity

An experimental study published in the Creativity Research Journal found a link between certain video games and creativity. The 352 participants either played Minecraft with or without instruction, watched a TV show, or played a race car game.

The researchers found that those who played Minecraft without instruction completed subsequent tasks with the most creativity. Researchers speculate this may be because they were given the most freedom to think on their own while playing.

Video Games Can Provide Teaching Opportunities

Roughly one-third of the children we studied said they played video games in part because they liked to teach others how to play. As one boy's dad revealed during research, "Most of the interaction my son has with his buddies is about solving situations within a game. It's all about how do you go from this place to that place, or collect the certain things that you need, and combine them in ways that are going to help you to succeed."

Some children gain status as the "go-to" kid who knows how to beat the toughest parts of a game. Teaching others builds social and communication skills , as well as patience.

Video Games Can Bring Parents and Kids Together

Thanks to my research, I'll always remember watching my friend's 10-year-old daughter teach her how to play Guitar Hero . The game happened to include favorite songs from my friend's teen and college years, which helped draw her in. The best part was seeing the daughter become an expert and share gaming skills with her mom—a reversal of the usual parent-child roles .

Now that some video game systems are friendlier to novice players, sharing game time is increasingly possible. Plus, playing a video game side-by-side encourages easy conversation, which in turn may encourage your child to share their problems and triumphs with you.

Cheryl K. Olson, Sc.D., is an expert in health behavior change and healthy child development. She is an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the co-author of the book Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do .

Kids playing video games isn't the doom and gloom on their development and growth as previously feared. There are many benefits of playing videos, from cognitive to creative and more—it might even make a fun family activity. For questions about what video games are appropriate for your child's age, check out Common Sense Media , where researchers, doctors, parents—and even kids—chime in on media reviews.

Children’s Motivations for Video Game Play in The Context of Normal Development . American Psychological Association . 2010.

Association of Video Gaming With Cognitive Performance Among Children . Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) . 2022.

Before Every Child Is Left Behind: How Epistemic Games Can Solve the Coming Crisis in Education . Institute of Education Sciences . 2005.

Chapter 3: Video Games Are Key Elements in Friendships for Many Boys . Pew Research Center . 2015.

Video Games Can Increase Creativity, but With Caveats . Creative Research Journal . 2019.

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The Real Benefits of Video Games

Online games can foster genuine psychological benefits and feelings of community, experts say.

In some corners of culture, the long-held stereotype of gamers as socially maladjusted loners still persists. And when the social potential of gaming is acknowledged, it’s still brushed off as an inferior substitution to “real” human connection.

“Online games have been historically portrayed as what people in research call pseudo-communities,” said Dr. Rachel Kowert, the research director of the nonprofit  Take This , who studies the psychological effects of video games.

“The value of the social connections are assumed to be somehow less than the value of the social connections that we have in face-to-face interactions,” Kowert added. “But if you look at the research, that’s actually not true.”

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Benefits of Playing Video Games

Gamers have many different reasons for playing. According to a 2023 Entertainment Software Association (ESA) report , some of the top reasons people play video games are to have fun , pass time and de-stress. Whatever motivations gamers have, many of them are able to tap into gaming’s benefits.   

Increases Social Connection  

Along with researchers from Edge Hill University and University of York, Kowert studied more than 700 players of massively multiplayer online games (MMOs). The sample ranged from gamers who played as little as one hour per week to those who played 30 or more. The team found that MMO engagement correlated to a stronger sense of social identity , or how people self-identify based on their affiliation to groups, which corresponded with higher self-esteem, more social competence and lower levels of loneliness .

“It seemed to be quite a positive thing for the games we surveyed, which were all online multiplayer gamers,” said Dr. Linda Kaye, a senior lecturer in psychology at Edge Hill who specializes in cyberpsychology and co-authored the study.

It was positive both individually and in terms of a broader social connection. “Gamers often report that that common interest in itself can actually build friendships and relationships — so that common focus can be really important socially,” Kaye said.

There’s a growing body of other relevant research as well. Kowert edited a collection called  Video Games and Well-Being: Press Start , in which authors incorporate a variety of academic research to explore the psychological benefits, including connectedness, of gaming.

“When talking about how games can be socially valuable, there is a lot of research that specifically found reductions in loneliness and depression, and that it’s particularly valuable for people who are geographically isolated,” Kowert said.

Online, game-rooted friendships “are as real as any offline friendships,” Kowert said, “and they shouldn’t be discredited just because they’re mediated through technology.” 

Supports Cognitive Skills

If you’ve ever wondered if games like Animal Crossing or Mario Kart can help contribute to cognitive development , the answer is yes. 

In a  study of 2,217 children published in 2022, researchers found that cognitive performance, specifically in tasks related to memory and response inhibition, was better among children who played video games for around 21 hours a week compared to those who didn’t play any video games. 

And according to a  2013 study , video games can help improve problem-solving skills . This is especially true for open-world, mission-based games structured around completing many smaller tasks and puzzles to achieve a greater goal in the game. A 2024 Pew Research study has reinforced this finding, with 56 percent of teen respondents saying that video games have strengthened their problem-solving skills as well. 

Gaming is good for your brain’s gray matter, the outer layer of brain tissue that contributes to motor skills, memory and emotional response.  One study from 2015 compared gamers who had reached expert levels in action-based video games with novice players. The researchers found that expert players had increased volumes of gray matter and greater functional connectivity.  

Improves Mental Health

It was once common to think that video games weren’t good for your mental health, and this belief still persists . But that notion is changing too. 

A 2014 paper published in Frontiers of Psychology found a link between gaming and improved mental health . 

“We propose that video games, by their very nature, have design elements aligned with attributes of well-being, and that playing video games can provide opportunities for flourishing mental health,” the paper’s authors wrote. 

People who regularly play video games may experience decreased levels of stress too. A  2009 study found that casual video gaming created changes in brain activity consistent with improved mood and less avoidant behavior.

The aforementioned 2023 ESA study confirms these findings, revealing that 71 percent of people feel less stressed when playing video games, 61 percent feel less anxious and 58 percent feel less isolated or lonely.

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Video Games and Screen Time for Children  

Not all digital interactions are created equal. Gaming with others is a shared activity — the sense of a common goal or communal competition — that fosters friendships in a way that scrolling through a newsfeed might not. “Think of it like team sports,” Kowert said. “There’s a difference between playing soccer with friends and having coffee with friends. You’re building camaraderie and close ties.”

That may be a consideration as parents struggle with whether to moderate screen time . Research out of the  Oxford Internet Institute has notably cast doubt on several longstanding video-gaming concerns, including the notion of gaming disorder, the idea that  violent games promote aggression and the worry that screen time diminishes well-being among young people. There is “little evidence for substantial negative associations between digital-screen engagement ... and adolescent well-being,”  researchers wrote .

That study is not without its critics, including psychologist and iGen author Jean Twenge, who  found conflicting results using the same data . And the authors themselves  admitted “we don’t understand fully the impact of big tech on our society.”

Also, it comes back to habits, Kaye said, by way of a food analogy. “We don’t talk about eating time or food time, but there are many healthy eating behaviors and many unhealthy behaviors,” she said. “So when we talk about screen time generally, it seems a bit nonsensical to not distinguish between healthy and unhealthy.”

But recent research leans more toward the findings of the Oxford Internet Institute. A University of Houston study followed the video game habits of 160 pre-teen students in urban public schools, measuring their performance on a cognitive ability test. The study found that playing video games had no impact on the students’ cognitive abilities, regardless of the type of video game they played and how long they played.

No one is confusing Fortnite with  edtech , but online social games would seem to have some leg up. “Anything where you’re actively engaging, preferably with other people in a healthy way, is going to be the healthiest kind of screen time behavior,” Kaye added.

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How to Get Started with Social Online Video Games  

There’s no doubt that video game usage is surging . But are there any online games that are particularly well suited to maximize social engagement? Do any have particularly welcoming communities ? And are there any platforms that don’t require hefty console investments?

Steam is one to consider, Kowert said. The online gaming platform doesn’t require a console, holds regular flash sales and includes a chat function that players can use to connect even if they’re not immersed in the same gaming universe. “You don’t have to be playing the same games together, but you still have that feeling of connection and communication,” Kowert said.

There’s always the console in your hand too. “There are many free-to-play mobile games that are also emotionally connecting, games like Words With Friends ,” Kowert said. And racing side-scrollers are also a good way to play with either strangers or friends, Kaye said.

As for non-mobile games, Kowert points to Minecraft , the beloved, all-ages sandbox bestseller, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons . She also recommends Stardew Valley , the indie-phenom farming simulator , which unveiled a co-op feature in 2018. “If you just want to play with someone who maybe lives on the other side of the city, but you can’t see right now, that’s a good option,” Kowert said.

Of course, simply firing up Fortnite won’t instantaneously transform those who might feel lonely into online social butterflies. “Some players can be in social environments and still not interact much with others,” said Kaye, pointing to  a 2006 research paper that explored the “alone together” phenomenon in MMOs.

But in extremely online times, we might as well try all the help we can get. “It’s about finding alternative ways of keeping [face-to-face] connections and conversations going,” Kaye said, “and using more creative virtual ways to do so.”  

Frequently Asked Questions

How can video games benefit communities.

In a 2023 global survey , the Entertainment Software Association found that video games reduce feelings of stress, anxiety and isolation among users. Gaming’s positive impact on people’s mental health and the spaces it provides for people to connect with each other online can then lead to healthier communities overall.

Can video games help your social life?

A 2024 Pew Research study found that nearly half of U.S. teens say video games have helped them make friends online and maintain their current friendships. Video games can then serve as a way to broaden your social network and sustain existing relationships, especially if you’re unable to visit people in person.

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Why Video Games Are Good for You: 10+ Ways They Boost Your Brain

Feeling bored or stressed? You’re not alone. Believe it or not,  playing video games  can  boost your brain  in many ways. This blog post will guide you through how these  digital adventures  can help solve  real-world problems  for you.

Let’s  level up !

Key Takeaways

Playing video games can make parts of your brain bigger, like the  hippocampus , which helps with  memory and finding your way around ., video games boost skills you need every day, like  focusing better ,  making decisions quickly ,  solving problems , and even  becoming a multitasking pro ., some video games get you moving just as much as going for a jog would. they can be  fun workouts  that help both your body and mind., games are great for  meeting new people online and making friends , plus they can turn a bad mood into a good one in no time., too much gaming isn’t good, though; it’s important to balance game time to keep it healthy and fun., table of contents, the positive impact of video games on the brain.

Turns out, your brain loves video games as much as you do. Playing them can make your mind stronger in so many ways.

Increases in Brain Matter

Imagine, every time you pick up that controller and dive into a game of Tetris or any action-packed adventure, your brain’s getting a workout. Yes, just like how lifting weights can beef up your muscles, navigating through virtual worlds can bulk up parts of your brain! Specifically, the  hippocampus gets some serious gains  from this kind of exercise.

This part isn’t just for show – it plays a key role in turning what happened five minutes ago (like where you parked your car) into memories that stick around for years. Plus, it  helps you figure out directions  without pulling out Google Maps.

Now let’s talk  patterns and contrasts  – things  gamers get real good at spotting   thanks to their hobby . Ever noticed how after playing certain games, everything else seems a bit sharper? That’s not just in your head.

Well, actually it is – but in the best possible way. Action video games  train the brain to create perceptual templates  faster than ever. Think about it like becoming a detective who’s  super quick at picking out clues and solving mysteries, but with pixels and power-ups instead of magnifying glasses and trench coats.

Stimulating Activity for the Mind

So, after we see how playing video games can actually make parts of your brain bigger, let’s talk about how they wake up your mind. Video games are like puzzles for your brain—sometimes literally! They get those  mental gears spinning  in ways that watching TV just can’t match.

Think of it as a  gym session for your gray matter .

Playing certain types of video games is a bit like sending your mind on an obstacle course. Strategy games and puzzles require you to plan, make decisions quickly, and solve problems—all skills that come in handy beyond the screen.

It trains not just memory and concentration but  boosts overall thinking speed . And let’s face it—the satisfaction of beating a tough level or finally cracking a puzzle is unbeatable.

So next time someone questions your game time, you’ve got some serious brain-boosting reasons to keep playing.

Improvement in Focus and Visuomotor Abilities

Playing video games has really sharpened my focus. Now, I can spend more time enjoying my hobby, online video poker, an area where the quick decision-making and pattern recognition trained in video games is directly applicable. Read more about where you can play video poker online and understand its unique benefits. It’s like these games train your brain to pay attention better and react quicker.

You know how you have to  spot patterns  and  make split-second decisions  in video poker? Well, action games are pretty much the gym for those skills. They push you to get better at noticing details fast and acting on them.

This isn’t just about getting good at a game, either. These  improvements spill over into real life  too! Ever had a day packed with chores and errands? Thanks to gaming, keeping track of all that while juggling other tasks feels like a breeze now.

And it doesn’t just stop there – from whipping up dinner while helping with homework to catching mistakes in your work before they happen. Games turn your brain into a  multitasking powerhouse  without even realizing it!

Enhanced Cognitive Functions

After sharpening your focus and visuomotor skills, gaming takes things up a notch by upgrading your  mental functions . Your brain gets a full workout, especially in the areas that control  thinking, memory, and problem-solving .

These games act like puzzles to solve or mysteries to unravel—challenging yet rewarding. Whether it’s keeping track of multiple objectives or switching between tasks effortlessly, gamers develop a nimble mind.

Strategic video games push you to plan and think on your feet. Imagine navigating through virtual worlds where every decision impacts the outcome. This isn’t just fun—it’s training for real-life situations where quick thinking is key.

Building cities from scratch in simulation games or leading armies in strategy games improves your ability to assess situations and make smart choices quickly. Plus, these experiences are not just passing the time; they’re  enhancing resilience and adapting skills  that come in handy off-screen as well.

Real World Benefits of Playing Video Games

Playing video games isn’t just fun—it’s like a gym for your brain, making you sharper and quicker on your feet. They teach you how to solve tough puzzles and make quick decisions, almost like being a detective in real life but with more dragons or aliens.

Plus, if you’re into dance-off competitions or pretending to be a sports star from the comfort of your living room, some games get you moving more than a morning jog would.

Now imagine turning complex problems into child’s play because that’s what gamers do day in and day out. Ever felt nervous about talking to new people? Video games have got your back there too; they’re like those social mixers without the awkward small talk.

And let’s not forget—they can turn a bad mood around faster than flipping a pancake.

So why settle for boring workouts or dreary problem-solving methods when video games offer an exciting world brimming with endless possibilities? Dive into gaming, and who knows, maybe you’ll find yourself leading a

Promotes Problem-Solving Skills

Video games push you to think on your feet. Imagine working through a tough level that feels like fighting a dragon with a toothpick. Sounds crazy, right? But here’s the kicker – as you  strategize, plan and try different approaches , your brain is getting a solid workout in problem-solving.

It’s not just about blasting aliens or racing cars; it’s thinking two steps ahead, like playing chess with virtual pieces.

You face  puzzles and challenges  that need  quick-thinking and swift fingers . This isn’t just fun; it  builds resilience . The next time life throws you a curveball, you remember how you cracked that impossible game level after many tries.

Suddenly, real-world problems don’t seem so big anymore because games have taught you persistence pays off—and sometimes leads to epic wins!

Physical Exercise through Active Games

Turning your living room into a gym has never been easier or more fun. Play games like Wii Fit or Dance Dance Revolution, and you’re in for an  entertaining workout . These games aren’t just about pressing buttons; they get you up and moving.

You might be dodging obstacles, dancing to the latest hits, or balancing on a virtual tightrope. It’s like sneaking vegetables into a dessert—exercise without noticing it’s good for you.

Studies back up the benefits, too. They show these types of video games can pack the same punch as light jogging or hopping around with friends. Plus, they help  sharpen your brain —boosting things like multitasking skills and memory—all while keeping  physical fitness  in check.

So next time you reach for that controller, remember—you’re not just playing; you’re giving both your body and mind a boost!

Other Physical Benefits

Playing these games isn’t just a sit-down affair. Video games that make you get up and move turn your living room into a  fitness studio . Think of dancing around with VR goggles or racing across exotic landscapes on your console – it’s like hitting the gym but way more fun.

These “ exergames ” kick boring workouts to the curb and bring in loads of laughter instead.

Besides keeping your heart happy, video games improve  hand-eye coordination  massively. Ever tried chopping virtual fruits flying at you? It gets those hands moving quick! Plus, moms who multitask non-stop find their  reaction times  getting sharper without even trying.

So, after boosting those  physical skills , let’s look into how video games sprinkle magic on our  moods  and  social lives .

The Social and Emotional Advantages of Video Games

Video games do more than just keep you glued to the screen, they’re like a surprise party for your feelings and social life. Ever felt a wave of happiness from beating a tough level or making new friends in an online adventure? That’s video games working their magic on your mood and people skills.

Improved Mood

Grab a controller, and let’s talk happiness. Games do more than just pass the time—they  boost your mood . Ever feel that rush after beating a tough level or solving a hard puzzle? That’s your brain releasing  feel-good chemicals , like a mini-reward system.

It’s not magic; it’s science.

Think of games as your own personal  stress-busters . Had a long day? Dive into another world where the only stress is deciding which quest to tackle first. They’re like  mini vacations for your mind , helping you relax and smile more often—without boarding a plane or packing a bag.

And in today’s hustle-and-bustle, who doesn’t want an  instant pick-me-up  right at their fingertips?

Enhanced Social Skills

Jumping into a video game is like stepping into a  social meetup , but without having to leave your comfy couch. You get to chat, team up, and even engage in friendly competition with folks from around the globe.

This interaction isn’t just fun; it’s a  workout for your conversational muscles . Think of it as practice for those real-world chats and meet-ups. Plus, over 70% of gamers buddy up with a pal for some digital adventures, making gaming a  bonding activity that strengthens friendships .

Playing in these virtual playgrounds teaches you teamwork and how to navigate the ups and downs of group dynamics—all valuable skills outside the screen, too. And let’s not forget—these games are  pulling people together from all walks of life  at any given moment.

Ready to see how video games tackle stress head-on? Let’s keep the ball rolling!

Stress Relief

Think of playing video games as hitting a “refresh” button for your brain. After a long day of juggling work, home, and everything in between, diving into a game can be like stepping into another world where the stressors of daily life don’t follow you.

It’s not just fun—it’s  therapy without the couch . Studies show that engaging with video games can lead to  better heart rhythms  and  elevate moods , acting as a  powerful antidote to stress .

So picture yourself unwinding after a hectic day by picking up that controller. The challenges and adventures waiting in your favorite game become opportunities to solve problems creatively, turning frustration into victory—minus the real-world stakes.

This shift not only entertains but also brings genuine relaxation and joy, crucial elements for mental wellness in today’s fast-paced world. By embracing this hobby, moms everywhere are finding an effective way to recharge and tackle life with renewed energy—and maybe beating a few high scores along the way doesn’t hurt either!

The Role of Video Games in Learning and Curiosity

Video games are like secret doors to learning and curiosity. They make our brains want to explore more, solve puzzles, and understand new ideas.

Spatial Visualization

Have you ever played a game and found yourself better at figuring out maps or puzzles in real life? That’s  spatial visualization  working its magic. Playing video games, especially those with  3D graphics , sharpens this skill.

Imagine improving your  mental rotation ability  just by navigating through  virtual spaces  or solving  puzzles in a game . It’s like giving your brain a workout without even breaking a sweat.

This boost doesn’t stop at games. Moms can apply this skill in everyday tasks too, from packing the car for a family trip to rearranging furniture at home. And here’s an interesting fact: playing games with  2D graphics  also helps, but in different ways, honing your ability to imagine how objects rotate.

Now, let’s move on and see how these gaming experiences touch on perception and vision.

Perception and Vision

Moving from spatial visualization, let’s dive into how video games can sharpen our eyes and mind. Video games are like gym workouts for the brain’s perception center. They help you see better in two ways: by improving how you notice details in busy scenes and helping your eyes tell  differences in shades of gray .

It’s kind of like becoming a visual detective, picking up clues faster than ever.

Ever tried spotting a camouflaged enemy in a game? That moment where your skills kick in is all thanks to action-packed titles that  boost your ability to spot patterns  and build perceptual blueprints.

These games train your hippocampus too—that part of the brain plays a big role in spatial memory. So, every time you navigate through complex landscapes or track moving targets on screen, consider it an  intense workout for your vision and perception muscles !

Decision Making

Playing video games does wonders for  decision-making skills . You’re in the driver’s seat, making quick calls and  strategic choices . This is not just fun; it amps up your brain’s flexibility.

Picture yourself mastering a fast-paced puzzle or leading a team in an online adventure—each decision shapes your journey, keeping your mind sharp as a tack.

Games like  strategy simulations or quests  toss  complex challenges  at you. Need to conquer a new land? Plan your resources wisely. Facing off against an alien invasion? Figure out their weakness on the fly.

Every choice trains your brain to  analyze situations faster  and more accurately. And let’s be real, who wouldn’t want to be known as the  quick-thinking problem solver  in real life too?

Memory Improvement

After honing your decision-making skills with video games, let’s jump into how they polish your memory. Video games do wonders for the hippocampus—that crucial brain area handling  memory transformation  from short-term to long-term and managing  spatial awareness .

Imagine this: each time you navigate a maze or remember key sequences in a game, your  hippocampus gets a workout . This training ground helps convert what happened ten seconds ago into memories that stick around for years.

Video games act like  mental gym equipment , beefing up both your working and enduring memories. Especially as we get older, keeping our brains sharp matters more than ever. Games designed with complex levels or needing you to recall critical information from earlier stages serve as effective drills for enhancing  mental fitness .

So next time someone tells you gaming is just zoning out in front of a screen, let them know it’s more about building an iron-clad memory vault!

The Downsides of Excessive Gaming

Too much gaming can lead to addiction, folks. It hooks you in deeper, affecting your daily life and health.

Recognizing Gaming Addiction

Gaming addiction  is a real thing, and it’s more than just spending a lot of time in front of the screen. Signs include  losing track of hours  while playing,  skipping meals or sleep , and  games becoming all you think about .

This isn’t just about loving to play; it’s when gaming starts  messing with everyday life .

If your family starts complaining that they never see you because you’re always gaming, or if work or home tasks are slipping because you can’t put the controller down, pay attention.

Think of it like this: if gaming starts to cause problems, but stopping feels impossible, it might be time for a chat with someone who can help. Speaking up isn’t easy, but  taking back control  is worth it.

Now let’s explore how we can keep our gaming habits healthy.

FAQs About Why Video Games Are Good for You

How do video games make my brain sharper.

Playing video games is like taking your brain to the gym! They can improve attentional control, help you solve complex problems faster, and even boost your working memory. Think of each game as a fun workout session for your mind.

Can playing video games really help with my mental health?

Yes, believe it or not, diving into video games can be a real pick-me-up for your mood. They offer enjoyment and a break from the daily grind, acting as self-care tools that support mental health .

Will playing fitness-related video games get me moving more?

Absolutely! Fitness games are designed to get you off the couch and moving around. They’re perfect for breaking a sweat and shaking off that sedentary lifestyle without feeling like a traditional workout.

Are there benefits for kids too, or just adults?

Kids can reap big rewards too! Video games can enhance cognitive skills in children by improving problem-solving abilities and planning skills. Plus, they’re a blast to play!

Do I need to worry about screen time when gaming?

It’s all about balance. While gaming sharpens your brain in many ways, keeping an eye on screen time ensures it remains a healthy part of life without tipping into excess.

How do multiplayer online games affect social skills?

Massively multiplayer online (MMO) games open up worlds where players collaborate and communicate with others across the globe, honing social skills in an entertaining digital environment.

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The Playing Brain. The Impact of Video Games on Cognition and Behavior in Pediatric Age at the Time of Lockdown: A Systematic Review

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A growing number of children and adolescents play video games (VGs) for long amounts of time. The current outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic has significantly reduced outdoor activities and direct interpersonal relationships. Therefore, a higher use of VGs can become the response to stress and fear of illness. VGs and their practical, academic, vocational and educational implications have become an issue of increasing interest for scholars, parents, teachers, pediatricians and youth public policy makers. The current systematic review aims to identify, in recent literature, the most relevant problems of the complex issue of playing VGs in children and adolescents in order to provide suggestions for the correct management of VG practice. The method used searches through standardized search operators using keywords related to video games and the link with cognition, cognitive control and behaviors adopted during the pandemic. Ninety-nine studies were reviewed and included, whereas twelve studies were excluded because they were educationally irrelevant. Any debate on the effectiveness of VGs cannot refer to a dichotomous approach, according to which VGs are rigidly ‘good’ or ‘bad’. VGs should be approached in terms of complexity and differentiated by multiple dimensions interacting with each other.

1. Introduction

In the last decades, a very large body of literature has shown an increasing interest in video games (VGs) and their impact on the brain, cognition and behavior, especially in children and adolescents [ 1 ]. Indeed, a widely growing number of children and adolescents play VGs for a long time, often developing real addictive behaviors [ 2 , 3 ]. In addition, the current outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the following lockdown have significantly reduced outdoor activities and direct interpersonal relationships [ 4 , 5 ]. However, literature data are still inconsistent. For example, according to some meta-analytic reviews [ 6 , 7 , 8 ], exposure to violent VGs is a causal risk factor for increased aggressive behavior, cognition and affection in children and adolescents. Conversely, many cross-sectional and intervention studies have shown that the intensive use of some types of VGs leads to significant improvements in many cognitive domains and behaviours [ 1 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]. Video games are even considered as ‘virtual teachers’ and effective and ‘exemplary teachers’ [ 12 , 13 ].

The current systematic review focuses on some crucial outstanding issues within the debate on the effects of VGs on cognition and behavior in order to provide suggestions for parents, pediatricians, health providers and educators dealing with pediatric ages, especially in the complex pandemic period. Namely, it analyzes the most debated and educationally relevant problems on the relationship between video games, cognition and behavior: 1. video games’ effects on cognitive function; 2. video games’ effects on attention and addictive behaviors; 3. video games and prosocial or aggressive behavior. Therefore, the current analysis may be accounted as an original contribution to the practical dimension in the educational and rehabilitation field for parents and educators.

Early common predominant opinions mainly focused on VGs according to dichotomous thinking, as enjoyable entertainment or harmful tools [ 14 ]. The recent literature instead provided evidence on the impact of VGs on the brain and its functional modifications while playing [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ], showing that video games involve different cortical and subcortical structures, with cognitive and emotional competence, such as frontal and prefrontal regions, the posterior and superior parietal lobe, the anterior and posterior cingulate cortices, limbic areas, the amygdala, the entorhinal cortex and basal nuclei [ 1 , 20 , 21 , 22 ].

Mondéjar and colleagues [ 15 ], in a group of twelve healthy preadolescents between 8 and 12 years old, evaluated the frontal lobe activity and the different types of cognitive processing during five platform-based action videogame mechanics: 1. accurate action, related to processes such as concentration, attention, impulse control and information comprehension; 2. timely action, related to working memory, selective attention, decision-making, problem solving and perception; 3. mimic sequence, related to working memory, focalized attention and inhibition control; 4. pattern learning, as selective attention, planning, inhibition control and spatial orientation; 5. logical puzzles related to attention, working memory, the capacity for abstraction, information processing, problem solving, or resistance to interference. They found prominent bioelectrical prefrontal activity during the performance related to executive functions (timely action, pattern learning, logical puzzles) and more global brain activity and a higher presence of alpha waves, or a greater activation of the temporal lobe, in the accurate action and mimic sequence. Similarly, they correlated higher magnitudes on frequency bands with five game mechanics in ten healthy children, who played with a VG platform for an average of about 20 min [ 16 ]. Theta waves, related to memory and emotions, were more significant in the five mechanics, while beta waves, related to concentration, were more prominent in only two. Moreover, activation was more significant in the intermediate and occipital areas for all the mechanics, while recurrent magnitude patterns were identified in three mechanics.

Similarly, Lee et al. [ 17 ], found a thinner cortex and a smaller gray matter volume in critical areas for evaluating reward values, error processing and adjusting behavior, namely, the anterior cingulate cortex, the orbitofrontal cortex and the frontoparietal areas, in young male adults with internet gaming disorders, compared to age-matched healthy male controls. A neuroimaging study examined in individuals affected by gaming disorders the differences during the playing of a violence-related vs. a non-violence-related version of the same VG [ 18 ]. While functional connectivity of the reward-related network and the behavioral inhibition system was altered, the orbitofrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cerebral area were overstimulated, similarly to smart drug addiction [ 17 , 23 ].

Recently, Kwak et al. [ 19 ] longitudinally compared 14 adolescents with internet gaming disorder to 12 professional internet gaming students who practiced for about ten hours a day, within a defined support system that included practice, physical exercise, lectures on team strategy, rest and mealtimes. After one year, both groups showed increased brain activity within the attention system of the parietal lobe. However, professional gamers improved problematic behaviors, impulsivity, aggression, depression and anxiety, while adolescents with internet gaming disorder showed no behavioral improvement and a dysfunctional brain activity within the impulse control network in the left orbitofrontal cortex.

The current systematic review was structured according to the guidelines and recommendations contained in the PRISMA statement [ 24 ].

Eligibility Criteria

Both experimental and correlational studies and meta-analyses between the years of 2000 and 2020 that investigated outcomes of VG exposure were included. They were considered children and adolescents. Studies employing different methodologies were included: studies in which naive participants were trained to use a VG versus a control group and studies comparing experienced versus non-gamers, or inexperienced players. Primary outcome measures were any type of structural and functional data obtained using neuroimaging techniques and behavioral testing.

Information Sources

One hundred and twenty-two studies were identified through electronic database searching in Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus (Elsevier) and Web of Sciences. The final database search was run on January 2021 using the following keywords: video games; video games and cognition; video games and epidemic; cognitive control; behavior control; brain and video games; spatial cognition; prosocial behavior; violence in video games; aggressive behavior; addictions in adolescents; children and video games.

Study Selection

Inclusion criteria: written in English; published since 2000; deals in depth with cognitive skills, attention, executive functions, or cognitive control; follows a high methodological rigor.

Exclusion criteria: does not refer to key topics directly; the full text could not be obtained; lack of transparency due to missing methodology information. Ninety-nine studies were reviewed and included, whereas twelve studies were excluded because they were irrelevant to the topic or because the full text was not obtained. General communication materials, such as pamphlets, posters and infographics, were excluded as they do not provide evidence about their effectiveness.

Figure 1 shows the selection of studies flowchart.

Selection of studies flowchart.

3.1. Effect of Video Games on Cognitive Functions

Any modern VG requires an extensive repertoire of attentional, perceptual and executive abilities, such as a deep perceptual analysis of complex unfamiliar environments, detecting relevant or irrelevant stimuli, interference control, speed of information processing, planning and decision making, cognitive flexibility and working memory.

Literature data in the last years have proven that VGs may improve a variety of cognitive domains [ 1 , 25 ] as, for example, even just 10 hours of VG could improve spatial attention and mental rotation [ 26 , 27 ]. A large variety of design studies reported in habitual players better performance in multiple cognitive domains, including selective attention [ 3 , 21 , 26 , 28 ], speed of processing [ 21 , 28 ], executive functions [ 29 , 30 ] and working memory [ 31 ]. Similarly, a large body of intervention studies have shown improvements in the same cognitive domains in non-players following training in action VGs [ 27 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ]. Recently, Benoit et al. [ 38 ] examined in 14 professional VG players and 16 casual VG players various cognitive abilities, such as processing speed, attention, memory, executive functions, manual dexterity and tracking multiple objects in three dimensions [ 39 ]. Professional players showed a very large advantage in visual–spatial short-term memory and visual attention, and less in selective and sustained attention and auditory working memory. Moreover, they showed better speed thresholds in tracking multiple objects in three dimensions overall, though the rate of improvement did not differ in the two groups. In two previous meta-analyses, Bediou et al. [ 40 ] focused on the long-term effects of action VGs on various cognitive domains using both cross-sectional and intervention studies. Overall, the results documented a positive impact of action video gaming on cognition. In cross-sectional studies, a main effect of about half a standard deviation was found. The habitual action game players showed better performance than non-players. Likewise, intervention studies showed about a third of a standard deviation advantage in cognition domains in action VG trainees. Perception, spatial cognition and top-down attention were the three cognitive domains with the most robust impact [ 40 ].

Homer et al. [ 41 ] examined the effectiveness of a custom-designed VG (‘alien game’) in a group of 82 healthy adolescents (age range 14–18 years; average = 15.5 years) trained to play for 20 min per week for 6 consecutive weeks. Such a digital game was devised to target, in a fun way, the specific executive ability of shifting, as the ability to shift between tasks or mental sets, hypothesizing that after playing the ‘alien game’ over a period of several weeks, adolescents would show significant improvements in the targeted ability. Pre- and post-test measures of another executive ability, inhibition, as the ability to control a prepotent response, were also recorded in order to examine the extent to which training would transfer from one executive ability to another. Significant advantages both in shifting and in inhibition abilities were found, providing evidence that VGs can be effective tools for training executive abilities [ 42 , 43 ].

Similarly, Oei and Patterson [ 44 ] examined the effect of action and non-action VGs on executive functions. Fifty-two non-VG gamers played one of four different games for 20 h. Pre- and post-training tests of executive function were administered. The group that trained on the physics-based puzzle game, demanding high level planning, problem solving, reframing, strategizing and new strategies from level to level, improved in several aspects of executive function. In a previous study, the same authors [ 45 ] instructed 75 non-gamers, (average age 21.07 ± 2.12) to play for 20 h, one hour a day/five days a week over four weeks. They compared effects of action and non-action games to examine whether non-action games also improve cognition. Four tests pre- and post-training were administered. The results showed that cognitive improvements were not limited to training with action games and that different games improved different aspects of cognition. Action VGs have even been used to treat dyslexic children [ 46 , 47 ]. Only 12 h of action VGs, for nine sessions of 80 min per day, significantly improved reading and attentional skills [ 48 ].

Moreover, several meta-analytic studies provide evidence that action VG training may become an efficient way to improve the cognitive performance of healthy adults. Wang et al. [ 49 ], in a meta-analysis, found that healthy adults achieve moderate benefits from action VG training in overall cognitive ability and moderate to small benefits in specific cognitive domains. In contrast, young adults gain more benefits than older adults in both overall cognition and specific cognitive domains.

In summation, the studies on VG effects, by different methodologies, document both in adults and in children significant positive outcomes in different cognitive domains. Such performance improvements may be paralleled by functional brain remodelling [ 14 ].

3.2. Video Games Effect on Attention and Addictive Behaviors

Attentional problems are accounted as a crucial area of focus on outcomes of intensive game-play practices in children and adolescents. However, literature on the topic appears inconsistent. While some research has found mixed results [ 50 ] or a positive effect [ 51 , 52 , 53 ], or no relationship between VG practice and attention, other studies have linked VG playing with greater attention problems, such as impulsiveness, self-control, executive functioning, and cognitive control [ 53 , 54 , 55 ].

Gentile et al. [ 56 ], examining longitudinally, over 3 years, a large sample of child and adolescent VG players aged 8–17 (mean = 11.2 ± 2.1), suggested a bidirectional causality: children who spend more time playing VGs have more attention problems; in turn, subjects who have more attention problems spend more time playing VGs. Therefore, children and adolescents with attention problems are more attracted to VGs (excitement hypothesis), and, in turn, they find it less engaging to focus on activities requiring more control and sustained attention, such as educational activities, homework or household chores (displacement hypothesis). According to such hypotheses, and to the operant conditioning model [ 57 , 58 ], VGs, providing strong motivational cues, become more rewarding for impulsive children and teenagers [ 51 ] who, in such contexts, experience a sense of value and feelings of mastery that they do not experience in their daily relationships [ 59 ].

Actually, any modern VG is a highly engaging activity with a variety of attractive cues, such as, for example, violence, rapid movement, fast pacing and flashing lights [ 60 , 61 ]. According to the attractive hypothesis [ 56 ], it may provide a strong motivation and support for attention and even become addictive, especially in subjects with problems maintaining attention in usual, monotonous and poorly engaging tasks. Therefore, paradoxically, a greater VG exposure may improve visual attention skills involved in such engaging play [ 26 ], but it may impair the ability to selectively focus on a target for lasting time, without external exciting cues.

Probably, in line with the bidirectional causality framework [ 56 ], such rewarding conditions could become the psychological context for the structuring of addictive behaviors, such as a sense of euphoria while playing, feeling depressed away from the game, an uncontrollable and persistent craving to play, neglect of family and friends, problems with school or jobs, alteration of sleeping routines, irregular meals and poor hygiene [ 14 ]. The most psychologically fragile subjects may be most attracted to an engaging and rewarding activity, ensuring an effective compensation to their fragility [ 14 ]. However, the topic of video game addiction continues to present today many outstanding issues. There is a large consensus that ‘pathological use’ is more debilitating than ‘excessive use’ of VGs alone [ 62 , 63 , 64 ]. Addictive behavior appears associated with an actual lowering in academic, social, occupational, developmental and behavioral dimensions, while excessive use may simply be an excessive amount of time gaming. According to Griffiths’ suggestions, ‘healthy excessive enthusiasms add to life, whereas addiction takes away from it’ [ 65 ]. However, it is sometimes difficult to identify the clear line between unproblematic overuse of gaming and the pathological and compulsive overuse that compromises one’s lifestyle and psychosocial adjustment [ 66 , 67 , 68 ]. Therefore, there may be a risk of stigmatizing an enjoyable practice, which, for a minority of excessive users, may be associated with addiction-related behaviors [ 69 , 70 ]. Przybylski and colleagues, in four survey studies with large international cohorts (N = 18,932), found that the percentage of the general population who could qualify for internet gaming disorders was extremely small (less than one percent) [ 71 ].

In such a discussion of the pathological nature of VGs, another outstanding question is whether pathological play is a major problem, or if it is the phenomenological manifestation of another pathological condition. Several studies have suggested that video game play can become harmful enough to be categorized as a psychiatric disorder, or it could be a symptom of an underlying psychopathological condition, such as depression or anxiety. Moreover, the functional impairments observed in individuals with game addictions are also thought to be similar to the impairments observed in other addictions. Neuroimaging studies have shown that the brain reward pathways which are activated during video game playing are also activated during cue-induced cravings of drug, alcohol or other type of substances abuse [ 72 , 73 , 74 ].

Some longitudinal studies [ 14 , 75 , 76 ] proved that pathological addictive behaviors, such as depression, are likely to be outcomes of pathological gaming rather than predictors of it [ 77 , 78 ]. Lam and Peng [ 79 ], in a prospective study with a randomly generated cohort of 881 healthy adolescents aged between 13 and 16 years, found that the pathological use of the internet results in later depression. Similarly, Liau et al. [ 80 ], in a 2-year longitudinal study involving 3034 children and adolescents aged 8 to 14 years, found that pathological video gaming has potentially serious mental health consequences, in particular of depression.

In summary, attention problems and addictive behaviors in the context of VGs should be addressed in a circular and bidirectional way in which each variable can influence the others.

3.3. Video Games Effect and Prosocial and Aggressive Behaviors

The positive impact of video games also concerns the social and relational dimension, as occurs in the VG training of prosocial or educational skills. Several studies have reported that playing prosocial VGs, even for a short time, increases prosocial cognition [ 81 ], positive affect [ 82 ] and helping behaviors [ 13 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 ], whereas it decreases antisocial thoughts and the hostile expectation bias, such as the tendency to perceive any provocative actions of other people as hostile even when they are accidental [ 13 , 86 ]. Such findings have been found in correlational, longitudinal and experimental investigations [ 82 , 85 , 87 ].

In four different experiments [ 13 ], playing VGs with prosocial content was positively related to increased prosocial behavior, even though participants played the VGs for a relatively short time, suggesting that VGs with prosocial content could be used to improve social interactions, increase prosocial behavior, reduce aggression and encourage tolerance.

Following experimental, correlational, longitudinal and meta-analytic studies provided further evidence that playing a prosocial VG results in greater interpersonal empathy, cooperation and sharing and subsequently in prosocial behavior [ 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 ].

Such literature’s data are consistent with the General Learning Model [ 91 , 92 ], according to which the positive or negative content of the game impacts on the player’s cognition, emotions and physiological arousal, which, in turn, leads to positive or negative learning and behavioral responses [ 12 , 93 , 94 , 95 ]. Therefore, repeated prosocial behavioral scripts can be translated into long-term effects in cognitive, emotional and affective constructs related to prosocial actions, cognition, feelings, and physiological arousal, such as perceptual and expectation schemata, beliefs, scripts, attitudes and stereotypes, empathy and personality structure [ 83 , 91 ].

In the same conceptual framework, educational video games have been found to positively affect behaviors in a wide range of domains [ 12 ], school subjects [ 96 ] and health conditions [ 97 , 98 ]. In randomized clinical trials, for example, diabetic or asthmatic children and adolescents improved their self-care and reduced their emergency clinical utilization after playing health education and disease management VGs. After six months of playing, diabetic patients decreased their emergency visits by 77 percent [ 99 ]. Therefore, well-designed games can provide powerful interactive experiences that can foster young children’s learning, skill building, self-care and healthy development [ 100 ].

Violence in VGs is a matter of intense debate, both in public opinion and in the scientific context [ 101 , 102 ]. A vast majority of common opinions, parents and educators consider the violence of VGs as the most negatively impacting feature to emotional and relational development of youth and children. Actually, studies agree on the negative impact of violent video games on aggressive behavior. Several meta-analyses have examined violent VGs [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 103 ] and, although they vary greatly in terms of how many studies they include, they seem to agree with each other. The most comprehensive [ 8 ] showed that violent VGs, gradually and unconsciously, as a result of repeated exposure to justified and fun violence, would increase aggressive thoughts, affect and behavior, physiological persistent alertnes, and would desensitize players to violence and to the pain and suffering of others, supporting a perceptual and cognitive bias to attribute hostile intentions to others.

Similarly, experimental, correlational and longitudinal studies supported the causal relationship between violent VGs and aggression, in the short- and long-term, both in a laboratory and in a real-life context. A greater amount of violent VGs, or even a brief exposure, were significantly associated with more positive attitudes toward violence [ 104 ], higher trait hostility [ 105 ] and with increased aggressive behaviors [ 106 ], physical fights [ 107 ] and aggressive thoughts [ 108 ] and affect [ 109 ]. In a two-year longitudinal study, children and adolescents who played a lot of violent VGs showed over time more aggressive behaviors, including fights and delinquency [ 110 ]. Saleem, Anderson and Gentile [ 82 ] examined the effects of short-term exposure to prosocial, neutral and violent VGs in a sample of 191 children of 9–14 years old. Results indicated that while playing prosocial games increased helpful and decreased hurtful behaviour, the violent games had the opposite effect.

In summation, the overall literature data support the opinion that violent video games, over time, affect the brain and activate a greater availability to aggressive behavior patterns, although some researchers have pointed out that the negative effects of violent VGs are small and may be a publication bias [ 14 , 111 ].

4. Discussion

The focus of the current overview was to identify, from a functional point of view, the most significant issues in the debate on the impact of VGs on cognition and behavior in children and adolescents, in order to provide suggestions for a proper management of VG practice.

Overall, the reviewed literature agrees in considering the practice of VGs as much more than just entertainment or a leisure activity. Moreover, research agrees that any debate on the effectiveness of VGs cannot refer to a unitary construct [ 14 ], nor to a rigidly dichotomous approach, according to which VGs are ‘good’ or ‘bad’ [ 1 , 12 , 112 , 113 ].

The term ‘video game’ should be viewed as an ‘umbrella term’ that covers different meanings, far from a single unitary construct [ 14 , 114 ]. Furthermore, VGs and their effects should be approached in terms of complexity and differentiated by multiple dimensions interacting with each other and with a set of other variables, such as, for example, the player’s age and personality traits, the amount of time spent playing, the presence of an adult, the game alone or together with others and so on [ 115 ].

Gentile and colleagues [ 116 , 117 , 118 , 119 ] have identified five main features of VGs that can affect players: 1. amount of play; 2. content; 3. context; 4. structure; and 5. mechanics. Each of these aspects can produce or increase different thoughts, feelings and behaviors.

However, the content effects, individually focused, are frequently overemphasized. According to the General Learning Model, children would learn the contents of the specific games and apply them to their lives. Nevertheless, a violent game using a team-based game modality may have different impacts than a violent game using a ‘free for all’ game modality. Although both are equally violent games, the former could suggest teamwork and collaborative behaviors, while playing in an ‘everyone for oneself’ mode could foster less empathy and more aggressive thoughts and behaviors [ 8 , 88 ].

Likewise, the outside social context can have different effects and it may even mitigate or reinforce the effects of the content. Playing violent games together with others could increase aggression outcomes if players reinforce each other in aggressive behavior. Instead, it could have a prosocial effect if the motivations to play together are to help each other [ 120 ].

According to the dominant literature, the psychological appeal of video games may be related to an operant conditioning that reinforces multiple psychological instances, including the need for belonging and social interaction [ 57 , 58 ]. On such drives and reinforcements, the playing time can expand, and it may become endless in addicted subjects. However, the amount of play, regardless of the content, can become harmful when it displaces beneficial activities, affects academic performance or social dimensions [ 52 , 121 ], or supports health problems, such as, for instance, obesity [ 122 , 123 , 124 ], repetitive strain disorder and video game addiction [ 76 , 83 ]. However, a greater amount of time inevitably implies increased repetition of other game dimensions. Therefore, it is likely that some associations between time spent and negative outcomes result from other dimensions, and not from amount of time per se. Moreover, children who perform poorly at school are likely to spend more time playing games, according to the displacement hypothesis, but over time, the excessive amount of play may further damage academic performance in a vicious circle [ 116 ].

VGs can also have a different psychological appeal in relation to their structural organization and the way they are displayed. Many structural features can affect playing behavior, regardless of the individual’s psychological, physiological, or socioeconomic status [ 125 ], such as, for instance, the degree of realism of the graphics, sound and back-ground, the game duration, the advancement rate, the game dynamics such as exploring new areas, elements of surprise, fulfilling a request, the control options of the sound, graphics, the character development over time and character customization options, the winning and losing features as the potential to lose or accumulate points, finding bonuses, having to start a level again, the ability to save regularly, the multi-player option building alliances and beating other players [ 125 ].

The more or less realistic mechanics can also configure the game differently and affect fine or gross motor skills, hand-eye coordination or even balance skills, depending on the type of controller, such as a mouse and keyboard, a game control pad, a balance board, or a joystick.

Therefore, VGs may differ widely in multiple dimensions and, as a result, in their effects on cognitive skills and behavior [ 3 , 33 ]. Moreover, the different dimensions may interact with each other and with the psychological, emotional and personality characteristics of the individual player and context. Even the same game can have both positive and negative effects in different contexts and for different subjects.

The current analysis of the literature, therefore, supports the need for further experimental and longitudinal research on the role of multiple characteristics of video games and their interactions. A wide-ranging approach dynamically focused on the multiple dimensions will allow a deeper theoretical understanding of the different aspects of video games.

Nevertheless, according to common opinion, the violence would always have a negative impact on behavior, especially in pediatric subjects. However, a strictly causal relationship between violent VGs and aggressive behavior appears rather reductive [ 126 , 127 ]. Aggressive behavior is a complex one and arises from the interaction of a lot of factors. Therefore, violent VGs, with no other risk factors, should not be considered ‘per se’ the linear cause and single source of aggressive or violent behavior. Antisocial outcomes can be influenced by personality variables, such as trait aggression, or by a number of the ‘third variables’ such as gender, parental education, exposure to family violence and delinquency history [ 83 ]. According to social learning theories [ 128 ], aggressive behavior would arise from repeated exposure to violence patterns [ 129 ]. Therefore, children who have other risk factors for violent or aggressive behavior, such as violent family patterns, excessive amount of time spent playing, playing alone, and so on are more likely to have negative consequences from playing violent video games.

An alternative theoretical framework [ 126 , 127 ] assumes that violent behavior would result from the interaction of genetically predisposed personality traits and stressful situations. In such a model, violent VGs would act as ‘stylistic catalysts’ [ 127 ], providing an individual predisposed to violence with the various models of violent behavior. Therefore, an aggressive child temperament would derive from a biological pathway, while the violent VG, as a ‘stylistic catalyst’, may suggest the specific violent behavior to enact.

Conversely, playing prosocial VGs, even for a short time, increases prosocial cognition, affect and behaviors in children and adolescents [ 13 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 89 ]. Several intervention or training studies showed that a prosocial VG should activate experiences, knowledge, feelings and patterns of behavior relating to prosocial actions, cognition, feelings and physiological arousal. In turn, in line with the General Learning Model, [ 91 , 130 ], recurrent prosocial behavioral scripts produce new learning, new behavioral patterns and emotional and affective cognitive constructs [ 83 ].

Moreover, several studies emphasize the educational and academic potential of VGs that may become effective and ‘exemplary teachers’ [ 12 , 82 ] providing fun and motivating contexts for deep learning in a wide range of content [ 12 ], such as school learning [ 96 ], rehabilitation activities [ 46 , 47 ], new health care and protection behavior development and the enhancement of specific skills [ 97 , 99 , 100 ]. Similarly, the literature data document that the intensive use of VGs results in generalized improvements in cognitive functions or specific cognitive domains, and in behavioral changes [ 1 ]. Actually, VGs involve a wide range of cognitive functions, and attentional, perceptual, executive, planning and problem solving skills. They can, therefore, be expected to improve different perceptual and cognitive domains. However, on a methodological level, the impact on behavior and cognition cannot be simplistically viewed as the linear result of a causal relationship between VG and performance. For instance, subjects with better perceptual abilities are likely to choose to play and, as a result, their increase in performance may reflect their baseline level rather than the effects of the game.

Studies focused on the attentional functions in VG playing reported inconsistent data. Playing action games may improve attention skills implied in a specific game. However, according to the attractive hypothesis [ 56 ] and operant conditioning theory, children and adolescents with attentional problems may be attracted by the motivating and engaging VG activities. On the other hand, children and adolescents with a wider VG exposure show greater attention problems [ 53 ]. The relationship between VGs and attention, then, seem to be approached in terms of bidirectional causality [ 56 ].

Similarly, since VGs and their cues appear more pleasant and desirable, a large amount of attractive VG exposure can lead to addiction and impair ability to focus on effortful goal oriented behavior [ 131 ]. However, the literature does not yet appear to agree on the objective diagnostic criteria for classifying behavioral game addiction [ 132 ].

In the fifth edition appendix of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [ 133 ], the diagnostic criteria for Internet Gaming Disorder included both specific internet games and offline games. However, this has led to some confusion as to whether excessive video games must necessarily occur online [ 134 , 135 ]. According to some authors, since ‘Internet addiction’ includes heterogeneous behaviors and etiological mechanisms, the term ‘video game disorder’ or simply ‘gaming disorder’ would be more suitable [ 136 , 137 ], while the term ‘Internet addiction’ appears inappropriate. Individuals rarely become addicted to the medium of the internet itself [ 137 , 138 ]. Moreover, it has also been supported theoretically [ 135 ] and empirically proven [ 139 ] that problematic internet use and problematic online gaming are not the same.

The debate on the relationship between pure game addiction behaviors and game addiction in comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders appears still on. Some researchers have argued that game addiction, as a standalone clinical entity, does not exist [ 140 ], but it is simply a symptom of psychiatric illnesses such as major depressive disorder or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Equally poorly defined is the question of genetic predisposition and vulnerability to game addiction.

Likewise, the relationship between clinical symptoms and changes in brain activity and the dynamics by which video games triggers such widespread brain plasticity needs to be more clearly defined.

5. Conclusions

The current analysis of the literature provides strong evidence on the power of video games as highly motivating and engaging tools in the broader context of cognitive, emotional and relational development of children and adolescents. However, the effectiveness of such tools does not arise exclusively from their content, but it results from a set of variables interacting each other.

Video games, beyond their content, can favor pathological aggression, withdrawal, escape from reality and reduction of interests. Virtual reality becomes more attractive than the real one and can become the ‘non-place’ to escape from the complexity of everyday life. Recently, to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, health authorities have forced populations to stay home and children and adolescents may experience an exacerbation of exposure to video games.

Parents, educators and teachers should ensure an educational presence, monitoring times and modalities of VG practice in a broader context in which children and adolescents live with a wider repertoire of interests, without losing social and relational engagement. Moreover, pediatric health care visits may be a great opportunity to support parents helping children to deal with media and video games.

On these assumptions, as practical suggestions to prevent or mitigate addictive behaviors, parents and educators should enforce the golden rule as the educational presence of the adult.

Moreover, in line with the literature, the core values to prevent a negative impact of video games should be focused on a few rules to be proposed with assertiveness and authority: 1. set a clear time limit to play, 2. prefer games that can also be played with family, 3. alternate video games with other games and activities, 4. avoid highly addictive games, 5. keep a social life in the real world.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, D.S., L.D.F. and G.L.; methodology, D.S., E.G.; formal analysis, D.S., E.G. and L.D.F.; data curation, E.G. and L.D.F.; writing—original draft preparation, D.S., E.G. and L.D.F.; writing—review and editing, D.S.; supervision, D.S. and G.L.; funding acquisition, D.S. and G.L. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Video games encourage the development of problem-solving skills

Video games today have ceased to be simple hobbies and have become powerful tools that can help people develop cognitive skills and solve problems effectively. This evolution is due to the complexity and diversity of the challenges presented in modern video games.

First, video games encourage problem solving by requiring players to find creative solutions to overcome obstacles within the game. Whether facing puzzles, combat strategies, or logic challenges, players must think quickly and make informed decisions to advance through the game.

Additionally, many video games foster strategic thinking and long-term planning, as players must consider the consequences of their actions and make decisions that will affect the outcome of the game. These skills transfer effectively to real-life situations, where effective decision making is crucial.

Video games encourage the development of problem-solving skills. We’ll explore how video games can be a valuable tool in improving our problem-solving skills, how this translates into tangible benefits in everyday life, and what video games Kidmons offers to foster these skills.

The importance of encouraging problem solving

Problem-solving skills are essential in childhood, and playing has an important role in their development. Through games, such as puzzles, construction games, and role-playing, children learn to identify challenges, analyze options, and find solutions. These experiences not only foster creativity and decision making, but also promote persistence and self-confidence in problem solving. These skills are essential for meeting academic and social challenges as children grow. In addition, playing games creates a safe environment to make mistakes and learn from them, which contributes to comprehensive development and greater adaptability in adult life.

Video games encourage the development of problem-solving skills in children in several ways:

They stimulate critical thinking: Many video games require children to analyze complex situations and make informed decisions to advance in the game. This promotes the ability to evaluate different options and their consequences.

Develop creativity: When faced with in-game challenges, children often must come up with creative solutions. This stimulates their creativity and teaches them to expand their perspectives.

Develop planning skills: Strategy, construction and simulation games require children to plan their actions in the short and long term. This helps them understand the importance of planning in problem solving.

Encourage persistence: In video games, children often face difficult obstacles. Persistence is key to overcoming these challenges, which teaches them not to give up in the face of real problems.

Improve decision making: Games often p resent ethical and moral dilemmas that require children to make difficult decisions . This helps them develop ethical and rational decision-making skills.

In summary, well-selected and supervised video games can be effective tools for improving problem-solving skills in children, as long as they are used in moderation and in conjunction with other educational and social activities.

Types of video games that encourage problem-solving skills

There are several types of video games that can be especially effective in improving children’s problem-solving skills. These include:

Puzzles and logic games: Games like chess, Sudoku, Tetris or puzzle games in general require children to analyze patterns, find solutions and plan strategies . At Kidmons we offer games like Puzzle for Kids: Safari or Simon Memorize that are, in addition to being fun, educational.

Adventure and exploration games: Titles like “The Legend of Zelda” or “Minecraft” encourage problem solving as children must discover routes, invent solutions to survive, and complete missions. Try Labyrinth Adventures at Kidmons!

Building games: Games like “LEGO Worlds” allow children to design and build their own worlds, stimulating creativity and problem solving related to engineering and design.

Real-time strategy (RTS) games: Require strategic planning, resource management and quick decision making, which improves problem-solving skills and long-term planning.

Mystery-solving games: Games like “Professor Layton” or “Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney” require children to investigate and solve cases, which improves their deductive and problem-solving skills.

Physics games: Games like the famous “Angry Birds” challenge children to understand physics and mechanics concepts to overcome obstacles.

Simulation games: Games like “SimCity” challenge children to manage resources and make decisions to build and maintain a city, which encourages management and problem-solving skills.

Role-playing games (RPG): Video games encourage the development of problem-solving skills in role-playing games as well. Children must make decisions that affect the plot and its characters, which develops decision-making and critical thinking skills.

A simple game offered by Kidmons is Kitten Carer , where the child must take on the role of pet caretaker. This game offers benefits by allowing children to take on the role of a virtual pet sitter. It encourages empathy, responsibility, and organization as you care for and feed the virtual kitten . It also teaches the importance of animal care and develops decision-making skills when facing care situations.

When choosing video games for children, it is important to find a balance between entertainment and learning, and monitor their screen time to ensure healthy and balanced development.

In short, video games encourage the development of problem-solving skills. The problem-solving skills acquired through play in childhood are essential for the comprehensive development of children. These skills not only help them overcome academic and social challenges as they grow, but also give them valuable tools to deal with real-life situations effectively. Play encourages creativity, critical thinking, decision making, and persistence, critical skills that last a lifetime. By providing a safe environment to practice problem-solving, play prepares children for a more resilient and successful future.

Other games

• Kitten Pet Carer
• Labyrinth Adventures
• Puzzle for Kids: Wonders
• Simon Memorize
• Puzzle 4 Kids
• Piano Online
• Coloring Book
• Puzzle for Kids: Safari
• Selfie Stickers
• Paint Online
• Drawing Games
• Memory Games
• Music Games
• Photo Games
• Puzzle Games
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Playing these 6 video games could help improve your problem-solving skills

Jane McGonigal , a world-renowned designer of alternate-reality games who has a Ph.D. in performance studies, wants to change people's conception of video games as " just escapist, guilty pleasures."

" My number one goal in life is to see a game designer nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize," McGonigal writes on her website . 

She tells Business Insider she wants people to realize that games can be "powerful tools to improve our attention, our mood, our cognitive strengths, and our relationships."

And research is on her side. 

Studies suggest that mainstream games like "Call of Duty" may improve our cognitive abilities significantly more than games specifically designed to do so by designers like Luminosity.

To help spread the truth about common misconceptions, seven neuroscientists from around the world signed the document "A Consensus on the Brain Training Industry from the Scientific Community" in 2014 to say they "object to the claim" that brainteaser games can improve cognitive abilities, as no scientific evidence has been able to confirm such a claim. 

Even better for gamers, research from North Carolina State University and Florida State University suggests that mainstream games geared toward entertainment can help improve attention, spatial orientation, and problem-solving abilities.

In her book, " Super Better ," McGonigal writes that the researchers she talked to about this seeming contradiction offered a simple explanation: "Traditional video games are more complex and harder to master, and they require that the player learn a wider and more challenging range of skills and abilities."

If you want to have fun and stimulate your mind, McGonigal recommends playing one of these six games three times a week for about 20 minutes.

McGonigal says playing fast-paced games like "Call of Duty," a first-person shooter game, can help improve visual attention and spatial-intelligence skills, which can lead to better performance in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Another fast-paced game, "Forza," a car-racing game, may help improve your ability to make accurate decisions under pressure.

Taking on the role of a criminal in a big city in "Grand Theft Auto" may help train you to process information faster and keep track of more information — up to three times the amount as nongamers, some studies suggest — in high-stress situations.

Strategic games like "StarCraft," a military-science-fiction game, can also improve the ability to solve imaginary and real-life problems, possibly because they teach users to both formulate and execute strategic plans.

Games that require strategic thinking, like science-fiction third-person-shooter game "Mass Effect," also test and refine your information-gathering skills.

Lastly, "thinking games" like "Final Fantasy," a fantasy-role-playing game, can help train you to evaluate your options faster and more accurately.

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Best Video Games About Problem Solving | TheReviewGeek Recommends

There are a lot of video games out there and in this age of mobile and home-based gaming, the choices have never been greater.

So how do you cut through the noise and find the “Best of” for any chosen topic? Well, we’re here to help celebrate and shine a spotlight on some of the latest, greatest and unforgettable games through the years.

For our ongoing series of articles depicting the best video games, our attention this time turns to games with a focus on problem-solving. From thought-provoking adventures to lighthearted action-puzzle games, there’s a good choice to whet your appetite.

Of course, if we’ve missed any of your favorites, feel free to comment below and we’ll get them added on!

Professor Layton

While many puzzle games aim for a simple formula like Tetris and Puyo Puyo, others lean toward telling a constructive narrative. The Professor Layton franchise does that with its take on the point-and-click adventure genre through its well-written story beats, characters, and glorious setting.

Professor Layton follows the adventures of Professor Hershel Layton and his partner Luke as they help solve many mysteries regarding missing family heirlooms, murder, and time travel. It’s safe to say that these two are always on their toes regarding case requests. Considering Professor Layton’s excellent detective skills, they have nothing to fear.

Phoenix Wright of the Ace Attorney franchise inspired the idea and concept behind Professor Layton’s gameplay and character. The gameplay utilizes the Nintendo DS’s touch screen to a tea, as players must interact with Professor Layton’s setting, characters, and puzzles.

Some puzzles players encounter are logic, math problems, and maze-based. However, the game offers a memo pad that allows players to work out issues that may be too bothersome to complete in one’s head. Puzzles grant players points that help them progress through the story.

The Professor Layton franchise is remarkable for people looking for a brain-teasing challenge and a good time.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is a visual novel adventure game held in high regard by many fans. While some may not agree that it fully replicates the life of a real-life lawyer, the trials, interrogation, and puzzle components are what makes this franchise a grand one.

There have been many games in the Ace Attorney franchise, some with new protagonists. However, the protagonist many people attach this franchise to is Phoenix Wright. Starting as novice defense attorneys, players must help Phoenix thoroughly investigate surroundings for clues. Then they find themselves in the courtroom where it’s their job to either defend or go against the person being held accountable for the crime.

This is where the game’s incredible puzzle-solving mechanics come into play. Essentially, players interrogate witnesses and their attorneys for fallacies and contradictions by picking apart their claims in court. They also have to answer specific questions the judge may have about one of the five particular cases.

The gameplay is simple but requires the player to think carefully before making their argument. Thankfully, the game includes ways to scroll through previous statements to help them identify the fallacy in their opponents’ claims. The characters also have great enthusiasm in their reactions to trials, especially the convicted individual in the said case.

If you’re looking for a visual novel experience that’ll make you use your max brainpower, be sure to purchase any of the Ace Attorney games.

Despite creating violent-oriented franchises like Left 4 Dead and Half-Life, Valve aren’t afraid to tackle new territory. Portal and its sequel Portal 2 have a limited campaign which bothered most at first. However, others have looked past its short story duration and uncovered a game filled with originality, distinct gameplay, and a dark plot.

The Portal franchise follows Chell, who must create portals to solve an AI named GLaDOS’s many puzzles. Mastering the game’s physics is important as players must create portals in a specific way to progress through the game. Momentum, preservation, and redirection are the three elements players must know before diving into this game.

Chell’s vulnerability is at an all-time high, making matters difficult. If she lands on a surface from a high enough distance, she’ll receive damage upon impact. The game also includes various machinery to amp up the challenge via turrets, bouncing energy balls and toxic substances. Players don’t have access to a visible health bar either.

Lastly, the game features well-written characters, and slowly drip feeds hints toward its inevitable conclusion as the player progresses. Valve made GLaDOS’ personality shine in the game, even though it’s a robot that taunts players constantly. It surprisingly never gets stale as the jokes only get funnier.

If you’re looking for a puzzle game with enthusiasm, originality, and mystery, Portal is the one for you.

Baba Is You

While some puzzle games have precise and easy-to-follow gameplay, there are rarely any that allow you to bend the rules. Baba is You is an indie puzzle game that wants its players to break the rules of puzzle-solving.

Baba Is You entails players controlling the animal-like being, Baba, who must solve several word puzzles to reach specified checkpoints. Each level presents players with word blocks they can interact with and manipulate to their heart’s content. While some will leave players with fewer roadblocks in their path, others may give them an experience they hadn’t expected.

Some of these experiences include transforming Baba and her world’s organisms into different objects. You can also change your end goal into something completely different. The game spans 200 uniquely designed levels that encourage players to devise critical ways to manipulate the game’s roadblocks to their liking.

While the title doesn’t offer the most jaw-dropping graphics, it does deliver outstanding puzzles designed to help boost your critical thinking skills.

Famicom Detective Club

The old Famicom Detective Club games have been resurrected on Nintendo Switch as a mystery visual novel. While it didn’t sell as well as Nintendo’s blockbuster franchises, it offers worthwhile cases and interactivity.

The Famicom Detective Club games play like every ordinary visual, but the fascinating aspect of the game is that it used to be a Super Nintendo exclusive in Japan. A component that makes the Famicom Detective Club remakes better than the original is the astonishing voice acting, clever overarching mysteries, and beautiful character sprites and CGs.

Only the first two entries were remade and finally brought to the west. Both games center around a young detective protagonist who must solve two cases involving death. The Missing Heir delves into Kiku Ayashiro’s death, a woman who had inherited her family’s plot. The second game, The Girl Who Stands Behind, discusses the demise of a high school student named Yoko Kojima.

While the gameplay isn’t as interactive as Ace Attorney and others that came out after it, the remakes helped revitalize the world for a newer audience. Unlike most visual novels, the Famicom Detective Club remake contains cinematic cutscenes and superb voice acting. There’s also a subtle yet unique dungeon crawling minigame near the end that helps it stand out from others, including Ace Attorney.

Despite Famicom Detective Club being a niche gem, it’s a puzzle-solving adventur1e game that players shouldn’t skip out on.

Unfortunately, some indie games don’t reach mainstream levels of success. When they do, the reception is either overwhelmingly positive or negative, with many praising it or declaring the game is overhyped. While it spawned millions of “suspicious memes,” Among Us delivers in its addictive gameplay and player interactivity.

While it doesn’t have a deep narrative to accompany its world, Among Us’s simply-designed characters and world serve their purpose well. How players participate and interact with Among Us is where its fun aspect kicks into overdrive since the game requires you to think and manipulate your way to victory.

Among Us allows the player to control one of many crewmates who must complete simple tasks while onboard a ship. However, one or two players take on the role of imposters, deadly hybrid beasts that aim to annihilate every crewmate onboard without being ratted out.

To call out these phonies, players must signal a meeting, where all the players unite to discuss discovered dead bodies or to declare who they believe is an imposter. Often, people make statements that are difficult to confirm or deny, which is where the puzzle-solving comes into play.

While it may not sound like it, the game will make players stress over wrong decisions, further encouraging them to keep their eyes peeled. If you’re a fan of the old murder mystery tropes often depicted in a train-ride setting, then Among Us has you covered.

Human Fall Flat

Portal was a platform puzzle game with a dark storyline and intriguing mechanics, but many may prefer something more lighthearted. Human Fall Flat is a puzzle platformer indie game whose goal is to make your whole friend group or family giggle and smile.

Players can take control of this world’s interpretation of humans and must solve quirky and fun-filled puzzles. While the puzzles start simple, the difficulty rises as you progress further into the game. These difficult puzzles will require some brainpower despite appearing heartwarming and cute.

Players manipulate their human arms to carry and place crates in specific locations to solve these puzzles. Other puzzles include pressing switches or needing to walk backward while onboard a fast-moving vehicle. Therefore, it’s best to expect many failures along the way, but at least you’ll end up with a good chuckle out of it.

As for the characters themselves, players can customize them to their heart’s content. You can make your character look like a dog or one of those driving test dummies. The game also allows you to build puzzles yourself to play alongside friends on a comfortable couch and online co-op play.

While the game doesn’t have a highly sophisticated narrative, the gameplay and wacky shenanigans you’ll end up in make Human Fall Flat a worthwhile purchase.

Catherine: Full Body

The multiple branch trope often finds a home in many story-centric video games like visual novels. These branching paths help players immerse themselves in the world and its characters. While it isn’t a visual novel, Catherine: Full Body contains 13 different endings in a game where problem-solving is your goal.

Catherine: Full Body is a re-release of the original PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 Catherine game. Players take on the role of Vincent, a doubtful protagonist who must overcome his romantic struggles. This concerns two females named Catherine, yet one starts with a K. To do so, players must help Vincent settle his quarrels by completing the game’s dating sim and action-platforming elements.

There’s no definitive answer to the dating sim components since it’s up to the player’s decision regarding Vincent’s choices. The players’ choices in the game will lock them into specific endings, including Vincent’s reactions to said scenarios. This allows the game’s storyline to thrive with different outcomes, thus giving players a reason to revisit the title to witness Vincent’s other chosen fates.

As for its action-platforming components, which play out like Tetris to a degree. These puzzles occur in Vincent’s nightmares he’ll endure after each day. Players must help Vincent swiftly climb a tall tower whose goal is to have him crumble. These towers start slow but get inherently fast in time, and several hazards come into play only to make matters worse.

While the game sounds like a breeze, it’ll have your brain wearing with its incredibly fast puzzles and difficult life-oriented choices.

Puzzle-platformers can come in many shapes, but Braid aimed to change things with its time manipulation game mechanic. A premise similar to Super Mario Bros. Braid requires players to rescue a princess while traversing many worlds, each with its puzzles.

Braid allows players to enact different actions regarding time manipulation, involving rewinding events to move immovable objects and discovering parallel realities. Every time players complete a puzzle, they’ll receive something new and intriguing about Braid’s world.

Braid’s other fascinating aspect is that players cannot die or technically lose. As a result, Braid’s puzzles challenged gamers to use every ounce of their wit to progress. Some worlds will have players searching for puzzle pieces while others require them to manipulate time or create entrances to different realities.

Moreover, the game delivers a unique experience with its fresh gameplay and mechanics that could ultimately improve a gamer’s thinking capabilities. Therefore, Braid wishes to encourage and increase anyone’s thinking capabilities under the presentation of a time manipulating puzzle game.

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

Although it took many years for the mushroom-headed toddler to get a game series, the wait was well worth it. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is an action platformer that started as a minigame for the Wii U’s Super Mario 3D World game. It later received an enhanced port via the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo 3DS.

This game’s story contains three chapters. The first chapter has players controlling Toad to save Toadette from Wingo, a villainous bird. The next chapter goes in the opposite direction while the endgame features a boss fight with Wingo and later Draggadon, a royal dragon. While the story is a bit convoluted, the gameplay and puzzles are imaginative and fun.

You guide Toad or Toadette through various distinct platform puzzles. Some feature conveyor belts, stairs, and the Mario Bros. franchise’s iconic enemies. Players have no access to jumping and will lose if Toad or Toadette receive damage at any point.

Fear not, as Toad regains health by finding mushrooms. Also, he can defend himself with his trusty Super Pickax and turnip pulling abilities from Super Mario Bros. 2. As for level design, each puzzle feels uniquely designed for each world. The extra content in the Nintendo Switch and 3DS versions also make it more worth the money.

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is a great game to kickstart younger fans’ dive into the puzzle genre of video games.

So, there we have it, our pick for the best games through the years about problem-solving!

What do you think of our picks? Do you agree? Are there any notable omissions? Let us know in the comments below!

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Living Better

Worried about your kids' video gaming here's how to help them set healthy limits.

Yuki Noguchi

I grew up in the 1980s and '90s with parents who strictly controlled my "screen time," which almost exclusively meant TV back then, as well as a pocket game that died when I was 10 and was never replaced. Like many in my generation, I absorbed a general sense that video games, like TV, were frivolous brain rot.

Now, my two boys, ages 12 and 13, are growing up in a digital world in a way I did not. Their generation lives online, spending more hours in virtual spaces since the pandemic began.

I'm lucky: My sons are hardworking and kind to their chronically frazzled single mother. They make raising them as easy and joyful as adolescence could possibly allow.

But still, our house rules about video games are arbitrary and our disputes over them constant. No amount of yelling "No games on school nights!" or "Not before dinner!" has worked, or inspired them to learn a new skill instead.

I feel like I'm flying blind when it comes to regulating their game use and I know I'm not alone. Many parents worry that they should be doing more to limit online play.

Shots - Health News

Want to understand your adolescent get to know their brain.

But as I learned from talking to numerous experts — psychologists, game designers and researchers — the impact of video games is more nuanced than that of other kinds of screen time, like social media. In fact, some research shows it can have positive effects, like promoting problem solving, or teamwork and communication.

Here are these experts' insights and advice for how to optimize the upsides of gaming and protect kids from potential hazards.

Video games are different from other screen time in crucial ways — and have some benefits

"Screen time" is an outdated concept. Kids study, play video games, use social media and watch videos on screens, but those do not all have the same developmental impact. Video games, in fact, do not show the kind of negative behavioral or emotional effects researchers correlate with social media use, says Kelli Dunlap , a clinical psychologist and community director for Take This, a mental health advocacy group within the gaming community.

"Research has shown again and again and again, time spent playing video games is not predictive of mental health outcomes," she says.

One reason for the difference in impact may be that social media is primarily about marketing, or comparing oneself to others, while gaming is generally about socializing with friends, solving a puzzle, or engaging in competition.

In fact, Dunlap says, parents often overlook some benefits of games: "They're a tool. You can use games to improve your social connection, to practice feeling emotions we normally avoid, like guilt or grief or shame. A lot of games bring those feelings out in us, and they give us a space to play with those feelings."

Games that involve joint projects like a battle or a quest can help develop useful social skills, says Peter Etchells, a research psychologist at Bath Spa University in the U.K. "It requires very kind of precise team-building," he says. "It requires thinking about timings and placement and good communication skills to coordinate with people. It's doing that kind of coordinated work that's really useful for all sorts of things."

Teens say social media is stressing them out. Here's how to help them

Help kids prioritize offline activities so gaming doesn't subsume them.

Children need some limits on their gaming, especially if it begins to crowd out other essential or healthy activities, many experts warn, like schoolwork and sleep in particular.

"Screen time is a hard thing to quantify," says Michael Rich, a pediatrician and director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Boston Children's Hospital. "What is easier to quantify — and probably more in line with what is developmentally optimal — is quantifying non-screen time."

He advises parents to watch that family meals, chores, and outdoor or in-person play do not get subsumed into game time.

Kids also benefit from having periods of lower stimulation, away from technology, Rich says. "I want to bring back boredom," Rich argues, because that can also lead to imaginative play.

You need to start gaming with your kids

Every expert I spoke with recommended playing video games with your child to figure out what might specifically be motivating them to play — the needs the game might fill for them.

Online chess, for example, is a different experience than a multiplayer game with friends. Shy children might find it easier to socialize in games. Another child might regard it as stress relief. Some children may use games as a place to escape or process a difficult situation.

Boston Children's Rich says most things parents worry about with games — stranger danger, violence, sexuality — can be addressed by simply exploring the game through their eyes.

Join The Game

Best games of 2022 chosen by npr.

"What's happening is that you are saying, 'I love you, I respect you, I want to understand what is engaging you here,'" says Rich. "You're entering that space with a very different stance, that of essentially the student. You will get a sense for what the game is."

If you've noticed your kids yell, scream or cry about something that happened in a game, don't be disturbed, experts say. A child's reactions to emotions and interpersonal dynamics are real, even if the play itself takes place virtually, or on a device. Experts say outbursts during game play do not mean your child is more likely to act violently in real life.

Video games are like other spaces where your kids spend time. Ask yourself: Is it safe? Who else is there?

Games are social spaces — good or bad things can happen there — just as in real life. Think about the games your kids play as just another kind of space where you're letting them hang out, several experts suggested.

For example: If you have a 5-year-old, you wouldn't drop your child off alone at a mall, where strangers might approach. Now you might drop off your teen at the mall, but not before discussing who they're hanging out with, what they plan to do, and perhaps an agreement about when to come home for dinner. The same general principles can apply to teens who game.

Parents should ask themselves: Does the game culture itself seem conducive to age-appropriate behavior? Games with female characters with exaggerated sexual features, for example, might subject a child to sexual harassment.

If you don't like what you're seeing in a game, remember that outright bans and restrictions tend to backfire with adolescents. It's more vital to keep communication lines open, says Dunlap and other experts, so if something bad happens within the game, you can help them process or deal with it.

Watch for "dark designs" or designs that fuel nonstop playing

Be on the watch for certain "dark patterns" or "dark designs" in games, say several gaming experts. These terms refer to software or algorithms written to elicit certain negative behaviors in their users.

One of the most common is in-game purchases that can border on extortion, says Max Birk, an industrial-design researcher at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands. "It's important because it changes what the emphasis of the game designers is," he says.

Games fueled by in-game purchases (as opposed to games you buy up front, like NBA2K or Dance Dance Revolution) tend to have a financial stake in keeping children engaged for long periods of time. These games make it very easy to start a new game, or create steep incentives to keep players coming back.

Birk suggests talking to your kids about the game structure and directing them toward games that are more about story lines, or that have natural ending points that can allow the kid to wind down game play on their own.

Monitor games for toxic culture and harassment

Toxic culture and comments can thrive in certain games because parents are not monitoring those spaces. That often takes the form of harassment of female gamers. The onus is on parents of boys, especially, to make sure that they treat people equitably online, and to stand up against any sexist or misogynistic talk, says Jesse Fox, a communications professor at Ohio State University.

Remind your kids that rules about respectful behavior apply online as they do in life. "Gaming culture and gaming norms are going to imprint on their idea of normal behavior, what's acceptable behavior," Fox says. That's why it is critical for parents to monitor that play space — listen to conversations, keep the screen within public view.

Find the spaces that are safer and more inclusive by design. Fortnite, Fox notes, is an example of a game that has a huge diversity of characters in game, because it's trying to appeal to a very broad audience. That diversity makes it harder to distinguish players by race or gender.

Watch for these gaming red flags

For many children, gaming can be positive, but it's a good idea to keep an eye out for these signs of problematic game use.

Excessive spending in games: The game's financial incentives might be to keep your child engaged and encourage — even try to coerce — their characters into spending money to advance. Teach your child to recognize these kinds of tactics and redirect them to games where the game itself is the primary focus.

Negative reactions or anxiety over gaming friends: If your kid is repeatedly having big emotional reactions to the game, check in and figure out what elements of the game are so upsetting. Then redirect them to games and spaces that don't have these elements. Find single-player games to take a break from social dynamics.

Too little sleep: If your child is playing late into the night or turning up groggy in the morning, their game use might be out of hand. Make sure the child cannot access games all night long. Often, it's not the desire to play the game itself, but the social pressure to not miss out on experiences with friends that will keep them online, U.K. researcher Peter Etchells says. So shut down other technology as well, preferably well before bedtime.

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• INNOVATION FESTIVAL
• Capital One

09-04-2024 WORKPLACE EVOLUTION

Why gamers are the best hires to lead teams into the future 

Gamers spend hours learning intricate details of different games and perfecting strategies and skills to overcome various challenges.

[Source Photo: Matilda Wormwood /Pexels]

BY  Rodrigo Samwell 3 minute read

One of the most significant misconceptions about gaming enthusiasts is their work ethic. The stereotype of gamers as lazy people lounging in front of a screen all day unfortunately persists, but couldn’t be further from the truth—and farther from the reality, which is officially the new norm, not some far-off distant idea for future generations to tackle. 

Gamers are dedicated, spending hours mastering their skills, learning intricate details of different games, and perfecting strategies to overcome various challenges. They are committed to their craft. And what leader wouldn’t want the very same from their employees? 

They may be one of the most misunderstood workforces. So let’s fix that.  

This unwavering commitment translates to a notably strong work ethic in the professional world. Gamers are also adept at working under pressure, dealing with complex problems, and persevering through repeated failures to achieve their goals—all skills that transfer seamlessly to just about any real-world business role. 

Problem-solving and strategic planning

Games, especially strategic games like Football Manager 2024, require players to analyze situations, devise plans, and adjust tactics on the fly. This mirrors the strategic planning needed in business to navigate market challenges and optimize operations. 

It was tackled head-on in one of Cannes Lions’s most-awarded campaigns this year, “ The Everyday Tactician,” courtesy of Xbox, Bromley Football Club, Sega, and McCann London.  

The long-form documentary on TNT Sports details what happens after Nathan Owolabi lands a five-month contract with Bromley Football Club as their new tactician, having successfully demonstrated his gaming prowess and achieving the Championes milestone in Football Manager 2024. The campaign wasn’t just a marketing stunt, but an opportunity to show that gamers possess distinct, worthwhile qualities that can help organizations punch above their weight and win. 

Patience and resilience

Success in competitive arenas often comes after numerous moments of trial and error—and at times, failure. Just like athletes, the strongest competitors are patient and built by resilience, qualities that are crucial in any professional setting where long-term projects and iterative processes are the norms. 

Social skills and critical thinking

Contrary to the belief that gaming is a solitary activity, many games require teamwork, seamless communication, and critical thinking. Multiplayer games and esports competitions require efficient collaboration (often remote) and strategy, mirroring the dynamics of effective business teams that can be scattered across time zones. 

Digital savviness

For starters, gamers are inherently analytical and positively data-driven—two core competencies every gaming enthusiast can potentially bring to the business table. Their familiarity with digital platforms and online communities gives them an edge as it applies to both understanding and reaching target audiences. Their critical-thinking skills further allow them to analyze data and consumer behavior to craft campaigns that resonate, every time. 

Inclined toward innovation

Last but not least, consider just how core innovation can be when engaging with a community—any community, whether that includes stakeholders, customers, fans, or a mix. Gamers don’t shy away from innovation; they embrace it as a necessity. They know that it leads to progress, even when it presents hurdles in the immediate. 

As a smaller club with fewer resources, Bromley realized that, if they wanted to catch up and climb the ladder, they needed to think outside the box—something every business around the globe needs to be mindful of. Yes, the campaign won Bromley a promotion, but it also demonstrated in no uncertain terms just how transferable gamers’ skills can be toward generating real-world success, and why businesses should be game (pun intended) to tap into them.  

With 3.3B gamers worldwide, businesses have a vast pool of potential employees who are passionate and skilled in ways that can be applied beyond the virtual realm.  

While the lines between the virtual world and the physical world are blurring, there’s nothing virtual or fuzzy about the impact of one on the other. When you review your next set of CVs or résumés, look at the details and the whole person—not just their most recent employer. “Gamer” isn’t something to shy away from. It could be a badge of honor that just might clue you into the sort of asset an individual can be—if you let it.  

Apply to the Most Innovative Companies Awards and be recognized as an organization driving the world forward through innovation. Final deadline: Friday, October 4.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rodrigo Samwell is the chief commercial officer at ESL F ACEIT Group.   More

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Top Benefits of Tabletop Games: Why They’re the Best Games for All Ages

Tabletop games have been around for generations, a combination of entertainment, education and socialising. In a world where screens rule our downtime, these games are a breath of fresh air that brings people together and exercises the brain. 

But what makes these games the best for all ages? Let’s get into the surprising benefits that make these tabletop goodies a must have for everyone.

Cognitive Benefits of Tabletop Games

Better Critical Thinking

Improved memory and concentration, creativity and imagination, social benefits of tabletop games.

Strengthening Relationships

In today’s busy world finding time to spend with loved ones can be tough. Games are the answer. Gathering around the table for a game night can strengthen relationships through shared experiences. The cooperative nature of many board games promotes teamwork and communication to build stronger bonds between friends and family.

Teaching Social Skills

Games are also great for teaching social skills. From taking turns and following rules to winning and losing graciously, playing board games teaches players how to interact with others. These skills are essential for children who can use them in everyday life but are also good for adults looking to fine tune their social skills.

Bridging the Gap

One of the best things about games is they bring people of all ages together. Whether you’re playing with young children, teenagers, adults, or seniors, board games provide a common ground where everyone can play and have serious fun. This ability to bridge the generations makes board games perfect for family get togethers and social events.

Educational Benefits of Tabletop Games

Learning Through Play

G ames aren’t just fun – they’re also educational tools. Many board games are designed to teach specific subjects like maths, language, history, and science in an engaging and interactive way. By turning learning into a game these activities make it easier to learn complex concepts and retain information.

Skill Development

Playing board games helps develop a variety of essential skills. For example, games that involve counting or managing resources can improve numeracy, while word games enhance literacy. Strategic games encourage logical thinking and planning, while others might focus on fine motor skills or spatial awareness.

Lifelong Learning

Games can instill a love of learning that lasts a lifetime. The habit of doing mentally stimulating activities can encourage curiosity and a thirst for knowledge. This is especially good for children but is also good for adults who want to keep their minds sharp and open to new ideas.

Mental Health Benefits of Tabletop Games

Stress Relief and Relaxation

Tabletop games are a much needed break from the daily grind. The focus required to play a game can take your mind off stressors and let you relax and enjoy the moment. And the fun and laughter that often comes with game night is a great mood booster.

Mindfulness and Concentration

Playing games makes you mindful by requiring you to be present and focused on the task. This mental discipline is good not just during the game but can also translate into other areas of life and help you stay focused and calm under pressure.

Happiness and Wellbeing

There’s a simple pleasure in playing tabletop games that can add to your overall wellbeing. Whether it’s the satisfaction of a well played strategy or the camaraderie of a shared win, board games bring happiness and fulfillment. These good feelings are essential for a balanced life.

Why Tabletop Games Are the Best Games for Everyone

Tabletop games have universal appeal that crosses age so they’re the perfect choice for anyone looking for a fun activity. Whether you’re a child, a teenager, or an adult there’s a game out there for you.

Despite the rise of digital entertainment, board games have remained popular. There’s something about gathering around a table with friends or family and playing a game that requires thought, strategy, and interaction. In a digital world, these games offer a physical, tangible experience that screens can’t replicate.

Versatility and Choice

Another reason games are so beloved is their incredible variety. Whether you’re looking for a quick, simple game or a long, complex challenge, there’s a game that fits the bill. This flexibility makes tabletop games adaptable to any setting or group, ensuring that everyone can find a game they enjoy.

Tabletop games offer so much more than just fun. So why not make them a regular part of your life? Whether you want to spend time with loved ones, challenge yourself, or just relax, there’s a tabletop game waiting for you.

With locations conveniently located throughout Metro Sydney, finding the perfect hobby shop near you has never been easier. Experience the excitement of exploring our vast selection of games, expert advice, and exceptional customer service. Discover why Hobbyco is the number one hobby shop in Australia.

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