by Maria C Collins

Created on: June 25, 2009   Last Updated: March 22, 2010

Adults and children alike enjoy video games. Whether children and adults enjoy the same games is another matter entirely. Even grown-ups need to play sometimes to relax and to release stress.

Men who enjoy watching sport on the television are likely to enjoy sports inspired games. It is easy to imagine that a soccer fan might enjoy those games where one can put together one's fantasy team and play any team.

Some men may enjoy beat 'em up, soldiers or war type games and others enjoy flight simulation games. These are a grown up versions of their childhood games and ambitions.

Word games, puzzle games, computer versions of favourite board games are the choice of many adults, both as relaxation and as mental exercise. Scrabble and other games are a source of relaxation and amusement for many adults.

Then there are the games where one forms a character and lives in another world. These are a form of escapism. Escaping for a little while can be good, but when taken to extremes can somewhat dangerous. The danger being that the cyber game life becomes more attractive than the player's real life. The player may retreat into the game's fantasy life to avoid dealing with the problems and difficulties of real life.

Computer games can be counted as cheap entertainment especially in these difficult economic times. When people are making economies and not going out to theatres, cinemas and restaurants as much as formerly, a computer game can be played many times and when you are tired of it you can either swap it with a friend or sell it. There is a thriving second hand market in computer games. In some countries there are even swap shops and second-hand shops who only deal in computer games.

Children enjoy video games because they are a way of improving their skills, hand eye co-ordination and fine motor skills as well as a way of learning mental skills. Adults play video games to relax, release stress and spend a little while away from their day to day world.

Playing video games with your children is a way of meeting one another as equals. If your child can, for once, show you how something is done, it helps boost their confidence. It also helps them to realize that sometimes little people are cleverer than big people. It can also encourage other joint activities away from the computer.

Adults can become prey to the kind of addictive playing of a computer game that has been seen in children and teenagers. Adults can also retreat in to computer games to avoid dealing with life. There are dangers to computer games but for the most part they are a harmless and fun activity which helps both adults and youngsters to relax and learn together.

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