Playing games that are meant to be shared

When you think of playing video games with others, you immediately think that it should be a multiplayer or co-op game, but it doesn’t have to be always like that. In fact, when you think about it, even single-player games have a strong social aspect to them. How is that so?

Contexto is a single-player game where you guess for a word in a number scale system. How can a game you play on your own influence the gameplay of others? Simple. When you share the results of your attempt on social media or even through word of mouth, that influences others and even gets them to start playing themselves. You share your score on your social media, people see it, and some even start thinking, “That score, I can beat that! Let me try!”

This in turn creates a strong social aspect to video games, may it be through cooperative or competitive gameplay. In fact, this is what made Contexto blow up in traffic after its release! It’s creator goes more into detail in our latest podcast episode!

Five game insights we think will pique your interest!

When you think of a video game for a gathering, you already know that it’s time to pull out your Nintendo Switch and fire up Super Mario Party. This Nintendo family game series has been a mainstay for fun nights with friends, gatherings with your relatives or when you just want to make your younger sibling do the dishes by beating them in-game.

Tired of getting washed all the time in Monopoly? We don’t know about you, but we’re fed up losing all our money and getting smug looks from your siblings and friends. So it’s time to shake things up and try a different board game: King of Tokyo. 

You all take the roles of giant monsters that will reign supreme in Tokyo, who will be the last monster standing? We know it’ll be us, we’re tired of losing in board games!

Want a fun game to play in your upcoming family gathering? Try this quirky toilet paper game! It works for all ages and is both fun and challenging! Though we highly recommend replacing the expensive wine glasses with paper cups. The trick to making it harder to complete for everyone is creating a longer pull distance and filling the cups with less water so they’re more wobbly.

Cooperative video games don’t have to be AAA games like the ones Nintendo pop out to be fun and exciting. Take the indie web game Squandits for example. It’s got everything you need for a quick and casual couch co-op experience; a funny premise, good controls and a challenging gameplay loop! 

We recommend having someone on a keyboard then the rest can be on controllers.

Life is best experienced with other people being a part of it, and the same applies to playing games. It’s not everyday we can just kick back, relax and play something fun and share them with others. And most of the time, even when you’re all losing in a game, it’s just a lot more entertaining to experience it with others!

Truly, in games, unless you’re a professional player, winning or losing doesn’t really matter. What really counts is having fun and enjoying the moment with those around you. 

And to that, we share a quote from the famous Lionel Messi, the legendary Argentinian football player:

“There are more important things in life than winning or losing a game.”

Great job in finishing this week! Go unwind, play a bit of Crosswordle, share how well you did on social media then take a nap. You’d be surprised at how many will end up trying to beat your score!

And if you want to learn more about what we’re up to at Hey, Good Game, you can find out more right here.

That’s all for this week. See you next Friday!

The Hey, Good Game Team