While sitting in any of my lectures, on the bus, eating lunch, or at the library I'm guaranteed to spot at least one person near me playing a game on their smartphone. Not only are these games a way to be distracted and entertained for an hour or two during class, but they're also very fun. Applications such as Words with Friends allow us to communicate with people around the world at any time of day or night. In the past, board games were an activity for family time on Sunday nights. Today, they have become a revolutionary way to entertain ourselves and communicate.To this day, the cabinet in my family room at home is stuffed with a variety of board games including Monopoly, Sorry, Scrabble, and Uno. Even at my apartment, my roommates and I each purchased and stocked up on some of our favorite board games before moving in, so that we could play against each other. While my friends and family and I still enjoy these old fashioned board games, most of us are also partaking in games on our phones. The difference is that with smartphone games, our opponents do not necessarily have to be in the same room as us, or even in the same country. Chicago resident Megan Lawless began playing Scrabble on her cell phone against some of her close friends, until one day none of her friends were available to play. After selecting the "random opponent" option, she opened up her life to a firefighter, Jasper Jasperse, who was living in Holland at the time. After emailing, Skyping, and finally visiting each other, the two are now married.
It is amazing that communication and interaction can take place through smartphone applications. One of the master minds behind Words with Friends, Paul Bettner, stated "It feels like I’m talking to my friends through the games I’m playing with them." In a sense, this evolution of board games is just like playing a game with a friend in person. Smartphone applications have opened up our technological world to a new sense of communication. While playing old-fashioned board games is still just as enjoyable as always, being able to play board games with friends and family who can't always be with us is a wonderful opportunity.
3 comments:
--As a frequent Words with Friends player, I can attest to the feeling of being connected that these games can provide. Words with Friends even has an internal messaging feature that can let users talk to whom ever they am playing with.
--I do not think that smartphone games pose any threat to old fashioned board games. We played these games as kids but out grew them with age. If it weren't for these apps, I doubt many of us would be playing any version of these games anymore. If anything these virtual versions of old favorites have reconnected me with the games by appealing to my technological, need-to-be-constantly-doing-something side. Plus, it is much easier to get away with cheating when your opponent is is thousands of miles away.
Andrew
I have definitely seen people around me in lecture playing these board games on their smart phones. I asked my friend, who is constantly playing on her phone during class how she can concentrate with this distraction and she said that playing these games helps her focus better in lecture. I don't understand how she can multitask, but if it works for her, she should continue to do it.
I'm not a huge video gamer, and I'm also not a big fan of board games really. But I can definitely relate to this blog post because my main way of communicating with my family and many good friends is through the internet. Whether it's Skype, Fcaeook or simply email, I find those to be great tools for communication overseas. I'm afraid most online gamers might be too distracted by the game itself to notice this aspect of communication and great opportunity to meet new people and conserve existing ones.
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