GAMING FOR NON-GAMERS

Here is a small gaming FAQ, (if I had frequent gaming questions, that is):

What is gaming?

Good Question! There are many forms of gaming, the most publicized are of course sports, and gambling, which this FAQ does not cover. We will go more for the ones that are a little more non-traditional.

• Board Games - You've probably played a board game in some from in your childhood, from checkers, chess, to the more diverse ones like Monopoly, Life, and Clue. There is a big following for board games. Board games usually have a finite scope and a strict set of rules, many are based on random chance (roll of the dice, or draw of a card) there are also many that are based on skill like chess or checkers.
• WarGames - These have been around for many centuries, the likes of Napoleon and generals in the Revolutionary War have been known to use a wargame simulation (using miniature army figures and terrain to work out the finer details of combat strategy. As wars became a thing of history wargames became more of a pass-time for armchair generals trying to see if their tactics could have tip the scales in historic battles. Wargames usually are very detail oriented with various statistics for movement, terrain, supply needs, etc. Some go in to so much detail;l it can take years to complete a campaign. More modern wargames are usually referred to "Miniature Wargamming" as they are more using miniatures and faster less complicated rules. Miniature wargames span from ancient fantasy to far flung future science fiction settings.
• Role Playing Games (RPGs) - Modern role playing games (like Dungeons & Dragons had their start with miniature wargamming, a group of historical wargamers were adapting rules from a midevil setting into a fantasy one, to include wizards, monsters and spells, soon the game became as much about the development of the characters, story and settings than battles with the miniatures. Role playing was born from those beginnings, instead of moving around nameless metal miniatures on a toy play field, you created an imaginary world with imaginary characters which the players act out the life and struggles of the characters, exploring challenges and possibilities in a fantasy - and later a science fiction, or modern day action/adventure, even comedy settings. Traditional role playing games relied on a massive set of rule books and dice to randomly skew the outcomes, some of the more modern role-playing games are more like theater as there are no set rules or attributes and players play by weaving a story they tell as a group.
• Live Action Role Playing Games (LARP or LARPG) - Live action role playing games are more theater than the pencil, paper and dice RPGs players dress up in costume and portray their character in a live almost theatric setting. Fighting skills are more based on the players ability to wield a padded weapon then on rolling a 20 sided die. LARPs have usually more than one gaming party, when one party is dressing up as characters for a quest the other is donning costumes of adversaries and people they interact with through the game. As you my figure a lot more planning, effort and teamwork usually goes into running a successful LARP group then a role playing group. Many LARP groups do limited games or offer to run LARP adventures for attendees at gaming conventions.
• Collectible Card Games - You know of poker, blackjack and many other games played with a deck of standard playing cards, but there is more than that to card games today. After many years of role playing popularity some people were looking for forms of gaming that offered the fantasy of the role playing games but without the complexity of the role playing rules and the expense of the miniature use in wargamming, out of that Collectible Card Gaming (CCG) had begun. On of the first and most popular is Magic: The Gathering, which combines the combat strategy of miniatures with the fantastic powers of role-playing. Players purchase starter decks of random game cards and 'booster decks' which include more random cards, and build a strategy based on what the cards do to affect the playing rules. CCG games are usually relatively short from several minutes to just an hour or so. There are also (like in role playing and wargamming) many settings for the CCGs from fantasy to science fiction and comedy as well. With the popularity of CCGs there are also some collectible dice games using specialty dice, and growing in popularity, collectible miniature games.
• Video & Computer Gaming - Video gaming is not just Nintendo or X-Box, there are various forms of video gaming...
• Video Arcade Gamers - These are the folks who play games in the arcade, from the classics of Space Invaders and Pac Man to the modern games like Dance Dance Revolution. Part of the arcade gamers is to get out and do something as well as beat the machine and get the best/longest game play for their quarter(or whatever it costs a game).
• Video Console Gamers - These are the folks who play console games at home, like X-Box and Nintendo, they also play the handheld consoles like the gameboy. Originally just restricted to inside the home console gamers are now able to communicate over the Internet and link up their portable systems for more dynamic head-to-head gaming challenges with others.
• Computer Gamers - Almost similar to Arcade and Console gaming, computer games can vary quite a bit, before the modern consoles with CDs and lots of memory high end action games and computer based role playing was a thing exclusive to computer gamers. Computers were the first to electronically capture the nuances of role playing and wargamming, and there are many computer versions of such now, and tied with the computers ability to communicate over the Internet many action, miniatures and role-playing computer games are played by many around the world through computer. Much new video gaming technology or ideas first see the light of day on a PC than on a game cube as the computer is more all purpose and can adapt to just about any situation where arcade and consoles have a limited amount of capacity, communication and control options.
• Massively Multiple Player On-Line Role Playing Games (MMORPGS) - I listed this as separate as this genre is interestingly unique. With the advent of the Internet a merging of many ideas and gaming technologies comes MMORPGs. MMORPGs is role-playing game on the computer meets the Internet community. MMORPGs are now available for computers and modern console game systems, the worlds to explore are vast the action seems more arcadeish, but the problems and character developement are more RPG, and with anything that involves a large diverse population there is a lot more politics and personal intrigue in a MMORPG.

With so many types of gaming don't gamers get confused?

Like sports these games genres represents camps of interest, some people may play several types of games, other only one, and of course, there are the constant bickering about game style X is better then game style Y, etc. But there is enough interest to all the gaming styles to have communities for their interests. Throughout the year there are gaming conventions which bring together these groups and it gives gamers and potential gamers a chance to learn and sample various gaming genres.

Isn't Role Playing Games Like Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) bad for you?

The premise of D&D and many other Fantasy and Science Fiction Pole Playing Games(RPGs) is you are on a quest to battle evil, save something, or other usually noble cause. Sometimes the people who run their games (called Game Master s or Dungeon Masters) do crate their games using nasty monsters and wizards, but like a movie without the bud guys, the heroes would be pretty bored.

"But I've read/heard about this really fanatical gamer who..."

In everything there is a possibility for abuse; science fiction, sports, books, cars, guns, health, fashion, alcohol, gambling, even religion. They are not themselves bad, but there are parts about many things that people can get lost in following, many have fallen into an addiction with any of those things including gaming. It is important for anyone to learn moderation in what they do, and refrain from concentrating on only one aspect of life. Helping those you care about to follow their interests and make the right choices in their pursuit is always important, help them keep a balance.

Are there any real benefits to playing these games?

Besides the obvious communications skills (players have to communicate to each other and describe what they want their game characters to do) there are aspects of creativity, teamwork, negotiation, penmanship, problem solving, strategy, language comprehension and with all those books come quite a bit of reading and comprehension. Games can spark the imaginations of people playing them and some express it by writing, art, and even game design.