Adults Love Strategy Games
August 2, 2007 1:12 am GamesMany young kids and teenagers have developed deep passions for those hugely popular computer games that offer non-stop action and adventure, fantasy and magic, and the chance to assume different personalities and travel to diverse imaginary worlds. On the other hand, adults have developed their own fascination with computer games as well, mostly involving the so-called strategy games.
Unlike action and adventure games that usually require fast reflexes and a quick trigger finger, strategy games call for a cool hand and good analytical or decision-making skills. The best strategy game players know how to maximize their time and manage their resources as well as how to apply these resources and when to attack.
Perhaps the first great strategy game was Hammurabi (or Kingdom) which made a big splash in the 1970s. The objective was to seize the throne of a feudal lord and plan out economic and agricultural strategies for the continued survival of his kingdom. Success was measured in terms of positive growth in population and food supply as well as in vanquishing all security threats against your kingdom..
These days, strategy games generally fall into two categories: turn-based games and real-time strategy games. Hammurabi was a turn-based strategy game where competing players take turns making a move and with breaks in between. In real time strategy games, all players were in motion at the same time. Throughout the seventies and eighties, turn-based games were the dominant strategy game, particularly war games and its hybrids.
In 1987, the sophisticated action sequences and character-oriented narrative that were introduced in Defender of the Crown (Cinemaware) brought the genre to an entirely new level. It spawned a slew of similar games, including the hugely popular Pirates (Microprose) in 1988. With the introduction of Populous (Bullfrog) in 1989, the genre took another step further. Populous was the first game that allowed continuous play since it did not pause between turns. It also allowed players to virtually take on the role of gods, wielding total power and control over warring nations.
Today’s most popular strategy games still follow the Populous mold but are vastly improved in terms of graphics, sound effects and characterizations.
Jonathon Hardcastle writes articles on many topics including Games, Recreation, and Golf
August 9th, 2007 at 10:33 am
I would have to agree with what is written here. I have a son who is a teenager and I find playing games with him is a great way for us to create a strong bond. While his reflexes are much better than mine, I tend to be more strategic. We do work well together as a team with games that require both reflexes and strategy.
October 13th, 2007 at 9:38 pm
Hi Bryan, Younger people can have better reflexes, but, as adults get older, they build up a greater store of experiences they can use for decision making. I have heard that this means that older people can, therefore, be wiser than younger people. Not everything gets worse with age!
Talking about your experience in playing games, I am interested to know what hardware you use. Do you recommend anything in particular for gamers?
February 3rd, 2008 at 7:37 pm
Thanks for sharing
February 10th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
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