The question of skill and chance in gaming has been put to rest in India by the judiciary. They scrutinised the poker, blackjack and rummy game rules to conclude that these games are skill-based. This is in sharp contrast to other games like the lottery, where chance plays a big role. The benefit of applying skill is that it opens up the player’s mental faculties.
With skill-based games, you can enjoy the game while sharpening your skills. Card games are significant in this regard and for people of all ages. Researchers have suggested that card games like Uno and Go Fish can improve the ability to focus and adapt even among preschool children. For adults, games like rummy and poker play the same role.
Kickstarting Early Skills
The mention of Uno and Go Fish as a positive impact can be found in a study published in the journal ‘Cognitive Development’. The study also names ‘Crazy Eights’ as an example of how children are challenged to adapt to new rules and think ahead in the game. Similarly, a quick round of games like Snap and Slapjack encourages children to be attentive and fast in their responses.
Most of us must have also played the memory game with a deck of playing cards. Apart from pushing our memorising skills, games like this also improve hand-eye coordination among children. Handling cards and shuffling them, carefully arranging your hand of cards and placing them on the table further improve the fine motor skills among little ones.
Overall, skill-based games encourage children to develop quick thinking in a playful setting. The scenario remains the same as we, as adults, engage in a game of rummy on popular apps.
The Rise of Skill-based Entertainment
In a series of landmark decisions, several high courts in India ruled that mastering poker and rummy game rules requires skill and not luck. The judiciary is not alone in this perception. Around 80% of players in India agree that games like rummy and poker are purely skill-based. This has helped in the meteoric rise of skill-based games in India. Card games, and rummy in particular, command a strong presence in real money games in India. Rummy has a 60% presence in the real money games market, while poker has nearly 10%.
The games you play in RummyTime, for instance, require memorising cards, managing discards, calculating probabilities and adjusting strategies flexibly. Similarly, poker requires you to successfully psycho-analyse the opponent, manage risks, and be an expert in decision-making.
The demands of these skill-based games, combined with their overwhelming popularity in India, have meant that entertainment and cognitive development go hand-in-hand.
Skill-based Entertainment Takes Centre Stage
As skill-based games gain mass popularity in India, their impact on the cognitive development of gamers is becoming apparent. In a study by a Binus University scientist, it was noted that online gaming leads to improved cognitive skills. The study titled ‘Using Video Games to Improve Capabilities in Decision Making and Cognitive Skill’ noted improvements in perception, attentional control and decision-making. It also found changes in the neurological levels when it came to how gamers perceive gaming situations.
The positive impact of skill-based gaming was discussed in the ‘Fit Women, Fit Families, Fit India’ conference, organised by FICCI in association with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and the Ministry of Women and Child Development. Participation in the right kind of skill-based games can activate the reward centres in the brain and boost mental well-being too.
A Columbia University alumni studied the connection between gaming and improvement in cognitive functioning. The study titled ‘The Effects of Video Games on Cognition and Brain Structure: Potential Implications for Neuropsychiatric Disorders’ concluded that video games can boost connectivity in parts of the brain that are associated with memories, perception and spatial navigation.
It must be mentioned that the positive impacts of skill-based games came into the spotlight most prominently during the pandemic. A Microsoft study found that 84% of the respondents saw gaming as a positive impact during the pandemic. 71% of them felt less isolated at a time when isolation was ever-present. While the pandemic left a mental scar among most people, gaming was seen as a force for good for our cognitive development and mental well-being.
While skill-based gaming has carved a niche as a gaming segment with high intellectual benefits, gaming, in general, is considered to be good for our state of mind. An All-India Gaming Federation study in 2021 showed that more than a quarter of the gamers in India see it as the first choice for relieving stress. Some of them also agreed that gaming can teach important skills and cognitive abilities. This number would certainly be higher if taken in isolation for skill-based games only.
Stay Enlightened and Entertained
According to the Lumikai Gaming Research for FY24, de-stressing, self-expression, and socialising continue to be the top reasons why people go for online games. Two of these three reasons have a lot to do with our mental faculty and its development. As gaming continues to make inroads into India’s heartlands, these benefits will continue to double up with the entertainment value of the sector.
Share
Tweet
