We all go through those life stages from being adorable cute children to teenage rule breakers and then either conforming to every rule in the book, or maybe creating our own rules by which to follow. The world of online games, like every other walk of life, has developed its own set of rules as it has grown from an exclusive hobby for geeks in the early 2000s to nowadays a mainstream activity for the young, old and everyone in-between. Some rules are there for safety and security, whereas others are there to make things more fun and to improve results. So, let’s take a close look at four basic rules to follow for playing online games.
Learn the lingo
You certainly can learn this on the job, indeed it is widely recognised that total immersion is the best way to learn a new language quickly. So don’t feel that just because you have zero knowledge of the French language means you should put off that Paris visit! However, it’s important that you can fit in as quickly as possible when playing online games and be under no illusions – there will be terms, phrases and put-downs being thrown around by your opponents. These may reveal hidden tactics and strategies that you can follow making you a stronger player. So, if you are learning how to play poker, get to know the terminology that will be the mother tongue of all the other players. Rule number 1: Get fluent as soon as possible.
Enter at Your Skill Level (or below)
If you wanted to be President of the United States you wouldn’t just rock up to the White House on Monday and expect to be welcomed in with open arms. Equally, on making your debut for the Titchfield Terriers Under-11 football team you wouldn’t expect a full international call up the following week. You need to follow this logic when playing online games where there is always the opportunity to jump in at whatever level you fancy. I have personal experience of this from playing hundreds of games of the card game Hearts on a desert island in the Caribbean over the course of a couple of weeks where I was undoubtedly the champion of the isle. However, when back at home with super-fast wifi, I immediately jumped into a ‘Pro-Level’ room for online Hearts. Needless to say I was defeated 98% of the time and learnt a very quick lesson! Rule number 2: play at your skill level, you can quickly improve and winning is always a lot more fun.
Play with your friends
As numerous marketing campaigns have told us over the decades, it’s great to get together and hang out with your mates. Nowadays we can do this in many ways, for example, in person, on a video conference call, on a messaging app and of course playing online games together in different locations. Not only does playing with your friends open up the opportunity for ribbing, bragging, banter and jokes, it also helps you to stay safe online. We are constantly under threat from phishing emails, messages, catfishes and fake online bots all pretending to be something or someone that they are not. Stick with your friends, you can trust them. Rule number 3: Don’t give out your data or passwords to anyone suspicious.
Get the gear
You may be in a separate country to your online gaming opponents but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t look the part. After all, you wouldn’t play football without shin pads, cricket without a box or ice hockey without a helmet, would you? In the online gaming world this means having the most up-to-date software and hardware – this will give you a great gaming experience, eliminate excuses for poor performance and make you the envy of all your mates. Rule number 4: Look the part.
The four basic rules above will not guarantee you online gaming success but are a good foundation to base your online gaming around. New rules will emerge as the industry continues to grow and technology develops alongside it. So the next time you’re playing online spare a thought for your online gaming forefathers who had to put up with dial-up modems and constant buffering! But most of all, remember the basic rule for playing all games – have fun.
