I’m a 30 year old woman who’s only really played card and puzzle games on my phone. Im considering new hobbies. Is it worth trying to get into video games for the first time. Where would I even start.
It’s definitely worth trying if you’re interested.
I would not recommend buying a console or gaming PC first as that is a money sink that you’re not sure is worth it yet. My gaming PC broke when I arrived at university, and I got by playing less graphically intensive games on my standard laptop for a few years.
Good games I’d recommend to start with:
- Stardew Valley — cosy, charming farming game that you can play at your own pace. Has great characters that you get to know, and fun, simple, rewarding gameplay. My girlfriend got really into this game.
- Minecraft — this is where many of us started as kids. It’s an excellent game that’s fun for all ages. There isn’t a clear goal so it’s more about making your own fun.
- Vampire Survivors — extremely fun, simple, cheap, and addicting game. Play at your own risk.
- LIMBO — a puzzle game classic with a unique, dark aesthetic. Only takes a couple of hours to complete.
- INSIDE — made by the same people as Limbo. Grabbed me and wouldn’t let go for the whole 4 hour experience. I don’t play many puzzle games but I couldn’t get enough of this one. Probably because of the narrative.
Those can all be played on the average laptop or desktop anyone would have.
Best of luck on your journey! Feel free to reply with any questions or suggestions for specific genres and such. My girlfriend didn’t play video games until I introduced them to her, and the most important thing was that I didn’t try to force any games on her, just show her what there was and let her interest lead the way. So take a look at all the suggestions people are leaving and go with what interests you most. And if you’re not enjoying a game, it’s okay to go play a different one.
(Also, Steam provides free, no-questions-asked refunds for any games purchased that both 1) were bought less than 2 weeks ago, and 2) have less than 2 hours of game time. So you can always demo a game to see if you like it and return it easily if not.)
Agree with this. Stardew Valley and many games can be found on mobile and quite popular with the gaming community. I am not sure as a beginner player I would start off with Stardew Valley as there are a lot of mechanics? Would recommend more of the below as there are not as many things to figure out:
High recommendations for Vampire Survivors. There is a demo with that link as well as direct app access.
Additionally, Animal Crossing Pocket Camp for $20 come December is great intro. Super relaxing game.
100% recommend Slay the Spire as well.
For games without a mobile option, I feel like Portal 1 and Portal 2 are must plays for anyone. And are not too graphically intense for any computer. Its a puzzle game. You run and jump into portals to figure out the puzzles. I wish I could play them again for the first time. All the above are amazing games. Wishing you the best on your journey!
P.S. if you have a friend to game with, It Takes Two is a pleasant experience.
I’d also add Balatro and Terraria to that list.
Balatro could be good. Terraria I think is a bit tricky to learn unless you have a friend guiding you. It requires a lot of looking up the wiki which I think isn’t ideal for someone getting into video games.
Oh, yeah that’s true.
Stardew can be a bit slow and boring at the beginning
Its such a vast ocean, I would just start with whatever catches your attention. Theres so many different kinds if games for all types of people that you should probably assess what you think is fun, and pick a game sort of involved with that? I tend to like cooperative games, RPGs, and games about exploring more than I like competitive games like First Person Shooters. I also really like racing games.
Yes. Start with Stardew Valley or Animal Crossing. From there, post threads asking for suggestions based on what you liked.
Just avoid games that cost a lot or have lots of micro transactions. Its like smoking cigarettes, better to not start.
Slay the Spire is a card based video game.
I think these types of games would be a great place to start; maybe even something like Inscryption since it shows how deep games can be even when they appear to start off fairly simple.
And it’s on mobile so she can start there without buying any new hardware
Start with stardew valley and thank me later.
This is a good entry but may feel daunting to someone whos never played video games.
If you do play stardew valley, you may want to watch introduction videos on YouTube
One more day… just one more day… need to those gold star crops… got to go fish… shit need bait, got to go to the mine… one more day… just one more day…
This. My ex loved this game
I’m a 30-something woman myself. I’ve been gaming longer than I’ve had a phone. Here’s my two cents:
You’re already into videogames. Fuck what the haters say about mobile gaming not being “”“true”“” gaming (whatever the heck that means), they’re just sour they can’t game whenever wherever without investing a ton of time. Then again, maybe I’m just mad because I’ve recently invested a ton of time into Youtube’s playables.
If you want to get into PC or console gaming, I recommend starting off with popular E rated games in the genres you already know you like. Generally these games are more complex than mobile games, but this type will usually introduce difficulty curves to gradually transition you into their mechanics and complexity and teach you to be a master without having to look up training online.
If you want to branch out, start with genre-bending/-blending games. I’m personally a fan of puzzle-platformers, as those are my two favorite genres; while I’m not big on card games, they recently had an explosion in popularity, so there’s a blend of just about every genre you could want.
What gaming is like for a non-gamer
This guy had his non-gaming wife try different games, very enlightening for your purposes
Now I don’t feel so bad for struggling with later Rockman bosses and stages.
Excellent video!
Holy crap there’s a ton of these that they’ve made?!
You are already a gamer!
I’m a 36 year old woman who grew up playing them with my dad. My sister is a year younger than me get than me. She grew out of it a bit but she still plays “cozy”, low to no pressure games. I like long role playing games with interesting stories.
If you want any recommendations or a new friend to play with, I’m here! I also know of several gaming groups for women.
I’d like to know more about what you’re interested to give better suggestions but here are a few that might pique your interest.
Balatro is a recently popular card game. You can play it on your phone or on a computer. It works sort of like poker, but you apply effects to the cards to multiply your score.
A Little To The Left is a puzzle game. You play the owner of a mischievous cat and your goal is to reorganize the messes that your cat made throughout the house, like sorting the mail, organizing a battery draw, displaying sea shells you collected etc
Unpacking is also a puzzle game. You literally unpack boxes in various rooms. Sometimes it’s hard to make everything fit. As you progress through each level, you learn about the main character’s life.
If you want something more traditional, Ori and the Blind Forest is absolutely beautiful. In that, you play as a small guardian spirit and you navigate through a forest solving puzzles, collecting items, and jumping between platforms (sorta like Mario).
Something else to consider is that it’s a wonderful social window if you have friends that you don’t get to hang out with very often due to geography and life.
I have a couple of good friends who are too far away after I moved to another area. We play games online and have a nice social hangout for a few hours each Saturday. Voice chatting works great.
It’s fantastic to be able to regularly spend time with them.
This!
I’d recommend Portal and its (much better) sequel Portal 2. Excellent puzzle games, good writing, fun characters and short. It should take you abojt 3-5 hours if you have never played a 3D video game before.
Oh and btw the website linked is Steam, the most beloved PC game buying plateform. Be aware that you shouldn’t buy the games at full price on stem, check websites like instant gaming, humble bundle or fanatical to get better deals (-80% sometimes!) On these alternative websites you will get a code that has to be activated in the steam app (downloaded on your computer). Search “activate steam game code” on YouTube for explanations on how to do that.
Portal should cost about ~3$ now (it’s a 2007 game so it can run on basically anything)
Of course portal and portal 2 are fantastic games but I would never recommend them to someone who has never played a game before. One of the reasons it’s so good is because it subverts the tropes and even mechanics of other games.
In general, it’s worth getting to video games. I would caution against trying corporate-created games, mainly because they are a money sink (for you) first and worthwhile entertainment second. There are a lot of “indie” games out there typically created by people truly passionate on their craft… you can take a look at them and see if it interests you.
- Stardew Valley
- Songs of Conquest
- No Man’s Sky
- Factorio
- Disco Elysium
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I’m 31 and I only really started playing games around 4 years ago, apart from playing on bootleg NES consoles or C64 as a kid.
It is worth it if you have fun doing it, and you probably will!
If you don’t know where to start, you probably still haven’t figure out what genres you’d be into.
You might like Steam Deck, an affordable console-like handheld PC, because:
- It offers a wide variety of games from all generations, so if you want to experiment with different genres you can always find something for yourself - you can purchase a game on Steam store and if it’s not for you, just return it below 2h of gameplay
- Very user friendly, easy to navigate for non-techies, despite being PC, for the most part it just works, great entry for folks with no prior experience with PC gaming
- It’s a handheld! Take it with you anywhere easily, play in bed, on couch, toilet, whatever. If you’re used to playing on a phone, this might be appealing
- you can still dock it as a regular PC and have mouse+keyboard+external screen if you want to try gaming this way
- if you want to tinker to explore even further, you can emulate older consoles, play with 3rd party launchers, use it for other things than gaming, even replace the software completely - it is all possible
Other choices are perfectly valid like Nintendo Switch, Xbox or PS5, but they’re within their respective closed ecosystems. With Xbox and PS5 you’re also stuck with TV. Consoles have limited backwards compatibility, so for example Switch only supports games for Switch, PS5 supports games for PS5 and PS4, and it’s a bit better with Xbox iirc.
If you want Nintendo Switch (if games like Mario or Zelda are appealing to you), maybe wait a little bit as they’re cooking new generation for release soon-ish, and the current one is old and miserable in terms of performance.
Stardew Valley.
I would highly recommend Portal and Portal 2 as primers for basically all your 3D games. Not only did Yahzee give The Orange Box in general a glowing review, but they teach you basic gaming mechanics almost intuitively.
