How Games Make You Better at Strategy

How Games Make You a Better at Strategy

How Games Make You Better at Strategy

Play is the best way to consolidate any form of information. It is the language children speak, adults utilize it to encourage team building, and it's a great way to instigate competition. When we look at the importance of games, either in a professional environment or as a way to learn, we need to see the benefits of what play can do. Games are a fantastic resource, even when they are used in a passive sense, such as video games or in a testing environment such as a learning game. But how do games make you better at strategy and becoming a better strategist?

They Allow Different Scenarios to Be Tested

Using strategy can help to enhance the reality of the situation. By simulating different setups that require certain responses, they can help to anticipate and amplify the reality of a situation. It gives the individual the opportunity to learn how to react to the worst-case scenario. It is a very subtle art form. When an individual absorbs themselves in a game like poker, it can highlight their propensity for risk. And in fact, when you see clips on the game of poker online, there's a lot to be gleaned from how an individual behaves in a pressure cooker environment. Look at “Paul Phua poker as an artform.” There's a lot of focus on bluffing. It is one of the best scenarios that can highlight the behaviors of an individual, especially when money is at stake. Incorporating games into life gives everybody the opportunity to test different scenarios and to practice their reactions to them. Will they step up to the plate or will they shy away?

Games Provide Instant Feedback

In any form of game, whether it's poker or a video game, the impact of instant feedback cannot be underestimated. People can learn much more quickly through gaming than in the real world. In reality, when you fail in a game, there is a costly downside. But using games gives you the opportunity to practice your reaction to stressful situations and can help to encourage the flow state. Anybody that has been stuck on a particularly challenging game of Tetris can always remember the point where everything is going so fast they either stress out over the situation or relax into it. The latter is the flow state. And this is the optimal space between challenge and skill. By getting instant feedback, it is the perfect way to either help you build confidence in a certain environment or realize how far you need to go.

Games based learning is a fantastic approach to help an individual to practice strategic approaches. It builds up a wide variety of game-theoretic skills, from anticipating an individual's reaction as well as cooperation or competition. And it's something that you can use to help gain control over your emotions. These are but two examples of how gaming can make you a better strategist, as it can help you to engage other parts of your brain, but also learn how to react better under pressure which is integral to being a strong strategist.