Intellectual games on Twitch

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Video games are a booming industry. In 2018, the video game industry generated $134 billion in revenue and currently employs thousands worldwide. 

When people think of video games, we generally think of games like Call of Duty, Fortnite, and the recently popular cross-platform game, Among Us

But what makes Among Us stand out from the others? It is an intellectually challenging game, not the mindless fun we get from the CoD series or Fortnite

Are gamers just looking for mindless fun to escape reality, or is there something else at play?

I contend that video games are a useful tool for the mind and not a complete waste of time as some people like to think. More and more gamers are looking for ways to be intellectually challenged and improve their mental skills of critical thinking and strategic problem-solving. 

I would like to talk about one of the most -view events that is currently being streamed on Twitch. It is not what one might think, and: it is Pogchamps 3, a celebrity chess tournament hosted by Chess.com and Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura. 

Chess is booming in the Twitch community after a few different events. The first being the new popular Netflix show, The Queen’s Gambit, and the second being the collaboration of one of the biggest streamers on the platform, Felix ‘“xQcOW’” Lengyel and Grandmaster chess player, Hiraku Nakamura. 

Lengyel’s first game in Pogchamps amassed a substantial viewing of 300k people, becoming the most-watched category on Twitch. 

Chess is not very interesting by nature, but society views chess as a game of intellectuals. 

Now, why would a platform of entertainment be so enthralled by chess, a 1500-year-old game of strategy? The answer is simple:; gamers are seemingly more interested in strengthening their minds and not their mouse aim. 

We also see the intellectual trend in the massive popularity of Among Us. Among Us is a game where players must use logic and deductive reasoning to uncover which players are the imposters while completing missions on the map. 

Now, GeoGuessr is becoming increasingly popular. GeoGuessr is a game where you get a street map view of a location, and the players must figure out where they are in the world.

This trend is an increasing sign of gamers combining their passion for games and with their intelligence to have fun. 

This new trend of intellectual gaming is achieving great things. Teenagers are learning valuable skills which they can transfer to their careers and schooling. The argument that gamers are rotting their brain playing video games is non-sense. 

Being able to apply logical reasoning and strategic thinking to succeed in chess and other games is extraordinary. Surely, if gamers were too stupid to understand these games, there would be no interest in watching or playing them. 

Society needs to view gaming as more than just a fun way of wasting time. Video games serve as an excellent tool of mental exercise where more and more gamers are realizing their true cognitive potential and finding the most entertaining ways of doing so. 

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