Free Gaming: A New Wave of Fun

Gone are the days when gamers were expected to spend thousands of pounds each year to fund their hobby.

These days, players can get hundreds of hours of entertainment without spending a single penny, and while they couldn’t expect something like The Last of Us at that sweetest of price points, what is lost in quality is more than made up in value.

Free-to-play games are given a bad name, sometimes for a good reason. Tie-ins with popular television shows test your patience more than your skills, and would love nothing more than for you to pay your way through to ‘the end,’ which only exists when you’ve paid enough for everything.

Dungeon Keeper – which could easily work on mobile and is long overdue a new, proper entry – was torn apart by critics who quickly realized there was absolutely no reason to play it. It may as well have been a donation button on EA’s website.

But that doesn’t mean that the entire free-to-play genre should be ignored. You will find good few recent examples of good free to play games in the video below.

Part of the problem comes from the supposed value of gaming. With decades worth of titles available at our fingertips and for next to nothing, it becomes harder and harder to shell out $60 on the day of release. This is made worse by many games releasing broken or just straight up bad.

The earliest type of free games was adapted by casinos. Instead of paying money to gamble, gamers could do it for free. They would have all the excitement of blackjack, roulette or slots, but without the risk of losing hard-earned pennies to the internet ether.

Some sites allow players to sign up and play all of their available titles without having to spend a penny. We are quite used to demo version in the gaming industry but still this concept might seem weird. Why would a betting hall give the possibility to play for free? One of the frankest answers comes from a betting hall that defines free casino games “a deal for everybody”. Most people who find themselves on casino websites are already interested in playing for real. Part of the enjoyment of these games is the thrill gained from winning (and losing) a bit of money. But even for that kind of player, sometimes it’s nice to know there’s nothing at risk, and it’s a great way of seeing what’s on offer. The good thing for the business, on the other hand, is that those that aren’t interested in spending money may develop an interest over time and decide to try their luck on the real games.

In any game, developing skills and strategies – and learning your own limits – is a responsible and clever thing to do before putting in your credit card details and learning the hard way. For this reason, over the last few years, playing free games for fun has become more popular than ever. With readily available apps on smartphones, it’s easier than ever to find safe and reliable free games.

A quick search in the app store will not only give you a list of free games apps, but will often give you dozens of user reviews as well.