Online gaming connects millions of people, with individuals all coming together in the name of a good time. The advancement in technology as well as accessibility to tech has allowed for some look fantastic developments in the graphics, function, and overall playability in gaming. So with gaming becoming better and more fun than ever before, it’s no wonder that so many people around the world now continually choose online games as their hobby of choice.
Not to worry, if you are new to online gaming, we’ve put together an overview that will help you navigate the most important and popular parts of the world of online gaming.
Online Card Games
- Hearthstone: A digital collectible card game featuring Warcraft characters.
- Gwent: A strategy card game derived from The Witcher series.
- Magic: The Gathering Arena: Digital version of the popular Magic: The Gathering card game.
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links: An online version of the Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game.
- Legends of Runeterra: A card game based on the League of Legends universe.
Online card games allow players to build on their strategy techniques, and compete against other players or computers in head-to-head matches fashion. Card games offer a wide range of playing style opportunities, some of which can take years to master, but they can also be accessible and easy to learn, some of them you can jump into and start playing within minutes.
A fantastic and really popular area of card games is gambling. Offering many options that are relatively easy to pick up, these card games are super easy to access and you can play them on the go entertainment.
Table Games
- Catan: A multiplayer board game where players build and trade to gain resources.
- Ticket to Ride: A railway-themed board game focused on train route building.
- Carcassonne: A tile-placement game where players draw and place a tile with a piece of southern French landscape.
- Pandemic: A cooperative board game where players work together to fight global diseases.
- Risk: A strategy board game of diplomacy, conflict, and conquest.
Exciting online table games span a variety of games that cater to a wide spectrum of player preferences. The timeless classics, such as poker and blackjack, take center stage, embodying the essence of strategic gameplay and skillful decision-making. Poker, in its various forms like Texas Hold’em and Omaha, beckons players to engage in thrilling battles of wits, where reading opponents and mastering the art of bluffing become integral components of success.
Moving beyond the classics, the online table game landscape introduces a host of modern variations that add a contemporary flair to the traditional table gaming experience. Games like baccarat, craps, and roulette bring their own unique diode dynamics, offering players diverse avenues for excitement, despite retaining their traditional game elements.
Poker
- Texas Hold’em: The most popular poker variant, with community cards and betting rounds.
- Omaha: Similar to Texas Hold’em but with four hole cards and five community cards.
- Seven-Card Stud: Players receive seven cards, but only the best five-card hand possible for each player is used to determine the winner.
- Razz: A form of stud poker, it’s the low version of seven-card stud.
- Five Card Draw: One of the simplest poker variants, with a single draw and two betting rounds.
If you haven’t heard of poker, where on earth have you been? Poker is debatably the most popular card game in the whole world, and for very good reason.
Poker is a game where players bet on how good they think their hand of cards is, and over the years many variations have developed like Texas Hold’em, Stud, and Omaha. The game’s origins are usually attributed to the 19th century in the United States, where it is said to have quickly become a favourite of coastal cowboys and gamblers.
Today, poker is played in homes all over the world, in both casinos and online, where players put in to use a combination of strategy, skill, and luck to win big, or small, in the game.
Blackjack
- Classic Blackjack: The traditional form of blackjack with standard rules.
- Spanish 21: Similar to blackjack, but with all 10s removed from the deck.
- Blackjack Switch: Players are dealt two hands and can switch the top cards between them.
- Free Bet Blackjack: Allows players to double down and split for free.
- Pontoon: A British version of blackjack with different terminology and rules.
Blackjack is super popular due to the immense fun it brings to the table (pun intended) as a dynamic, high risk casino game in which players try to get as close to 21 as possible without going over, all the while competing against the dealer. It is believed that the game originated in France in the 1700s, and was known as “Twenty-One,” or “Vingt-et-Un.”
Today, it is one of the most enjoyed casino games worldwide, with many variations and strategies such as the card counting technique, employed for success.
Solitaire
- Klondike: The classic solitaire game, also known as patience, typically played with one deck of cards.
- Spider Solitaire: Uses two decks, with the goal to create descending suit sequences.
- FreeCell: A solitaire game with open cells and tableau, allowing for strategic play.
- Pyramid Solitaire: Cards are arranged in a pyramid, with the aim to pair cards to a sum of 13.
- TriPeaks: Consists of three peaks of cards that must be removed by uncovering cards one higher or lower in sequence.
Solitaire is an incredibly common game for people to play, and you should most definitely recognise it. It’s probably the most famous single-player card game there is, where the goal is to move all the cards into four piles, sorted by suit and in order from low to high.
The game has been enjoyed since the 18th century, and it has since become a popular one to play online too. Efficiency is definitely the best way to approach solitaire strategy, and with practice, you can quickly start to compete against yourself as you get better.
Bridge
- Contract Bridge: The most common form of bridge, where the bidding phase leads to a contract that one pair must fulfill.
- Rubber Bridge: A form of contract bridge played in social settings, scored over several deals.
- Duplicate Bridge: Competitive bridge where the same hands are played by different sets of players to compare results.
- Chicago Bridge: A variant of rubber bridge with a four-deal game format, often used in social bridge games.
- Honeymoon Bridge: A two-player variant of bridge, with adaptations to the standard rules to suit fewer players.
Bridge is the ultimate duo card game, so it’s especially perfect for a night in with your date, a family member, or friend. The game works by players bidding and competing with each other in teams of two, using strategy to communicate with their partner and carefully plan each trick to try to get the best score.
The game’s origins can be traced back to the early 16th century in the United Kingdom, and has been further popularised today by period dramas.
Online Games On Your Phone
Sometimes when you just need to pass the time in a fun way, the only accessible way to do so is on your phone. Luckily there are lots of fun games optimised perfectly for you to enjoy on a phone screen that you can choose from.
MMORPG
Despite the fact that you might not be familiar with the acronym, you will most definitely recognise this genre from one game or another. Out of all online gaming, MMORPG, or massively multiplayer online role-playing games are hugely popular with a vast range of ages. MMORPGs let their players create and modify their own characters, and embark on quests in a plethora of different virtual worlds, all while sharing their adventures with other players.
MMORPGs often offer more content than you can imagine, and supply you with a seemingly infinite amount of hours to play. As many people have found out, you can easily spend hundreds or even thousands of hours in MMORPGs, and as you progress and get better, usually more advanced quests and game play is opened up for you to explore.