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Beyond Gaming: A Look at the World’s Most Interesting Titles

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Gaming is inherently fun. In fact, some of the earliest human civilizations have passed down artifacts that hint that gaming has been around for millennia. More generally, evidence of dice has been found from as early as five thousand years in the past. More specifically, games like Senet and the Royal Game of Ur were part of Ancient Egypt and Ancient Mesopotamia, respectively.

Clearly, we like to have fun while competing. Oftentimes, games include an element of luck. However, in late years, we’ve shifted toward a type of digital gaming that removes almost every type of chance in order to level up the playing field. In other words, most games today are about competition rather than recreation—especially traditional video games. 

But that’s not always the case. Aside from having fun and competing, gaming represents a huge range of interests. Let’s explore a few of the world’s most unique games, including traditional card games, high-fashion mobile titles, and even medical titles.

Blackjack: History, Statistics, & House Edge

People probably think of various things when someone brings up blackjack. Some might think about playing online, as it’s a popular option on virtual platforms worldwide. Most offer multiple variations and the ability to join tournaments. Others might think of the Vegas casino floor and Raymond Babbitt. 

But blackjack is a deceptively complex and nuanced game. First of all, it stretches back to around 1700 when it was first mentioned in a Parisian publication—though many think it could have been around a bit longer. This puts blackjack’s birth around the same time as modern statistics, which emerged in the late 1600s from William Petty. 

Why tie blackjack to the birth of statistics? Though these two events didn’t correlate directly, blackjack is one of the headiest games involving hard probabilities. In a 52-card deck, the probability of winning is 42.22% for any variation, while the chance of hitting blackjack is 4.75% in classic blackjack—and the best players are very familiar with their chances of winning at any turn.

Louis the Game: High Fashion Mobile Games

To celebrate the bicentennial of Louis Vuitton, executives decided to join the gaming zeitgeist—and the crypto boom. They released Louis the Game in 2021, a mobile title for fashion fans that takes them on an adventure as a fuzzy bear named Vivienne.

The game takes players through a series of imaginative worlds where they must collect NFTs and solve puzzles. These activities are designed to build the brand—but players can actually use their NFTs to unlock different collectibles. Unlike other NFT projects, these can’t be traded on a marketplace.

While other luxury brands, from Balenciaga to Burberry, have also opted to create NFT collections, none have created a game around it. Burberry joined the Blankos game, but only Louis Vuitton paid a developer to make a never-before-seen mobile game… one which is satisfying enough that Louis Vuitton updated the game last year.  

Sea Hero Quest: Video Game Tech for the Medical Field

One of the most interesting applications of gaming is through education. Most people who have signed up for a language learning app, such as DuoLingo, have interacted with forms of gamification—which bridge gaming and education. But some projects take this even further by using gaming to help determine a patient’s mental capacities.

That’s the case with Sea Hero Quest, a VR game released in 2016. The project comes from gaming developer Glitchers and multiple UK-based universities, including the University College of London. The game was created by neuroscientists to help diagnose certain degenerative diseases that target the mind. 

More specifically, the game includes three different challenge modes. As players navigate these levels, their doctors are able to determine how advanced their illness is. In fact, the game was designed to be ‘scientifically valid’, which means it’s an aid in the diagnostic phase. For its creativity and efficacy, the game was awarded nine separate awards at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

If you gamble, please gamble responsibly.

Other articles from totimes.ca – otttimes.ca – mtltimes.ca

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