Online Board Games

The Differences Between Traditional Board Games, Console Games, and AirConsole

Traditional board game enthusiasts may not think twice about turning to the AirConsole platform for multiplayer, competitive fun, but this is a huge mistake! Now with the rise of smartphones free mobile board games and board games online have become the newest craze. AirConsole has a vast selection of free games available to play, many with similar characteristics to traditional board games. AirConsole provides the perfect blend of traditional board games, typical console games, and browser based games. If you are looking for free board games online, you have come to the right place!

Traditional Board Games

A board game is a game you play on a tabletop (or the floor) and involves pieces or counters that you move on the associated board, following the rules as laid out by the game. Some games involve strategy while others are pure chance; the remainder are a mix of chance and skill. Rules range from the simple to the ultra-complicated, like role-playing games within a vast gaming universe.

What Makes Board Games Great

Games are totally a matter of a person’s taste. There are many types of free mobile board games so that everyone can find something to enjoy. The value of the game depends on the preferences of those who play it. Some people prefer games of chance, as mentioned above, while others want to rely solely on their skill or tactics. Other players enjoy the discourse held among players during gameplay. There are games based on manual skills and dexterity, reaction times, and memory. Free board games online have the advantage of not requiring you to purchase the game from a store. Aside from the obvious subjective aspects of a board game, there are also objective criteria to be considered when one is trying to determine if a board game is “good” or “great.”

First of all, any new games have to be original and fresh. The value of a game goes up if it has replay value, because who wants to play a game just once and then never again? For a game to have replay value, each time it is played through, it should offer a different experience to each player. A game that doesn’t offer a great gaming experience might be boring to players. Other aspects that make games great are surprises, equal chances of winning for each player at the beginning of the game, and a theoretical possibility for any of the players to win near the end.

The popularity of board games seemed to die out for a while but then made a slight comeback; the principles amongst the newer games remain the same: there are many reasons to play board games with your friends and family, and many of these reasons apply to board games online as well. Here are just a few:

1.    Take Turns
One of the first things you learn when playing a board game is that there are times when you get to move, and times when you have to wait. Unless it’s your turn, you shouldn’t be moving things around on the board, drawing cards off a pile, or taking the dice. Board games teach kids that there is a time and place for everything.

2.    Math Skills
Players will have to rely on their math skills to add up dice, total up scores, and work on more difficult ideas. Not all board games require players perform math, but many of them do have some basic math. It gives kids extra game practice and maybe even helps set them up for STEM careers later in life. Free mobile board games can help children to learn while on the go.

3.    Mental Agility
Everyone knows the benefits of exercising your brain when you get older, and it’s never too early to start. Check out AirConsole’s Tiles of Doom to test your memory.

4.    Think Ahead
The more complex games make you think about your short-, mid-, and long-term strategy, not just about what you will do on your next turn. You have to think ahead, which translates into the ability to think ahead in real life.

5.    Lower Blood Pressure
Playing board games can cause you to laugh and increase your endorphins, which in turn leads to the relaxation of muscles and a drop in blood pressure. Playing free board games online also means you don’t need to worry about spending any additional money.

6.    Actions and Consequences
All actions have consequences, either positive or negative, on you and others. Board games give a closed, safe environment where the cause-and-effect help work on building a mindset that allows players to think about the consequences of their actions in the real world.

7.    Make Hard Choices
After players learn that their actions have consequences, the next lesson is the ability to make hard decisions. Sometimes you have to choose between rewarding (or punishing) options, and players will learn to determine which criteria are important and which ones to ignore, and how to balance reward and risk.

8.    Reduce Stress
A recent online survey showed that 64 percent of respondents play board games as a way to relax and unwind; 53 percent said they played for stress relief. Free board games online are easily accessible for immediate stress relief.

9.    Boost Immune System
The laughter and enjoyment players derive from playing board games prevents depression, negativity, and stress, all of which depress the immune system. Check out AirConsole’s Cards and Humanity for some excellent adult humor.

10.  Teamwork
There is a whole group of board games out now where players have to work collaboratively to achieve a common objective. AirConsole’s AirShields can be a great game to improve team building.

11.  Sportsmanship
There’s nothing worse than a sore loser or a boasting winner. When you play competitive games, you learn how to be gracious no matter if you lose or win. Kids will see this modeled behavior and realize that it’s not necessarily the winning that is the best part, it’s the playing. This is also a good time to teach the difference between personal attacks and in-game attacks. Free mobile board games typically allow children to play against a bot so no feelings have to get hurt in the learning process.

Console Games

Video games and board games have come a long way since the first arcade game came out in the 1970s. Nowadays they are ambitious, challenging, and complex, and there is evidence that the benefits of playing aren’t limited to improved hand-eye coordination and basic entertainment. Aside from most of the benefits enjoyed by players of board games, console games are great in other ways. Here are just a few ways that console games are good for you:

12.  Overcome Dyslexia
Some research shows that a key component of dyslexia is difficulty paying attention. Dyslexia sufferers benefit from games, especially games with rapid movement to improve their reading comprehension. AirConsole’s Adequate Bingo is fast-paced requiring rapt attention.

13.  Make Better Surgeons
A study of laparoscopic surgeons showed that those who played for over three hours a week made 32 percent fewer errors during practice procedures compared to surgeons who didn’t play video games at all.

14.  Improve Vision
Games in moderation may improve vision; after ten weeks of play, those who participated in a study had a greater ability to detect differences between shades of gray.

15.  Promote Physical Activity
Sports games that involve skateboarding, tennis, basketball and others may lead to kids wanting to perform those same activities outside. AirConsole’s Silly Run Valley just might inspire a real live race between friends.

16.  Slow Aging
Brain games are known to have a positive benefit on older players. A mere 10 hours of play in one study showed increased cognitive functioning in players 50 years of age and older.

17.  Improved Career Skills
Researchers have noticed that players can experience similar motivation in their real-world career goals if they tend to play certain genres of games that encourage and reward leadership traits. Further, gameplay that requires fast thinking can also help players be more prepared and ready to respond to work crises when they arise.

18.  Ease Pain
Playing video games can produce a painkilling response in the brain, and the more immersive a game is, the more likely a player feels analgesia.

19.  Develop an Interest in History
Places and characters in video games can foster interest in a child and encourage players to engage more with learning about different times and cultures. On a whole, this can lead to an ongoing appreciation for history and cultures of the world. Check out AirConsole’s Greek for Speed to inspire an ancient Greece history lesson.

20.  Improve Balance
Multiple sclerosis patients who play video games requiring physical interaction while standing on a balance board showed improvement in balance afterward.

21.  Curb Cravings
Players with the tendency to overdo it with smoking, drinking, or eating experienced a 24 percent reduction in the desire for their particular vice after playing a puzzle game. Tic Tac Boom requires both strategy and speed and will definitely keep your mind occupied.

22.  Make Faster Decisions
Players immersed in fast-paced games were faster when reacting to questions about an image they had just seen, compared to a group of non-players.

Why Gaming Consoles Can Be Better than Traditional Board Games

Board games are great fun, as we’ve already explained. But sometimes they just can’t beat a decent video game. Video game adaptations of board games can also be a lot of fun if they’re played right.

One major downfall to board games is that you have to physically have the game with you when you want to play. If you’re at a party or get-together and want to play, you’re out of luck if you didn’t bring your game with you. When you factor in screen games, all you need is a console and screen to play it on. Most people tend to have a console (or five) at their home if they’re avid gamers. Let’s not even mention the problem with board games when you open the box and there are pieces missing. You don’t have to worry about that with video games.

Another disadvantage of board games is that they usually have a maximum number of players; usually, fewer than ten can play. With some online board games, you can have an unlimited number of people playing at once.

One disadvantage that applies to both gaming consoles and traditional board games is that many games can be pretty pricey. If you have a limited budget for entertainment and aren’t lucky enough to have board games or consoles gifted to you, it’s impossible to play at home.

The AirConsole Platform

AirConsole is an online video game console, unlike your typical physical consoles. With AirConsole, your smartphone is the gamepad, and your browser works as the console. It’s super easy to set up, and there are tons of games to play. So, you might ask, why play AirConsole instead of your regular board games or even your other console?

Simple and Easy
The simplicity and ease of the system make it convenient to play free board games online whenever you have some free time or have friends over and want to play. All you need, aside from your phones, is a smart TV or computer/laptop with an internet connection. The platform is compatible with the major browsers like Firefox, Chrome, and Edge.

As mentioned above, all you need is a smart TV or a computer that is hooked up to the internet. Once on the website, all you have to do is press the start button. You’ll see an access code for your smartphones on the display’s screen; go to the AirConsole website on your browser and enter the code you see.

Lots of Choices
The AirConsole system has many free games online to play, and new games are added all of the time. The people at AirConsole are always working on developing new and amazing games to offer to players. There are games that are age-appropriate for all ages and in all different genres. Play free board games, quiz games, racing games, puzzle games, action games, party games, old-school arcade games, and more! There are games for co-workers, games for family members, games for couples, games for students; there are games for literally anyone.

No Equipment
One of the best things about the AirConsole platform is that you do not have to have anything with you except your smartphone to play free board games online because practically everyone has a device that hooks up to the internet. Unless you’re visiting an off-grid friend, it’s highly likely that there’s a computer or web-friendly television somewhere in the house.

Multi-Player
When it comes to players, there’s no limit with free board games online when you play with AirConsole: as long as you each have a smartphone and are on the same internet connection, you can all play. Of course, the particular game you choose must support this as well. Many of the free online games are multi-player, and you can have as many players as you wish.

Free
The very best advantage of AirConsole is that this is an entirely free online console system, as long as you have a smartphone and a laptop or desktop computer with a big screen, or a smart TV. The online games are all free to play without the pricey console or extra controllers, required for regular console games. For even easier play, players can download the AirConsole app from the app store of their smartphone.

So the next time you are hosting a kid’s birthday party or you’re having a family game night and can’t decide what to do and need something to add some excitement, jump onto your laptop, open up AirConsole, connect your phones, and go!

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