Mention the word gamer to anyone and they’ll think it’s a guys’ thing. It’s often stereotyped as an activity that typically appeals only to males, or at least, as an activity that only males excel in. But of course, our point today is to dispute that!
Females actually enjoy playing games a lot – this coming from a girl herself. The trick is to know the TYPE of games that girls enjoy. While the dudes head out to LAN shops to hunt heads, the women kick back at home with a cup of coffee and gather their Farmville crops.
With that in mind, here are some great games you can get your girlfriend (or a Date!) for Christmas. Better yet, spend some time playing them with her. If you’ve always lamented about how your girlfriend restricts your playing time, this is a great chance to convert her to the dark side.
The Sims
The ultimate game for women, the Sims is a life sim that allows you to play god. Players have complete control over how their Sims look and act, all from an omnipotent point of view. The game has been around for a while, and is currently in its third reincarnation as the Sims 3.
If your girlfriend is new to the franchise, simply boot up the tutorial and have her sit through it. She’ll be happily rearing her Sims to grandparenthood and beyond, by the time you’ve warmed up enough for a good round of Battlefield 3.
If you were hoping for her to spend even more time on the Sims 3, tell her about the active modding community there, then watch her go mad with joy as she discovers the infinite possibilities of how her Sims can look. Think Kim Kardashian hair, JLo outfits, the works!
Girls love the Sims. They especially love creating themselves as your in-game spouse, so don’t be alarmed if you see your surname hovering over one of the houses.
The Sims 3 can be purchased on Steam for US$19.99.
Dash games
Most famous of all Dash games is likely Diner Dash, a quirky time management sim in which you play the role of Flo, a lady who, tired of the daily grind, opens her own restaurant. It was first published in 2003, has since won the hearts of many, and spawned just as many sequels and inspired games.
Girls like managing things; it’s fun to be in control of a situation, and even more fun when there’s a definitive goal to achieve. In Diner Dash, the player must guide Flo around the diner and cater to as many customers as possible in order to earn money to keep the place afloat. Later, finances also have to be sunk into upgrades for the diner so that players can advance a level.
The Dash series of games is one that fully occupies a woman’s tireless mind, and keeps her multi-tasking skills sharp. Get this for a girl who can’t sit still, and then be surprised when she does!
Diner Dash and the rest of the Dash games can be found on publisher Playfirst’s site, for only US$6.99.
Harvest Moon
Girls like management games, we’ve already established that. But think about the phenomena of Farmville – the game that got women all over the world glued to their computer screens, with countless more neglecting to cook meals, or even feed their own children. And then think of a Farmville your girlfriend could carry around wherever she went. That’s Harvest Moon.
And the newest Harvest Moon, The Tale of Two Towns is out just in time for Christmas! Like many of the newer Harvest Moons, you’ll be able to choose between being a boy or a girl. You also have a choice between two villages – Konohana, a Japanese-style one that specialises in crops, or Bluebell, a European-style village that specialises in animals.
The goals are like every other Harvest Moon’s. Run your farm, sell your crops and marry the love of your life. And be a champion cook while you’re at it, because the two towns are rivals, and take great pride in beating each other in regular cooking competitions. A life sim, farm sim, management sim, dating sim and cooking sim all in one; could a girl ask for more?
Get Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns from S$39.90 from game stores all over Singapore.
Skyrim
Now this is interesting. The Elder Scrolls series are traditionally a more ‘serious’ type of game. The Role-Playing Game is not something for the faint of heart, or for the casual players. So why has Skyrim, the fifth instalment of the Elder Scrolls, made this list? That’s because Skyrim introduces the concept of marriage. To marry a person, you first need a house. And if you have a house, you have a kitchen to cook in. You have rooms to decorate. You have cupboards to fill.
In other words, Skyrim is pretty much a life sim, although it does have the added bonus of slaying dragons, helping people, becoming anything from a assassin to a evangelist to a vampire to a werewolf and of course, stealing everything that isn’t nailed to the floor. If she missed out on Harvest Moon, simply direct her over to Pelagia Farm just outside Whiterun to pick some potatoes for gold.
So if you’re a gamer looking for the chance to introduce your girl to the wonderful world of gaming, Skyrim may just be the answer. If it was immersive for men because of the limitless ways you could play and own it, then it will be just as good for the ladies, who will knock themselves out trying to find the ingredients for a bowl of Venison Stew, or several slabs of Salmon Steak.
Skyrim is available at all local gamestores from S$58.
Chocolatier
Yes, another management game, but how about a management game that involves chocolate?
That’s right, Chocolatier is a strategy game where you take charge of re-establishing your family’s old chocolate business. Expect to meet business rivals and other characters as you travel the world in search of new ingredients, new recipes, and new locations in which to set up shop. It’s a world tour for chocolate lovers!
While there’s more strategy than sim involved, it does offer a modicum of control with your chocolate stores, inventories and recipes. Players will be involved first hand in the chocolate-making, so this is appealing for fans of cooking sims as well! The story is also engaging, and when combined with simple mechanics, makes for a lovely game that your girlfriend, chocolate-lover or not, will adore.
Chocolatier is available online at Playfirst for US$6.99.
Disclaimer: Advice given freely in this article is based on feedback from a population of female gamers. If your girlfriend is the kinky type who enjoys making head shots in Blackshot or dribbling past 5 players to score a goal in Winning Eleven, it is your duty as a boyfriend to adhere to her tastes.
