A game is a carefully planned, structured form of play, sometimes used for fun or entertainment, and at other times used as an educational device. Games are quite different from work, which can be done for profit, and from literature, that is more usually an expression of philosophical or artistic elements. In many cases, a game can be regarded as a sub-genre of board games, card games or musical games. Today, many people enjoy playing computer games, since the technology has made them very user friendly. A game that has been well designed and well presented, with a variety of options, may well appeal to the entire range of users. Even if the game is intended for one segment of the population, its presentation and options will be of interest to others.
In the early nineteen eighties, computer games were invented to improve on the poor quality of game solutions already available on the market. Computer games provided a whole new level of interactivity that had not before been possible. There were first text-based role playing games, and then the dawn of graphics and sound. Computer games are now generally categorized into two main types: those that are designed for use by people who know computer languages and those that are designed for use by people who do not.
The history of computer games is an interesting one, especially if one wants to appreciate its development over time. Two decades ago, computer games were only for college students. In the early nineteen eighties, however, there was a movement towards creating computer games suitable for a wider range of people, including adults. The most popular among these were the complex role playing games that featured such celebrities as Leisuretto, who was famous for the dating simulation game Les Jeux Et Chateau. Computer games became even more popular in the nineties, with such titles as Space Invaders and Super Mario Brothers.
When Chris Crawford created Les Jeux Et Chateau, in the nineties, it was hailed as the board game that revolutionized the genre. It was a huge success, not only because of the complex rules that made the game so enjoyable (Crawford required twenty-four people in order to play), but also because it was actually a game in which the players actually had to think rather than just have an expectation of what will happen. Les Jeux Et Chateau became the board game that many people remember. Many people consider it to be a classic, though it has never achieved the status of a classic since the movement of the game’s popularity seemed to fade away.
Computer games have evolved greatly over the years, becoming both more sophisticated and more accessible. Computer board games have been adapted for use with a range of different types of hardware. A great example is an adaptation of the game of Chess that has been designed specifically for use on the Apple Macintosh computer. Today, there are many different versions of a game like this available to the mass market.