Games are a universal language of play. From the simplicity of hide and seek to the strategic depth of board games, card games, sports, role-playing adventures, and – more recently – digital gaming, which includes mobile and video games, our games reflect the varied, innate play natures among us. Games speak to the human need for challenge, creativity, and connection activated through play. 

Heidi Erwin, Senior Game Designer at The New York Times, shares a perspective that aligns with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s concept of flow, the optimal state of engagement that arises when challenge meets skill. Erwin believes great games provide just enough difficulty to spark motivation and build a sense of competence. Like Csikszentmihalyi, she sees people as eager to rise to meaningful challenges rather than settle for easy wins. For her, even brief moments of overcoming obstacles can improve a player’s day. Small victories, especially when paired with surprise, help create momentum and joy. The games Erwin refers to are primarily daily, quick-play puzzles designed to engage the mind, in contrast to more immersive digital games discussed in the following section.

Peter Gray on Digital Games

With roughly 3.3 billion active users worldwide in 2024, digital gaming has become one of the engaging and far-reaching paths toward finding the innate, hardwired play drive that is part of being human. Digital gaming includes electronic games primarily played by individuals or teams on computers, tablets, and smartphones.

In his extensive work on play, psychologist Peter Gray challenges concerns about digital gaming. Gray argues that when people are given freedom to explore, the results can involve meaningful engagement and learning. He believes digital games can provide opportunities for autonomy, mastery, and social connection, representing core elements of healthy play. In his view, digital games, especially complex multiplayer formats, can foster collaboration, communication, and problem-solving, and even help players build skills transferable to leadership and organizational life.

Gray’s insights open the door to the potential value of video games for adults. Especially in these days of rising anxiety and disconnection, digital play can offer adults meaningful outlets for fulfilling experiences that provide relief and emotional resiliency. Though not without nuance, Gray’s perspective encourages a broader, more generous view of digital gaming as an excellent way to meet the human desire to play.

Gaming for Cognitive Growth 

UK journalist Henry Shaw also notes that anecdotal evidence suggests video games may help sharpen complex decision-making skills, just like traditional game-playing. Gaming environments challenge players to analyze options, manage resources, adapt under time pressure, and collaborate with others. Games require trial and error, encourage reasoning via role-playing scenarios, and promote cognitive flexibility. As Gray points out, these skills can transfer to real-world contexts, making gaming a powerful tool for developing mental agility and decision-making abilities. 

Gaming to Mitigate Cognitive Decline

For people experiencing the type of cognitive impairment that often leads to dementia, digital games can serve as a safe, enjoyable, and accessible form of brain training. Research from the University of Pisa indicates playing digital games improves memory linked to the brain’s hippocampus – the area most affected by age-related decline – and these improvements can last beyond the gaming period itself. The growing body of evidence suggests that video games could play a helpful role in healthy aging and even serve as early screening tools for subtle changes in brain health.

Gaming for Trauma Relief

Emerging research from the University of Southern California reveals that the benefits of digital games are evolving into tools for fostering emotional resilience, psychological well-being, and trauma recovery. No longer confined to entertainment, video games are now integrated into life across all cultures and even clinical settings. Studies underway suggest that the interactive, social, and rule-based nature of these games can align well with trauma-informed care, helping to support recovery, emotional regulation, identity development, and a sense of belonging. 

Conclusion

Each of us has a unique, intrinsically motivated play style, and for many, digital gaming is the next platform for enjoying the benefits of play. Gaming can activate the brain, spark creativity, strengthen social bonds, and provide psychological benefits ranging from stress relief and resilience to enhanced cognitive function. Like all forms of play, its value lies in the activity itself, and in what it can unlock: curiosity, competence, connection, and more. When thoughtfully and responsibly integrated, gaming can expand an individual’s range of opportunities to play and deepen society’s recognition of the importance of play in modern life.

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At PAPAYA, we see gaming as more than entertainment – it’s a catalyst for connection, development and joy. Our skilled-based mobile games are designed to deliver moments of challenge and fulfillment that fit into everyday life, helping players experience small victories, practice their minds, and gain emotional relief. We believe in the power of play and we’re proud to create experiences that celebrate how play helps us to connect.

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