I’m a 30 year old woman who’s only really played card and puzzle games on my phone. Im considering new hobbies. Is it worth trying to get into video games for the first time. Where would I even start.
I'm gonna go against the current here and say no. Videogames are not a good hobby and a poor investment of your time.
If the alternative is deer hunting or anything shady then playing videogames is one of the less harmful things you can do on earth but among the thousand activities you can do and pick up as a hobby videogames are not free of issues.
First of all by specifically getting into video games you are looking at stare at a screen and sit for hours. Not a big deal if you can manage it but don't limit yourself to just videogames, there are board games, social games, mind sports and many other games you can get into.
Videogames industry has become very rotten and has appropriated the whole community. Many of the titles being suggested here are "products" made by evil companies with mechanics built to mess up with people. Steam which many recommended you to download is a proprietary software launcher that belongs to a company that has no problem pushing loot boxes and abduct kids into gambling. That's the sort of business you are getting your hands into.
This is an asklemmy thread, not a gaming community, why the downvotes?
I used to love gaming. I still game a bit but I feel like I am wasting my time when I could be biking, hiking, cleaning, fixing stuff, or volunteering.
I mostly game as a way to connect with gamers now. Family Mario kart, family Pokémon playthroughs, etc.
Same goes for MTG. Used to love it, still take some enjoyment from it, but less so because I feel my time could be better spent. Also 100 card decks are too big to shuffle.
Computer games are no worse than hunting, board games, social game, or sports. It's a kind of activity, which keeps your brain engaged, and some games also test your reaction. It's a formiddable hobby, no worse than the others.