Srinagar: PUBG is facing competition from traditional games like ludo, carrom and monopoly which have taken on a cool new online avatar. With people staying at home and unable to meet due to “social distancing”, online games have become a popular way to spend time together from a distance.
The young generation was mostly into PUBG and action-packed video games but the multi-player mode in online versions of carom, pool, ludo, monopoly, etc, has made them well suited to even those who were not into video games.
“I play ludo everyday with my family. I also play it online with my cousins who live in other districts. It makes for good family time. I would prefer physical sports because they keep you fit but one doesn’t have the option of going out these days, so online gaming is everyone’s favourite,” said Owais Ahmad, a resident of Srinagar.
Another student, Saqib Ahmad, said, “I had completed my admission process in the first week of March. But I have no studies at the moment. It is online games that are keeping me busy. I play for as much as 15 hours a day. I mostly play with my friends.”
He added, “We have seen many lockdowns in the past. The last time, when Article 370 was abrogated, we used to play carom. But now the situation is different, we have to keep social distancing, so the online version is the best we have at this time.”
The snapping of mobile internet on Wednesday last week left many youngsters unable to play online games. “I played hopscotch on the terrace and paper-and-pencil games with family members. I played Scrabble to increase my word power. I usually play online games with my parents or cousins every day for one to one-and-a-half hours, but without internet it was not possible to play them,” said Tabish Jan, a youth in Srinagar.

NAZIMA SIDIQ