Why I Game
Why do you game? How has gaming positively impacted your life?
“Why I Game” is part of our Gamer Girl exhibit, which explores the history and contemporary culture of girls and women who make and play games. The gallery below features individual stories from gamers around the world whose lives have been inspired and empowered through gaming.
Share your story! Send us an e-mail with: (1) your name, (2) your country, (3) your answer to the question “Why do you game?”, and (4) a picture (of yourself, an avatar, or favorite game character). Contributions are accepted and posted on a rolling basis.
Why I Game
I game because I can escape from reality and become something bigger than myself. In games, I am a queen fighting to protect her lands by magic or by diplomacy. I am an expert in combat, be it hand-to-hand, swords, daggers, guns, or bows.
Why I Game: Maxine Wagenhoffer
Maxine showcases how her athletic and competitive spirit translated into a love of board games.
Why I Game: Meeghan
The Nancy Drew games are also very empowering. I’m sure most people have at least heard of Nancy Drew: the teen detective who has been solving thrilling mysteries for close to a century. The games allow you to step into her shoes, as you play as Nancy herself.
Why I Game: Gabrielle V
Gaming helps Gabrielle stay connected with her friends and build closer relationships. The past year or so of our new pandemic world has been isolating for a lot of us; I personally delt with a lot of loneliness early on, and worried that I was disconnecting from my...
Why I Game: Kaitlyn
Kaitlyn streaming video games. Gaming is something which formed a big part of my girlhood! My first piece of gaming equipment was a purple Gameboy. My game of choice? Pokémon! I would get lost in the mission of training my creatures, caring for them, and journeying...
Why I Game: Michelle
Township loading screen. I’m a creature of habit, I love routine and I crave structure. The last year has not been good for this. March 2020, like a lot of people, I transitioned to working from home. While this had its perks (no more three hour daily commute!), it...
Why I Game: Topaz
Rummy is a favourite in our flat! Last September I began university in the middle of a global pandemic! I had romanticised this step into a coming-of-age movie: wild parties, reinventing myself, and possibly a flash mob or two! If these dreams were improbable before,...
Why I Game: Caroline Alt
Junior Girl Caroline Alt talks about how the Nintendo Switch game Animal Crossing has helped her through the pandemic.
Why I Game: Sian Mariel Legaspi
Junior Girl Sian Mariel Legaspi shares her gaming experiences with Game Boy Color, and what impact gaming has had on her life.
Why I Game: Karolina Saxerbo Sjoberg
Junior Girl Karolina Saxerbo Sjoberg writes about Scrabble, the role that games play in her life, and how she uses them to make healthier choices.
Why I Game: Julianna Morris
Junior Girl Julianna Morris writes about her gaming experience, gaming in the time of COVID, and her new favorite game, Animal Crossing.
Why I Game: Charlotte Jordan
Junior Girl Charlotte Jordan talks about her love of gaming, how she was introduced to gaming and her experiences with D&D.
Why I Game: Naomi Sheppard
Kassandra from Assassin's Creed: Odyssey For as long as I can remember I have liked to game, be it on the old consoles or the newer ones. Through the years I have become more and more invested in games especially since there are now morefemale protagonists. Through...
Why I Game: Bekkah
Junior Girl Bekkah Watkins writes about her experience with gaming, and how video games and board games have made her feel more connected to her family.
Why I Game: Alicia García Pajares
Junior Girl Alicia García Pajares talks about her love of board games and how they have brought her family together throughout her life.
Why I Game: Yue
There are countless electronic games I’ve played. The earliest ones were some simple dress up games and RPG adventure games. It satisfies some of my real dreams, whether it's a Barbie-like princess, a few cute pets at home or magic. The overwhelming majority of...
Why I Game: Alexandra
Last Christmas my father told my siblings and I that he had a present for us. He took out his iPad and connected to the TV. I thought it was going to be a slideshow of pictures or an old family movie, but it wasn’t. Instead what came on screen was Spy Fox. And not...
Why I Game: James
The first video game I played was Game and Watch for the Gameboy. It started a lifelong love of gaming. It was a family thing, with my dad and sister and I all playing the same games, comparing high scores, and discovering secrets together. It didn’t matter if it was...
Why I Game: Michelle
Gaming for me started as a kid, playing board games with my family. It was how we bonded and spent time together, and grew into a passion of mine as I got older. But video gaming was very distant and not something I spent my time doing until I was in college and...
Why I Game: Jessi
Gaming has always been a part of my life. When I was little, my parents would have a family game night at least once a week. At my grandma's house my brother, cousins, and I would play the Game of Life and Hungry, Hungry Hippo as we waited for the grown-ups to get...
Why I Game: Madison
I never considered myself a gamer. To me, gamers were boys that spent their lives behind first person shooters, who devoted their time to the perfect car heist, or went on adventures with Link and Zelda. I didn't fit the criteria that made a gamer and I wasn't sure I...
Why I Game: Kates
I wasn't an avid gamer growing up, but the first - and possibly only - truly "in" thing I ever got was an original Nintendo back in 1987. I didn't have tons of games, and I was terrible at pretty much all of them (except Paperboy; to this day, I still don't know...
Why I Game: Jocelyn
I need to clarify something; I'm not a big gamer. I never played N64 with my dad at a young age, and I've never spent hours lost in World of Warcraft. But I do enjoy games, and especially, perhaps even more nerdy, I like watching people play games. When Skyrim came...
Why I Game: Dani
I am a gamer for many reasons... My dad and brother got me into gaming as a kid (Atari, Nintendo, Sega), and then my husband help develop my inner nerd (FPS/MMO/ARPG) . I love being able to immerse myself in a world that is different then what I live in. I deal with a...
Why I Game: Emily Lawry
I was relatively old before I started gaming, mainly because my mother had decided there was something vaguely unhealthy about it. My sister and I were more wooden abacus and jigsaw children. However I can't remember a time as a girl when I didn't deeply covet my...