Virtual game variants that are superior to their real life counterparts

The near omnipresence of smart devices and computers in our daily lives in 2022 opens up many possibilities that would never have been available in the past. Often, digital versions of conventional items and utilities represent significant improvements over their physical equivalents. Take maps for example – popular digital mapping platforms such as Google Maps give users the entire world at their fingertips. With the ability to search place-names and locations, zoom-in to street level, and get real-time traffic updates, they represent a significantly more feature-packed and accessible option when compared with a physical atlas.

This is also the case for many of the traditional games we know and love. While, at first, early iterations of classic board games represented little more than a digital rendering of the same experience without any of the tactile feedback of the real games, nowadays they increasingly represent a superior option for gamers. This is because of added features, from statistics to leaderboards and matchmaking tools, adding great flexibility and customization. Below we’re taking a look at two classic games that have been given a new lease of life in their digital incarnations. Each brings something wholly new to the table, augmenting these titles with new features without sacrificing any of the gameplay that made their physical counterparts so popular.

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Blackjack

A high achiever among the broad family of “21” card games dating back to the Renaissance, blackjack took on its current recognizable form in 19th century America and is now the most popular game played in casinos around the world. Online versions of this classic hold out the promise of greater flexibility and available variants than even the most accommodating brick-and-mortar establishment.

PokerStars Casino, for example, a well established name in the space, furnishes its patrons with several variants of this title, as well as providing all manner of customization features. This is done in order to facilitate their users’ ability to access the game in whatever way they see fit, from high roller to classic modes, and in single or multiplayer formats. In this form it also offers the boon of accessibility that online services are uniquely able to supply – in other words, the ability to connect with opponents from anywhere on the globe at the click of a button.

Chess

Chess has had a long and colorful history. The very first versions of this game are from 5th century India, and from there it travelled on the Silk Road trade routes through Persia, eventually finding its way to the courts of Mediaeval Europe at the outset of the first millennium CE. Chess has a very specific and prestigious reputation as a game of strategy and wisdom, and its compelling gameplay has drawn generations of players in over the centuries. All come seeking to test their skills against both the game itself and opponents, and soon find there’s a lifetime’s worth of learning locked up in this deceptively simple title. A player’s individual experience of chess, in person, is very much tied to the quality of players they compete against, and the degree of research and learning they do on the side.

This is, after all, a tried and tested method that produces grandmasters. But chess, in its virtual variants, can often hold out the promise of vastly accelerated learning, and deeper insight. The leading platform for online chess is Chess.com, which has been seeking to become the global hub for the chess community since its launch in 2005. It offers comprehensive tutorials and guides for players getting to grips with the game’s nuances. Furthermore, it ascribes an algorithmically generated skill-score to individual users so they can be matched up with opponents of a similar level. This draws in players of all skills, from professionals to casual gamers, making it a unique go-to source for all things this game can offer in the sense of community. In offering this unique platform, it presents a package that is arguably superior to physical chess.