COVID lockdown gives rise to skill-based online games

Skill-based online games such as Ludo King, chess and snakes and ladder are fast gaining popularity among children and office goers who spend more time online due to Covid induced lockdown. Most of these popular online games are similar to the board game, with the key difference being the preponderance of skill, application of mind and strategy in winning.

In this, skills such as strategy, observation, judgment, adroitness and attention of the players are key. Not only does one need the skill to win the game, but playing the game over time also improves game-playing skills.

Rameesh Kailasam, CEO, IndiaTech.org, said the increase in online competitive Ludo games users during the Covid pandemic, clearly indicates how the players perceive it. He said that equating such games to a coin toss is a logical fallacy that reeks of ulterior motives or misplaced concern.

Modern-day technology has allowed these games to come alive in their online forms. Moreover, with necessary changes to their formats that include free to play and pay to play formats, these games have become skill predominant, thereby reducing elements of luck and chance, he said.

New users receive training on how to play the game at the time of signing up, training games are free to play, and users are encouraged to learn, evolve and perform better based on skill and strategy.

A deep understanding of evolving technologies, information and analysis is the need of the hour for any prospective regulation, and continuing to support innovation and the start-up ecosystem, said Kailasam.