The Gaming Mind

This book should be mandatory reading, quite honestly. Kriss lays out not just what videogames are, but the power of play and why play is so necessary to our humanity. He isn't afraid to explore the controversial side of gaming, addressing both violence and addiction and whether they are the threat the media tells us they are. Above all, Kriss is curious. His book is exploratory, genuinely wanting to determine what the role is of video games in our current culture. If you know someone who plays games or you play yourself, you need this book. #netgalley

Wow, this was a great book. Kriss goes deep into the subject matter, adding his own gaming experiences to the discussion. It’s written for longtime gamers and people who know nothing about games alike. I appreciated how easily accessible the narrative was, coupled with the in-depth case studies.

I prowled through this book while, believe it or not, playing games. The new Animal Crossing, in particular, and I swear this has to do with my review so stick with me here. I usually have a tendency to do this, and that's why this book oddly hit me in the heart. It might be just because I have such a personal attraction to the subject matter, but I'm extremely glad that there's something out here that isn't just another hit piece on gaming; saying that it's skewing our culture towards failure.

The Gaming Mind should be mandatory reading for pretty well everyone, considering the mass of misinformation out there about those who are what parts of society call gamers. Spoiler, there is no definition at this point. I don't know of a member of society who hasn't picked up a video game nowadays, and just because my mom plays Yahtzee on her phone with my sister and gets angry doesn't mean she has an undiagnosed rage disorder. Just because I want to play an hour of Doom, doesn't mean I'm going to harm people. This book outlines the major disconnect and issues there are with even broaching discussion about these things, because there's so much constant backlash.

I think the biggest takeaway from this book is that everyone's journey through therapy is different. If gaming helps someone, then power to them! But it won't work for everyone, and working out why you have feelings about those kind of media is another part of what needs to be a larger discussion about our society as a whole.