People find it hard to believe when I tell them that I am a mother and a gamer. The idea of a 37-year-old mother of two playing games tends to contradict many gamer stereotypes.

Contrary to the belief that community is not important in gaming, I have found community to be most important among those who enjoy spending time with a controller in hand. Unlike making friends in the traditional way, a virtual community allows you to go straight to a place where you can meet people who share your passions and discuss what you want to talk about.

Many of the games I play fall into the fantasy genre and they give me a chance to relax, solve puzzles, explore and more. When a game is well-crafted, it can be immense fun. The love of the stories, settings, and characters pulls you in and you’re delighted to find others who feel the same way.

Using a game boosting service has allowed me to achieve higher ranks and the goals that I have set for myself, so I have even more opportunities to have fun. Boost Carry offers such a service that connects professional players with gamers and helps players with in-game tasks.

All successful games have communities. There are conferences, blogs, YouTube channels, forums and even large scale get-togethers that draw thousands of developers and enthusiasts.

Even if I play a game designed for a single player, I will often share my experiences in online discussion groups and forums. I can help those who are debating about whether to buy a new release and sometimes I am inspired to try games I haven’t played before.

Fan-run communities

Many of the people I game with are those I met via communities. These communities on Twitter, Tumblr, and other social media outlets have provided a way for me to share my love for a game and discuss my latest achievements with those who truly get it. I have formed friendships with a core group of women gamers that I believe will last for a long time.

I know that gaming communities have received some bad press and there have been complaints about misogyny and sexism on game sites. There will always be some people who make negative comments etc. but I have found game communities to be mostly empowering and inspiring.

Online games provide a playful space where people have a great excuse to get together. Put a group of friends in an online game with some headsets and the conversation flows without any effort.

Streaming

I often gather with other gamers to discuss a game being streamed. You can make new friends or catch up with old ones in chat.

Twitch is one of the platforms where you will find people sharing games of all kinds and it’s in the chatbox where many of us build relationships and share our experiences.

I have found that women are becoming regulars in streams, even getting onscreen to share with friends halfway across the globe in real-time. Thanks to archived streams, we can even catch up later when we can’t make it to a live stream.

Community means being able to reach out and be seen and heard. It’s meeting others who you would never have known if it wasn’t for the love of a game and developing relationships with them.

As a mother with two small children, playing games helps to refresh and restore me. Getting to share my love of a game with a community who feels the same way as I do makes the experience even more worthwhile.