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Report: Casual games help families bond

Survey respondents say that playing casual games with their children or grandchildren helps them relate.

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Casual game company PopCap Games has posted the findings of a survey into some 7,500 casual gaming adults. The results found that 70 percent believed that the games had some educational value, 68 percent believed they helped improve hand-eye coordination and manual dexterity, and 48 percent found positive benefits with cognitive exercise aspects of the games.

Almost a third of the respondents had children or grandchildren who played games in their home, and 80 percent of those play with their progeny. A resounding 92 percent of those thought that playing casual games together helped them bridge the generation gap and bond with the youngsters.

Psychologist Carl Arinoldo, author of Smart Parenting, commented, "Casual games span generations and genders in ways that traditional 'hardcore' video games never have... Casual games seem to promote more of a cooperative 'let's work on this together' type of atmosphere, as opposed to an aggressive, interpersonal competitive environment."

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