The 10 Best Games for Non-Gamers

You love games. Awesome, we do as well. But a lot of people don’t, and the elitism that surrounds our beloved medium isn’t doing anybody any favors. Let’s do something about that.

Those who say they don’t enjoy video games just haven’t been guided to the correct one yet. No, your mom won’t enjoy the soul-stomping difficulty of Demon’s Souls. Your co-worker doesn’t want to partake in a three-hour raid, slamming hotkeys to earn the magical shield of mystical magic +10. Don't overwhelm these nervous adventurers with games incompatible with their skill levels. Remember, you have to crawl before you can walk.

These games aren't “baby games" by any means. They just tend to downplay the importance of reflexes, or they have other elements of broader appeal. So come with us, non-gamer, and don’t be scared.

We want to share our hobby with you.

With characters so cute your head will explode, Media Molecule’s platformer is a great option for those looking to avoid guts and gore. Sure, some of the later levels can get difficult, but with co-op capabilities and thousands of (often simple) user-created levels available for free online, the content well won’t dry up any time soon.

You can also dress up your character, “Sackboy,” in tons of different themed costumes. How awesome is that?

In the modern PC landscape of complex role-playing games and pixel-pumping military shooters, Minecraft is derivative in all the right ways. It’s cheap, it’s easy for outdated computers to run, and it’s only as difficult as you want it to be. Rather than overwhelming the player with confusing objectives or a tedious plot, Minecraft says, “Here are some digital LEGOS. Go build something incredible.”

Be cautious, though. After introducing a friend to this game, she stayed up until 3 a.m. several days in a row working on a grand castle with waterfalls, glass domes and a tree-filled courtyard. That’s the power of Minecraft. And Mountain Dew.

Fingers? Check. Tons of useless trivia knowledge in your noggin? Check. Ability to maintain your composure even though you don’t know the capital of Texas? Check. Congratulations! You are capable of playing the Buzz series.

Seriously, though, if you have a friend who’s afraid of reflex-based gameplay, look no further. Just make sure you know how many Oscars Alfred Hitchcock won.

The answer is none. There, I saved you some time.

“What happened to those old, two-button Nintendo controllers?”

That’s what my mother said the first time I handed her an Xbox 360 controller. Some people are absolutely afraid of buttons, and for that reason, Dance Central nudges past Rock Band and Guitar Hero for the rhythm game spot on this list.

Dance Central ventures in a bold new direction, eliminating all of that “What’s the punch button, again?” frustration. You stand in front of a Kinect and dance. That’s it. Throw in tons of popular, modern songs and a robust tutorial mode to ease in beginners, and you’ve got a cool, casual cure to button-phobia.

We’ve all been obsessed with a game. We’ve joined forums to discuss - in intricate detail - the ins-and-outs of the latest updates. We’ve spent hours staring at a screen, making sure everything is just perfect. When our parents started doing this, too, I knew Farmville had reached well into the casual audience.

After claiming a tiny plot of land, you grow crops, raise animals and build a home. And it’s not as though you actually need to find extra time to play this game – you already sign in to Facebook, oh, 73 times each day.

You (hopefully) already know how to eat, bathe and use the restroom; why not give it a shot in a virtual world where the consequences of personal neglect are less nasty?

The Sims 3 is a god-game, and guess who gets to play god? Yeah, you. Want to make somebody wear a leather vest, zebra-striped shorts, bright green socks and hipster glasses? Sure, why not? Want to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a luxurious manor? Hell yeah you do. This game lets you mess with your avatar’s life instead of potentially harming your own, and everyone – gamer or not – can surely find some fun in that.

Everybody is familiar with sports, and everybody knows how to swing their arms. Pair this game with an affordable console with a cute name and you’ve got a combination even your grandmother can enjoy.

Wii Sports features a competent variety of sports mini-games, including bowling, golf, tennis and baseball. Watch out for your ego, though. You’d be surprised how often seven-year-olds will utterly destroy you. Rage face: activated.

Racing doesn’t have to be complicated. You shouldn’t have to tweak your chassis or concern yourself with aerodynamics before enjoying a few (dozen) races against your friends. Mario Kart embraces this purity, and it’s all the better for doing so.

Mario Kart’s gameplay is simple; entirely absent are complex drafting mechanics or pit crews waiting to change tires every five minutes. It also gives less experienced gamers a chance to turn the tides with some game-changing pick-ups. The lightning bolt shrinks other players, allowing you to flatten them with ease. And if you have a cocky friend in first place, well, a blue shell will shut him up with haste.

Cheap, charming, and accessible, Angry Birds soars past the competition for the top spot on our list.

The premise is simple: pigs are evil, and you must hurl various birds at their structures until they’re all bacon. The gameplay is quick and lends itself perfectly to “five minutes of fun and then I’m done” mobile gaming.

Beware, though, Angry Birds is a gateway game. At first you’ll make quick progress, completing levels two, five, or ten at a time. Then you’ll begin to feel it – that “completionist itch" that gamers know all too well. Suddenly those one - and two- star scores will seem pretty ugly, and you’ll maddeningly prod your screen for hours in hopes of earning a fabled three-star score.

Welcome to gaming.