Did you know gamers spend 3 BILLION hours a week playing? Imagine if we used those problem-solving skills for real-world challenges! At [Not] Bored Games, we're all about making play more meaningful. What global issue would YOU turn into a game?
I'm stuck on a level in Zelda: Breath of the Wild. After spending way too much time trying to beat it, I started feeling guilty—like maybe I was wasting my time. But then, I watched Jane McGonigal’s TED Conferences, and everything flipped. She said something that blew my mind: Gamers spend 3 billion hours a week playing online—but that’s not even close to what we need to solve the world’s biggest problems. Sounds crazy, right? But here’s the thing: games are teaching us some pretty amazing skills—like how to stay optimistic when things get tough, how to build strong social connections, how to collaborate, and how to find joy in hard work. What if we could take all those hours spent gaming and use them to tackle real-world challenges? That’s exactly what Jane and her team at the Institute for the Future are doing with games like World Without Oil (2007) or Evoke (2010). They’re using the power of play to spark solutions for issues like climate change and social innovation. That idea that games could do more than entertain is why we created [Not] Bored Games. Inspired by pioneers like Jane McGonigal, we’re crafting games that turn those hours into meaningful, real-world skills that could serve a bigger purpose. We're still in the early stages, but games' potential drives us. So, if you could turn any global problem into a game, what would it be? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Let’s play more—and maybe, just maybe, we’ll end up changing the world. Check out the full TED Talk on the link below:
