6 Popular Online Games

Connecting with your teenager can be hard when you struggle to find a conversation topic that both of you can relate to. Since gaming is a common pastime of youths these days, why not try striking up a conversation about online games?

In this article, TOUCH Cyber Wellness sheds light on six trending online games to help you better understand the games your child may be playing. Perhaps you and your child would have an interesting conversation topic to bond over after this!

1. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
   
   Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (also known as CS:GO) is a multiplayer, team-based First-Person Shooter game, or FPS in short. The game splits players into two teams, the Terrorists and the Counter-Terrorists.
   
   The objective of the game is to eliminate the opposing team with an array of guns while completing different tasks, depending on which team you are on. The Terrorists are to plant the bomb or to defend the hostages, while the Counter-Terrorists must prevent the bomb from being planted, defuse the bomb if it has been planted, or save the hostages.
   
   Players start off with an equal amount of in-game currency at the beginning and are rewarded with more in-game currency at the end of each round based on their individual performance. The rewards can be spent on more powerful guns and equipment to be used in subsequent rounds.
   
   
2. Defence of the Ancients 2
   
   Defence of the Ancients 2 (also known as Dota 2) is a team-oriented strategy game under the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) genre. It pits two teams of five players against each other.
   
   Players will pick their Heroes among the 115 playable characters and enter the game. The objective is to destroy the opposing team’s “Ancient” to win the game. The Heroes start off weak and need to get stronger through levelling up. Players can level up by spending more time playing the game to gain experience, participating in matches in the game, and purchasing in-game items to boost the Heroes’ abilities.
   
   
3. Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
   
   Hearthstone is a free-to-play online collectible card video game. In the game, players can choose to play as one of nine Heroes of the Warcraft series. They take turns to play cards from their customisable decks to cast spells, use weapons and abilities, or summon minions using their limited mana crystals – with the goal of reducing the opponent’s health to zero.
   
   Winning each match can earn players in-game gold and rewards in the form of new cards or other in-game prizes. Players can then buy packs of new cards through in-game gold or microtransactions to customise and improve their decks.
   
   Hearthstone features cross-platform play which allows players to be on any device such as laptops, smartphones or tablets to compete against each other. This in turn has caused Hearthstone to be popular, as players can access and play the game on the go without being restricted to the computer.
   
   
4. League of Legends
   
   League of Legends (also known as LoL) is a team-oriented strategy game and falls under the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena, or MOBA, genre. It blends the speed and intensity of a real-time strategy game with role playing game elements which makes it highly popular.
   
   In the game, players will start by choosing their character – or as the game calls it, Champion – from a wide range of options, each with their own unique strengths and abilities. The objective of the game is to destroy the opposing team’s “Nexus”, a structure which lies at the heart of a base protected by defensive structures.
   
   
5. Overwatch
   
   Overwatch is an objective-based, multiplayer online FPS game released in 2016 with much anticipation. It received universal acclaim from critics for its diverse appeal of each of its characters, bright cartoonish styles, and exciting gameplay.
   
   The game assigns players into two teams of six, with each player having the freedom to select from a roster of 26 playable Heroes. Each Hero has a unique style of play, and each takes on a different role: Offense, Defence, Tank, or Support.
   
   The objective of the game is to work as a team to secure and defend control points on a map or escort a cargo across the map in a limited amount of time. Within a match, players can switch between Heroes after being eliminated or by returning to their home base. The game is designed to encourage players to respond to the opposing team during a match by switching to Heroes that better “counter” the opponent’s strategies. The ever-changing flow of battle and numerous strategies draws many players into the game.
   
   
6. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG)
   
   Inspired by the 2000 Japanese film “Battle Royale”, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (also known as PUBG) is a multiplayer online battle royale game developed and published by PUBG Corporation.
   
   Each match starts with up to 100 players parachuting from a plane onto an island where they would need to scavenge for weapons to eliminate other players without getting eliminated themselves. As time passes, the available safe area of the game’s map will decrease in size, keeping players on the move and forcing encounters with opposing players until only one player or team remains.
   
   What makes each match unique and exciting is the element of randomness added to each round. These include the varying flight paths in each round as well as the non-specific location of equipment spread throughout the map. Not knowing what they will get or who they will encounter, coupled with adrenaline-packed combat, players are constantly absorbed and keep coming back for more.
   
   

Now that you know a little bit more about the online games that your child may be playing, get a conversation started with your child! You may ask them who their favourite characters are, what strategies they employed to level up, which equipment they are aiming to buy with in-game currency, or even try your hand at the game with your child – the possibilities are endless! Just remember, this is an opportunity to connect with your child and to get to know them better. So, keep an open mind, don’t be judgemental, and enjoy the bond that both of you are building.


TOUCH Cyber Wellness (TCW) is a pioneer and leading non-profit agency that champions cyber wellness and media literacy education in Singapore. Since 2001, TCW has reached more than 320 schools and one million youths, parents, educators and counsellors through its education, advocacy and intervention efforts.

Want to know more on the latest online trends that may be affecting your child? Need to speak with an expert on your child’s mobile device usage habits? Get in touch with TOUCH Cyber Wellness here!

For more articles on cyber wellness, check out notAnoobie.online, an online cyber wellness resource for parents by TOUCH Cyber Wellness and Singtel.