At Pace, time management is crucial. With numerous clubs, sports and other outside responsibilities, many students choose to spend their free periods doing homework or studying. When their work is done, however, what is a student supposed to do? For many in the Upper School, playing games is the answer.
In a small survey of Upper School students, 56.3% said they play games on their computers at school. Though the amount these games are played varied between students, many shared a liking of classic games such as chess and Snake. “It’s fun to do The New York Times’ crossword to test my knowledge of current events and popular culture,” said senior Allison Silverboard. Others prefer more collaborative games like Fireboy and Watergirl or Skribl.io, and a few mentioned using the well-known website Cool Math Games. “It’s fun to have a quick break from school to play a bit of games at school,” said freshman Marco Juarez.
While computer games are popular at Pace, it seems that apps are even more popular, as 90.6% of surveyed students reported playing games on their phones at school. The most frequently named game on this list was Clash Royale, followed by Brawl Stars and Wordle. Speaking of Wordle, 71.9% of the students surveyed said they play at school, and a separate 50% said they play a variation of it (Wordle, Quordle, Nerdle, etc.) at school. The game, which boasts over 300,000 daily players, has become one of the fastest-growing games of the year and has seen some popularity in the Pace community.
So, when it comes down to it, why do students like playing these games at school? Answers to this question ranged from being bored to just wanting to avoid doing homework, but the most common response might have been the simplest: it’s just fun. There’s no doubt that spending your free periods studying is a good idea. After all, it does build good academic habits and could benefit you in the future. However, taking a break can help you unwind, which might prove to be even more beneficial to your studies. At the end of the day, you don’t need to justify everything you do in your spare time. Sometimes it’s worth it to find a comfortable chair and play some Trivia Crack.