A great alternative to console games is to look at the retro games of the 1980’s and the 1990’s, like Space Invaders. Space Invaders is perhaps the most iconic arcade game ever made; simple easy to understand, and great to play. Really, you look at the games produced nowadays, and many of them are fantastic games, but the level of game play is not much better than what you’d find when playing a game like Space Invaders. Space Invaders is a game which can be begun by anybody, of any age, without any concern for them being too young for it. It is a very engaging game, which lots of people are totally willing to play for extended periods of time.

The game itself is very simple: You play a machine which fires shots up at a number of rows of ‘space invaders’, and the occasional individual one. For each one you hit, you get points, and if you shoot all of them, you advance to the next level. They are constantly moving from one side of the screen to the other, and every time they reach the end, they move down one space. Should they reach the point where they are below where you can shoot them, you lose. While playing the game, you also have to contend with the occasional shot back at you. Luckily, you do have some battlements which you can hide under, but they can be whittled down by your own shots, and by the shots of your enemies.