The gaming habits of men and women have plenty of similarities and differences. According to a report, all gamers chose strategy games as their favorite on PCs, consoles, and mobile devices. However, women tend to enjoy a broader genre of games, especially where there's a captivating backstory.
Since women love nature and animals more than men, many female gamers prefer farming/home/nature genres with emotional and psychological depth and the opportunity to explore beautiful landscapes.
Put gender bias aside, and you'll realize that the games some women play come down to choice and taste. So, what casual PC games do women often play?
Cooking Games
Of course, many women love relaxing, creating mouth-watering dishes, and inviting friends over to some kitchen chaos. The palatable world of cooking and restaurant games brings all this into the pixel world.
Unlike the real world, players don't need to be good cooks or seasoned chefs. However, playing these games improves cooking skills because players discover ingredients that work well together to create tasty dishes.
Some popular cooking games include:
- Overcooked: Prepare, cook, and serve dishes within the time limit before your guests storm out. Overcooked has several difficulty levels depending on the kitchen's layout, and players are ranked on a star system.
- Cooking Fever: As an interactive arcade game, Cooking Fever is based in a restaurant and tests time management skills. Serve food to accumulate coins for upgrading kitchens and buying new restaurants.
- Diner Dash: In this cooking game, you seat guests, take orders, prepare the dishes, serve, and wait as they enjoy eating. Finally, you clear the plates and collect payment.
Farming Games
Something is rewarding about the repetitive nature of tilling a field, planting, and witnessing a slow payoff as crops grow. Even in front of a computer screen, you achieve a harmonious state with nature. Farming games vary in genre and gameplay, but the objective often entails getting your hands dirty.
Farming games are either single-player (between the protagonist and local characters) or multi-player, where you can create something with loved ones.
Some PC farming games women play casually are:
- Exotic Farm: This is not a typical farming simulation game as it's full of rare, extraordinary creatures in a virtual world resembling a paradise. The setting ranges from South America's lush rainforests to the Arctic's icy tundra. Play Exotic Farm to discover and breed magnificent creatures for a farm and a world-renowned attraction.
- Zoo 2: Animal Park: In this game, you have various animals to care for, including chimpanzees, foxes, pandas, elephants, and bunnies. The objectives entail building paths and enclosures. Each level unlocks new customization options to turn the zoo of your dreams into reality.
- Stardew Valley: Many gamers rank Stardew Valley amongst the best well-balanced farming games. After inheriting the farm from a late grandfather, the protagonist moves to Pelican Town to groom the farm, make friends (with magical creatures and maybe lovers), and revitalize the town.
Visual Novels
In many video game genres, developers focus more on the gameplay while other aspects take the back seat. However, the visual novels provide a stellar narrative to make up for the little they have in stunning graphics or interactivity. Visual novels are designed to move the players' emotions, whether through a cozy or horror story.
Some notable visual novels include:
- VA-11 Hall-A: This game offers unmatched cyberpunk bartender action in an apocalyptic setting. As a bartender, you mix drinks for interesting characters while listening to their stories. There are no penalties for incorrectly mixing drinks, making the game stress-free.
- Heart of the Woods: A combination of fantasy and supernatural elements to deliver an unmatched lesbian love story. In a village known as Eysenfeld, a vlogger and her editor form a bond while investigating paranormal activities.
- Doki Doki Literature Club: The plot focuses on loveable characters, gorgeous artwork, a beautiful soundtrack, and poetry. The Japanese game takes a shocking turn about halfway through and reigns horror on the players.
Platform Games
In the late '90s to early '00s, the PC was seen as a wasteland by platform games. Thankfully, console gamers are not the only ones who currently enjoy platformers, as the last decade has seen a digital explosion of these games. Today, women can enjoy a solid list of platform games for PCs, including 3D sandboxes and 2D sidescrollers.
Some platform games that women play include:
- Minecraft: This PC game comprises blocks, creatures, and society. Build fantastic creations with the blocks, befriend or battle the creatures, and embark on epic adventures alone or with other players.
- Super Meat Boy: Players must steer the heroic Meat Boy through treacherous obstacles using only a jump and a grab. The classic retro aesthetics defined it as an outstanding indie game with massive worldwide influence to this day!
- Pizza Tower: This fast-paced platformer with a '90s cartoon art style requires you to explore different levels to unearth secrets, rescue ingredient friends, and escape alive from a restaurant on the brink of annihilation. Peppino is the protagonist and owner of the pizzeria.
Puzzles
At their core, puzzles challenge players to find solutions to different problems, such as navigating booby traps in ancient settings or fitting the correct blocks into a gap. Puzzle games are a mainstay in PC gaming as they encompass classics, adventures, and even aliens in space!
Gitnux reveals that about 49% of female gamers prefer puzzles as their favorite, and these are some popular games in the genre:
- Candy Crush: As a Match 3 game, the objective is to make a row or column of candies with matching colors. The matching candies are eliminated and replaced by new ones; create more matches and proceed to higher levels.
- Homescapes: Players help Austin, who's returning to his run-down childhood mansion to restore it, to complete various matching puzzles. The gameplay involves playing mini-games, putting up room decorations, and interacting with characters.
- The Sims: The PC version lacks a defined goal since it's a sandbox game, but the console versions have different gameplays. The player creates the "Sims" (virtual people) and controls their lives, including mundane activities, desires, and a virtual dating world.
Do you agree with our list, or do you feel your favorite game was not mentioned? Reach out now and let us know.