When an individual watches someone play a game and remarks on every other move either positively or negatively, this is known as backseat gaming. There was a time when gaming meant that your siblings will sit next to you and tell you how bad you were playing and by doing certain things you could improve your game.
However, now things have changed with the arrival of streaming sites and the very famous YouTube. Now, not only your siblings but millions of other people can also comment on your gameplay. They can help you play better and even annoy you to the extent that you end up losing.
If you don’t know much about backseat gaming meaning or who a backseat gamer is, let me explain you with an example. Suppose you are reading a novel and there are hundreds of people sitting next to you. Those people are not just staring at you but continuously interrupting and telling you to skip 15 pages because there is a murder on page 16. Would you like it? In short, backseat gaming is annoying and backseat gamers are a bunch of people who spoil the fun.
The real fun in games lies in discovering each and every step yourself, even if you fail a hundred times. Backseat gaming spoils everything. Getting to your desired goal all by yourself gives so much satisfaction. And trust me; it’s much better to see a streamer/Youtuber work hard to achieve a goal. If you are a backseat gamer then you should know that the one playing the game understands your point of view but prefers to follow their own way. Believe me, your method can be good but not always fun. You know what, Backseat gaming gets extremely maddening when the backseat gamer just can’t stop nagging.
Tips for the culprits
If you are one of those who can’t stop themselves from watching others play, then follow a few tips. The first and the foremost tip is to make sure you distract yourself as much as possible. Open an article and start reading it or you can browse your phone and go down a memory lane. Moreover, if you find it difficult to distract yourself then it’s best to entirely leave the room.
In case you think you are not backseat gaming and literally wants to help the gamer then it’s recommended to do it in a positive way. Take their permission first, if they are willing to take your help only then you can offer them your knowledge. All the backseat gamers should know that they make the gamer anxious hence resulting in poor gameplay.
Tips for the victims
Tired of people spoiling your gameplay? Here’s what you can do, the best thing is to block them out completely. There are not playing the game, they don’t know your moves, and they just don’t understand it. If you are not going to block them out, you are going to be left annoyed. Backseat gamers claim that every success of the gamer is due to their help and every failure occurred because the gamer didn’t follow their direction. It’s best to stop listening to them. Besides that what you can do is, stop playing until they are gone. I know it’s difficult but for the sake of your sanity, you have to take this strict step.
People just need to understand that there are times when their assistance is useful and then the other time they should realize that their help is not needed. All the backseat gamers should take a step back and let individuals enjoy and explore their game on their own.