You know that feeling when you have been working all day or studying for the exam and just need to take a break? People will tell you that you shouldn't play video games during your breaks since they will ruin your concentration later on.
But what should you then? Go out and watch birds? No thanks.
I've searched Google and Reddit for games that are free to play and don't take too much emotional investment in order to be able to just blow some steam (no pun intended) and go back to work without losing much focus.
I've found these top 5 solutions and most of them are on Steam platform and all are free to play.
5. World of Tanks
An awesome game that works without Steam platform and is basically MMO game where you just login, play a match, finish it up and go back to work. Simple, quick, and a fun way to take your mind of things. And when you have a little bit more time, you can spend it upgrading your tanks and chatting with an awesome community.
4. Warframe
Free to play on Steam, Warframe is another MMO game where you play the role of an alien who solves intergalactic missions alone or with cooperation of another players online. I have tried out some co-op missions and they are awesome since there is a lot of teamwork involved. You get to use cool weapons like katana swords, guns, rifles, bow and arrows, etc.
Another cool thing about the Warframe is that in order to make one of many upgrades to your weapons and your character, you need a material called platinum. As you might guess, it is quite rare and can be bought with a real money except for the fact that you can trade your goods that you've looted in your missions with other players on the market in exchange for that platinum. So by just practicing your entrepreneurial skills, you can become premium user without giving them any real money at all. I've met a player who buys certain goods and sells them at a higher price between the missions.
3. StarBreak
Although Warframe is good, it can still cause you to lose your track of time and turn that 10 min break into an entire hour. So the final top 3 contestants are just perfect for those 10 minute breaks.
StarBreak is easy to play 2D action game where you just need to login on Steam and play, usually with coordination of other players in order to defeat enemies that gradually become more difficult. You can level up and work with different upgrades, but it's all very easy to work with and requires no hard work. Levels are created in an arcade games style and you won't feel too much invested in them.
2. Hearthstone
Have you ever played those Yu-Gi-Oh card games? Well, this game has the same concept of playing. You have a deck of cards at your disposal and each card has a monster painted on it with two values, one for attack and one for health. Basically if your card has a higher value then the opponent's one, you will destroy it, therefore winning the round when you deplete the opponent's health.
You can get new cards as a reward or buy them with a real money. This game is created by Blizzard so that should tell you a lot about it's quality. This also means it can't be found on Steam, but you should go directly to Blizzards website.
I've found out quickly how awesome it is to just jump and play a couple of rounds between my study sessions. Since it is basically a card game, it won't bug you much after you finish up with your break, and your mind will be rested. There is also an app for your phone, so you can connect it and play it without a computer.
1. Brawlhalla
My number one choice here is this awesome 2D action packed multiplayer match game. You have a heroes and you fight in the arena that is always some sort of elevated ground, and the player that gets pushed off the ground loses. You can play it in matches like 1 on 1, 2 on 2 and other combinations.
It is basically cartoon Mortal Combat - like multiplayer game. What I really liked about it was how quickly it was to connect and play. If you install Steam on your computer you are basically logged in as soon as you enter the game. My computer isn't fast at all and yet this game loads super fast.
All in all, it takes me less than a minute to log in, play couple of rounds, have fun for 6, 7 minutes and go back to work like nothing even happened.
Tell me if you liked playing any of these games, and if you have your own list it would be nice to share and help us all stay productive and have fun at the same time.
Also, this is my frist article on this platform, so it would be very very helpful if you would follow me or even share this article.
Cheers!
Nice article! You may also be interested in my post about productivity. I wrote a lot about procrastination and how to stop it (with great apps and videos): https://steemit.com/life/@jagarmarten/4zutyp-make-productivity-great-again
Thanks, I'll check it out :)
Hearthstone is pretty pay to win my dude, not very friendly for beginners either. Still, nice article!
Thank you! Yes unfortunately it is like that, but there are a lot of players who use regular cards, so it is still a good option when taking a little break from work, at least for me :)
Agreed if you enjoy the game with the basic cards then just keep playing and you'll get better cards. You may never be the best, but if you're just using it for breaks who cares? Thanks for the recommendations.
You are welcome :)