it seems the craze for gaming has hit the city residents so much so that most cafes which used to serve nothing more than coffee and snacks until recently are now doubling up as gaming zones and youngsters who used to spend most of their time in the comforts of their homes are now making a beeline for these cafes to play the most talked about games be it playstation or xbox kinect or tabletop games like chess backgammon yahtzee or poker a few youngsters in the city get talking about this newfound love for gaming over a cup of coffeesnack n play chitchatting with friends for a long time can at times get boring but now games at these cafes keep us engaged and there is no room for boredom while we wait for our food we now have access to a variety of snacks and games and is worth every penny shelled out sometimes we finish our food and then head to the game zone or sip on a favourite drink while trying to solve a puzzle says vandana sekhar an engineering graduatefreedom from home for the majority gaming at cafes is an escape from books and parents joshua varghis a plus two student and a regular gamer says i love playing games nonstop for over two hours without any interruption and that is just not possible if i am playing at home so i head to a caf insteadno virtual friends for ashar ashraf an undergraduate student playing online games with virtual opponents is not his cup of tea online or mobile games wont give you the privilege of watching your opponent lose the game but when you are with friends you are competing with real gamers and that takes the gaming experience to a whole new level unlike the online games the pcs at these cafes are interconnected if your opponent is sitting right opposite to you it is so much fun to watch their expression says asharfor the explorers siddhi mahajankatti a student was oblivious of the indefinite number of indoor games until her visit to a game cafe i was surprised to see the endless number of games now i spend most of my free time learning new games when it is something that is completely new to me i seek assistance from the staff who are not only enthusiastic about serving food but even play with me when i am not accompanied by a friend she saysgirls are game too if you thought these cafes are frequented mostly by boys you stand corrected girls too are regulars and are hooked on motion games and not board games boys have the wrong notion that it is tough for girls to play a boys game like the fifa series or call on duty quips anagha sudheer an engineering student and adds we prefer motion gaming systems to play dance games and even boxing laser tags which is the latest gaming system in kerala too