While now we call them video games, a phrase that sort of doesn’t make sense when we sit down to think about it, the first gamers threw around a couple of alternative names, including "TV game" and "television game," but these were too close to reality TV, so ultimately, to this day, video games reigns supreme. 

Of course, the hobby is so ubiquitous that nowadays, if someone was to say just “gaming,” it’s quite likely that the vast majority of listeners would just assume they are talking about video games. In the same sense, a gamer, unless another adjective is added, is thought to be a person who is a pretty intense fan of PC, console, or mobile games. 

Still, if all these definitions are getting confusing, you wouldn’t be alone. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers from California had to rule that "at a bare minimum, video games appear to require some level of interactivity or involvement between the player and the medium." Simply put, if you passively consume a piece of media, like a book, music, or film, it’s simply not a game. How “choose your own adventure” books fit into this scheme is unclear. 

However, “What is a video game” barely scratches the surface when it comes to terminology. Even the most casual gamer knows that discussing or reading about gaming means delving into an ocean of lingo that might border on unhinged for an outside observer. Genre names, “first-person shooter,” “RPG with tactical elements,” and “Metroidvania platformer” all attempt to sort the variety of experiences out there, with carrying success. 

Of course, a true gamer somehow keeps track and can probably debate and define all of these concepts with some ability. With a somewhat pejorative meaning, some linguists believe that the origin of the term “gamer” comes from “gambler”, and can be traced back to the 15th century, when the town of Walsall, England, passed laws against "any dice-player, carder, tennis player, or other unlawful gamer".

In the modern era, the term was used interchangeably with fans of board games, wargames, and even the granddaddy of role-playing, the original Dungeons and Dragons. These days, it is an exclusive term for fans of video games, and to describe the others one will have to add a descriptive adjective and a noun, i.e. a board-game fan, instead of a board-gamer. 

In the United States, the majority of gamers are under 50, although within this group the demographics are quite well distributed. So it’s just as likely that a 7-year-old considers themselves a gamer as a 27-year-old. In general, at least half of US adults have played a video game at some point in their lives. And despite old-fashioned stereotypes, the gender ratio in gaming is about equal as well, however, men are more likely to self-identify as gamers. 

Unlike fans of other mediums, gamers sometimes set themselves apart due to the fact that their hobby involves “accomplishing” or “finishing” a piece of media. A particularly hard game could take months to master and beat, while multiplayer is an ongoing arts race of mastery and strategy. Yes, long films might be a tough nut to crack for a novice cinephile, but gamers can measure their “accomplishments” in days and weeks, not hours. 

While this might sound a bit silly to an outsider, top gamers, according to one 2020 study, have been shown to have equal mental fortitude to Olympic athletes. This means the ability to focus and concentrate for a long period of time on a task without letting outside distractions interfere. Gamers also have very refined hand-eye coordination, pattern recognition skills, and the ability to identify problems quickly.