Growing up in the age of classic gaming was limiting, it was slow, and it was also sometimes frustrating. As we all know, as gamers, these small obstacles could never really stop us from digging for co-op joy from the titles we love. So what if we didn't have the internet, the games we owned didn't support split screen, or if we only had one controller or keyboard? The answer, as the title might have given away, was the glory of hotseat gaming.
For anyone born after the golden era of hotseat gaming, the term gets its name from the not-entirely lovely idea of a literally warm seat. This is when people switch between one set of controls for turn-based gameplay, often in a single chair. The collective body heat makes the seat ‘hot’, as you both make your moves and learn too much about the other’s relative body temperature.
It's also worth noting that co-op play in hotseat isn't always from official game modes, it can also come from people switching turns in single-player games between rounds. This is surprisingly common today in more contemporary entertainment, like in online free slots casino games. In these bonus slots, players can take turns between rounds, or spins in this case, both competing to see who is luckier while working together for a shared goal. This was also the case in video games, where we’d switch between lives in games like Doom or Super Metroid.
Back in the old days, hotseat gaming was as much of a necessity as a choice. Computer and console gaming wasn't as ubiquitous as it is today, and the hardware power to make games active co-op was lacking. There's no doubt that hotseat was and is less convenient than many other options, but there's joy in this too.
By playing in a hotseat all players are equally engaged not just in the victories or failures of their friends, but in how these victories and failures are achieved. The Worms series is especially famous and fantastic in this regard. Each round you watch your friend make a bad move, run out the timer with clumsy movement, and eventually blow themselves up in the panic. You can’t experience this feeling as intimately with other types of co-op, and it’s a part of gaming we really miss.
Don’t get us wrong, there is still hope for the future in games like the upcoming Civ 7, but the golden age of being forced to play cooperatively is now firmly behind us. The only solution seems to be in our hands, where we purposely ignore online options to hang out in person and play the old-school hotseat way. It might be outdated and unnecessary, but there's nothing that makes the most convenient option the most enjoyable.
"Worms Reloaded" (CC BY 2.0) by GeekShadow
At its core, hotseat gaming is a pursuit that cuts to the core of what cooperative play represents. It’s not just about achieving the same goal, it’s about sharing the same mood, and celebrating and joking with your friends as you succeed or fail. If you haven’t already, try it out, keep your phone away between rounds, and you might be surprised just how much this approach has to offer.
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