Gaming on the go has never been easier or more entertaining, with almost endless options available if you want to stave off boredom with some interactive fun while you are travelling.
There are some obstacles to overcome as a mobile gamer, so here are some pieces of advice to take onboard if you want the smoothest experience.
Bring a charger & battery pack
Modern smartphones and laptops suffer from the unavoidable fact that battery tech has been somewhat stagnant for some time, and whether you are a fan of playing triple A multiplayer titles or games on live casino sites, any kind of activity like this will slurp down a lot of electricity.
The obvious answer is to make sure that you have your charger with you wherever you go, even if you do not think that you will need it. With modern fast charging tech you can bring your battery back up to full in under an hour, but to avoid any kind of emergencies it is better to keep your device plugged in while gaming so that it is topped up rather than drained.
Also worth packing is a backup battery pack, which will be necessary if you find yourself in a place without a mains power socket for you to charge your gaming device with. There are lots of options on the market at the moment, some of which have high enough capacities to handle several charges in a row. This can be the ultimate travel accessory for gamers, particularly those who want to go to very isolated areas. Even a camping trip can be improved with multiple gaming sessions if you have a battery pack in your rucksack.
Take security seriously
Whether your portable gaming device of choice is an iPhone, a Nintendo Switch or a laptop, the unavoidable reality is that all of these products are going to be appealing targets for thieves. This means that vigilance is important and you should choose to play only in places where you feel that it is safe to do so.
For example, while it is fine to sit in an airport lounge and have a quick session of your current game of choice, it is best to avoid doing the same thing when you are wandering back from a bar in some far-flung place late at night. If in doubt, keep your costly kit out of sight.
Gamers also need to take digital security seriously while travelling. You can play over public Wi-Fi hotspots, for example, but never sign in to services which might leave your personal data exposed to malicious third parties. Security on connections shared by others is questionable at the best of times and it is not worth risking it all for a brief burst of online play.
Wear headphones
If you want to be an upstanding representative of gaming as a culture, then you should endeavour to avoid disturbing other people around you when you are playing while out and about.
Sure, it is not always convenient to wear headphones or earbuds while you are gaming on your mobile, laptop, tablet or portable console, but this is much more preferable than turning an entire train carriage or plane full of people into enemies by blasting out the in-game audio through the device’s built in speakers.
Indeed most modern games have incredible soundtracks and audio effects that are worth experiencing through headphones anyway, and by choosing wireless Bluetooth units like the noise-cancelling Bose 700, you can actually make things better for yourself as well as the people around you.