As it turns out, Iowa is a big fan of gaming, according to a recently held survey. In the countrywide quiz, 31% of Iowa-based respondents said that they played video games every single day. A further 39% even admitted to playing games whilst they were on the toilet. Although we won’t be casting any judgement over Iowa’s game-playing habits, we certainly will be looking at the games that made it to the top of the charts as Iowa’s favorites. So, without further ado, here are the games that Iowa loves more than any others.
Casino Games
First on the list are casino games. Iowa is home to plenty of people who enjoy playing online casino games, including roulette and slots. For this article, we’ll put land based and online games all under the same umbrella of ‘casino games’. There are some states where online casino games aren’t allowed, so Iowa is more unique in this love for them than you might think. What with the recent announcement that one particular Iowa-based casino will be staying open, the enjoyment of online casino games has spilled over into the ‘real world’ as well.
Super Mario Brothers
In terms of all-time favorite games, there are a lot of contenders across the US. Grand Theft Auto and Pokémon rank highly, but in Iowa there’s nothing that can beat the mushroom-jumping, princess-saving joy of Super Mario Brothers. It turns out that Iowans can’t get enough of the loveable Italian plumber and it’s not hard to see why. This game has been hugely popular for decades, so a lot of the newer releases don’t have time on their side quite like Mario does.
Minecraft
Minecraft ranks highly all over the US and, in fact, in this survey it was the out and out winner for every single state. The game owes its success to its enormous, in fact, endless, open-world format, as well as the ability to play exactly how you please. Some people enjoy building gigantic houses, some enjoy sending hundreds of marauding chickens out into the world. Minecraft allows players to flex their creativity and free their imaginations, so it’s no bad thing that it’s stolen the top spot this year.
Fortnite
Another game that scored very highly across the board was Fortnite. This game has been around for a little while now but its popularity really sky-rocketed over the past three years. Nowadays the ‘Fortnite Dance’ has become famous on TikTok, and gamers spend hours watching one another playing on Twitch. Maybe it’s a craze, maybe it’s the new Super Mario, only time will tell but one thing is for sure: Iowans can’t get enough of it, placing it second on the list.
Fallout
Fallout is a game that has fallen out of favour in a lot of states this year, but for Iowa it’s still very playable. Iowa has the 10th highest number of Fallout players overall, so if there ever is nuclear fallout, you know where the best bunkers are going to be at, maybe? The combination of cartoon characters and sheer terror is an unusual one, but weirdly it works. It’s been three years since the last game was released, so we’ve got our fingers crossed for a new one soon.
Battlefield
Another game where Iowa has the 10th highest player rate is Battlefield. This series started back in 2002 with Battlefield 1942 and several instalments later we’ve made it one hundred years into the future all the way to 2042, a game which was released just recently. It seems as though having a good few versions of the game is a sure-fire way to make your way up the rankings. It doesn’t hurt to win a few awards either, and Battlefield has earned many.
