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Gaming can become so immersive that it can cause us to lose our awareness of our surroundings. With 3.2 billion gamers around the world1, which games are most likely to cause damage to the home?
We surveyed 1,000 people in the US and Australia to find out which games have caused the most damage to their homes or belongings.
Which games should you be more cautious about when playing at home? The top 10 games were identified by the study as:
1. Call of Duty – 33.90%
2. Fortnite- 29.80%
3. Indoor ball games – 25.60%
4. Minecraft- 25.30%
5. Outdoor ball games – 24.50%
6. Hide and Seek – 23.60%
7. Grand Theft Auto (any Edition) / Super Mario Kart (22.70%).
8. Pillow fight – 22.10%
9. Virtual reality games – 21.00%
10. Monopoly and games on Nintendo Wii – 20.4%
Call of Duty is the most destructive video game, with 33% of respondents (32.90%) reporting that they suffered accidental damage to their house and contents while playing the game. This is not surprising as Call of Duty is a first-person videogame. It’s easy to lose sight of your surroundings, spilling a glass of water, or lose control of your controller.
The top ten were dominated by video games, with nearly half of respondents reporting that they had caused accidental damage to their home through Fortnite (29.80%), Minecraft (25.30%), Grand Theft Auto (22.70%), and Super Mario Kart (22.70%). Virtual Reality games were also reported as causing accidental damage by one fifth of respondents (21.00%). This highlights the importance to ensure that you have the right space in your home before installing a VR headset.
But, playing physical games can be equally destructive to your home. Indoor ball games were ranked second (25.60%), and outdoor ball games (25.50%) was fifth. Hide and Seek (23.60%), despite not requiring any airborne objects, was also in the top ten. This highlights the importance of thinking before taking any actions in the home while playing games.
The average homeowner spends $477.34 to repair their home after damage from games. Nearly a third (32.1%) spends more than $200 to repair the damage. Unintentional holes in walls and ceilings (31.9%) and damage to mobile phones (31.10%), as well as broken ornaments, vases and mirrors (26.90 span>).
Oregon, the US state with the highest average damage cost is USD$1,114.30. This is almost three times the average American’s spending. AUD$1,043.44 is the highest amount spent by Australians on contents and home repairs as a result of gaming.
Adrian Taylor, Compare the Market General Manager of General Insurance commented on the research. “It can be very easy to lose sight of the physical environment when you are playing video games at home. No matter if the game is virtual or physical, our research shows that gamers must always be attentive and take precautions when playing. This includes moving ornaments out of harm’s path or attaching protective straps to their gaming controllers span>
“Unfortunately, accidents can happen so it is a good idea to have contents and home insurance in case of an emergency.” Insuring your contents and home can protect you from costly and unexpected damages span>
