Play at home with simple things

Esports at home

The family's own device and an age-appropriate game chosen by a parent; practice with a purpose, fair play and breaks.

4 cards at home 1 for the club

What should we practise today?

Tell us where you are and who is playing. You get one card and the reason.

Where are you?

Who is playing?

Start a session

New to esports? The game in a minute

Read this once before the first card.

The sport in short: Esports means playing video games as a sport, alone or in a team, against other players. Every game has its own rules: there are sports games, strategy games, fighting games, racing games and team shooting games.
How a match is won: It depends on the game: more goals or points, winning more rounds, or reaching or destroying the other team's base first. Competitions are often played as "best of 3": the first player or team to win 2 games wins the match.
Rules children break first: Agree the stopping time before play starts, and stop when it comes.
Play online only with people the family knows; no chat with strangers.
No spending money in a game without a parent.
Say "good game" at the end, win or lose.
At home you practise how to practise: Short sessions with one clear aim, in the game's practice mode; staying calm and fair with team-mates; and breaks, sleep and movement around play. These cards work for any game.

Words you will hear (13, in plain language)

Practice mode: A part of a game where you play alone, with no opponents, to practise one thing.
Session: One block of practice or play, with a start and an end time.
Aim: The one thing a player decides to work on in a session, said before it starts.
Round: A round is one part of a game; a match is the whole contest, which may be several rounds or games.
Best of 3: The first to win 2 games wins the match.
Map: The place in a game where play happens.
Role: The job a player has in a team game, such as defending or attacking.
Team-mate: A team-mate plays on your side; an opponent plays against you.
Losing streak: Losing several games in a row.
Good game: What players say or type at the end of a match to show respect.
Genre: The kind of game, such as a racing game or a strategy game.
Feedback: What tells you how an attempt went; in a game, often the score or the result on screen.
Screen break: Time away from the screen, moving and resting the eyes.

Try it, nothing to buy

Mark the space once. Every card starts from it.

The cards, level by level

Nobody is late. A beginner of any age starts at Basic.

Basic 2 cards · show· hide The child plays one game, learns its controls at a slow pace and keeps play balanced with sleep, movement and school. Esports has no tested skill ladder yet, so this level is a sensible starting point, not a proven one.

Move on when the child sets an aim before 3 sessions in a row and stops on time on 4 of 5 days.

Intermediate 2 cards · show· hide Practice that looks like the real game: the same actions and information as a real match, changed a little every round so the child learns to read the situation. This way of practising has not yet been tested in studies.

Move on when the child names one change that improved a result in 3 sessions in a row.

Advanced 1 cards · show· hide What a player learns next depends on the game; a club or team coach sets it. There is no published ladder for this level.

a1 Coaching at a club or team At a club what the coach teaches, what to ask

Teaching this at home

A ball, a wall, a bat or a board. Most of the learning fits a room or a lane.

You do not need to know the sport. Each card tells you where to stand, what to say and what to look at. Pick one thing to say in a session and say only that. The first week looks messy; that is normal. End every session on one that works.

Cards marked At a club are taught by a coach. They tell you what the coach teaches, what is safe at home, and what to ask the club before your child joins.

How to warm up before playing is at workonfitness.com. The rules of the game are at sportsmaze.com.