Some games have kudos that computer games have a hard time to match.
Telling people you play space invaders all night can have you banished to a corner of the staff room. But while defending earth from aliens will always be thankless, new breeds of game have appeared to earn the thinkers vote. Adventures, strategy games and caring for a computer pet, ring the cerebral sounds that make for a wholesome Xmas game. You set your villagers to work chopping trees, building houses and planting crops. You evolve your technology, build armaments or speculate with resources.