Why People Cheat At Word Games

Like so many, I've become addicted to playing games on Facebook. What I started as an avenue to promote myself and my books has become a ball and chain around my ankle that keeps me uttering, "I'll play just one game and then I'll write," but unfortunately, one game turns into twelve and before I know it, I've wasted my whole day.

 I do manage to visit my favorite blogs and share them on FB, Google and Twitter, and I also go into Triberr and share all the posts of my tribemates, but other than that, I haven't even become the master of the games I play. I'm stuck on levels I can't pass, and I've recently discovered that lots of people who play choose to invest money to earn the boosts they need to progress. Even more shocking, THERE IS A CHEAT PAGE that divulges hints on how to move forward. I'm not going to resort to depleting my wallet, nor will I engage in cheating.

 Recently, I noticed that people I play on Words with Friends were coming up with words far more excelled than their usual mediocre offerings, and one person actually admitted to using the cheats. Out of curiosity, I've Googled the topic and was shocked to see how any "cheat sheets" are out there. I've done fine using my own mind, and I have to admit, that sometimes, I don't even know the meaning of words played...I look them up.  By playing and looking up words as I go, I can envision the need to cheat.  It's tough to create words out of crappy letters, but you either do or pass.

  Luckily, some one came up with the following explanation...which makes sense. As I don't play just for the winning, rather the diversion,I think I'll stick to playing an honest game.

Here's the explanation:   People cheat at word games for the same reason they cheat at anything, to win! The excitement and exhilaration of winning outweighs the ethical ramifications — especially when playing games. It is just, after all, game playing! According to Jamie Madigan, a gamer and blogger with a PhD in psychology, “people are more likely to cheat when they are anonymous and that they’ll cheat less the more they are connected to other gamers — the more, in other words, that they are known.” The beauty of online gaming is it can be just about as anonymous as you want. The other possible explanation, Madigan explains “is that people use an alternative account or profile when they cheat and they have fewer friends associated with that profile because it’s not their true identity.” If nobody really knows who you are to begin with, why care if they think you cheat? In a report by CNN, experts in psychology and ethics claim “whether on a scale large or small, by someone who’s in survival mode or who seemingly has it all, cheating is a frailty shared by all of us.” We lean towards the desire and elation of winning, rather than the pain and loss of losing. It is, therefore, just “human nature”. Winners stand out in the crowd. Look at the situation when rich and famous people cheat and get caught. Lance Armstrong, the 7 time winner of the Tour de France, who also bravely beat cancer, is still trying to justify why he did what he did. Tiger Woods, whose personal cheating saga was a personal, and not professional misdeed, has finally bounced back in the public eye. Fortunately for him his talent in the game seems to outweigh his personal drama. Considering all this, is it really that bad to simply cheat at online word games? Evidently many people don’t think so. If you’re looking for some of the best sites to help you with this, check out Scrabble Cheat and Words with Friends Cheat. You’ll find everything you need there to come out a winner!

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So, there you have it.  If you want to impress people with your superior games playing skills and don't have the knowledge, then you can arm yourself and go into battle fully prepared...or you can be like me and live by the saying, "cheaters never prosper."