While the topic of food is an often overlooked aspect of gaming, the ability to snack during a session of Halo with friends can only enhance the experience. The convenience of being able to quickly drop the controller and pick up a delicious snack is appreciated by many, but finding the right choice of food can be a tricky obstacle. There are a number of factors that make certain types of food unfit for purpose when gaming is involved, particularly where mess is concerned. This may not be the most pressing of issues facing gamers, but who doesn't want to eat while playing video games?
This difficulty around eating while gaming has lead to many gamers avoiding food altogether when playing games, turning instead to drinks to stave off feelings of hunger. June brings with it a number of exciting E3 reveals which will have gamers playing more and eating less. Very few food items make for a good snack while gaming, but there still remain a number of good options.
What Makes A Good Gaming Snack?
Gaming food should of course taste great, but there are a number of additional caveats that could exclude food items from being ideal for gaming. For starters, the quality of the food should not be harmed by sitting out at room temperature for an extended period. Multiplayer games of course require the player's full attention for the duration of the game, but likewise, immersive games like Breath of The Wild may capture the player's attention for an extended period. When playing games like these, if the food was once hot, it is unlikely that it still will be when the player gets around to eating it. For this reason, both hot and cold foods such as ice cream are off the table.
Gaming food should also be filling, as playing a new Borderlands game or starting up a gaming Twitch stream could last a number of hours. While gaming is a fairly low-exertion activity, hunger pangs can definitely hit hard midway through a gaming session. Something that aligns more closely with a traditional meal could be better for staving off hunger, but greasy and flaky foods are an absolute no-go. There's very little worse than having to grab a mouse with greasy hands or tediously pick flakes and crumbs from in between the keys on a keyboard when playing a competitive game of CS:GO. Pizza and pastries are delicious but are unfortunately terrible foods to eat while playing video games for this very reason.
The Best Video Game Food
There are two main options when it comes to gaming food, healthy or unhealthy. For the occasional gamer, having healthy snacks may not be so much of a concern, which opens up a lot more possibilities. Chips are generally off the table, as the flavoring raises issues of grease ending up on gaming equipment. However, unflavored tortilla chips could make for a fantastic workaround to this issue and can still be equally appetizing when paired with salsa. This is the perfect snack for a night of split-screen Halo with friends due to its tidy nature and all-around deliciousness.
Other less healthy snacks include pretzels and gummy candy, which are neither messy nor particularly greasy. Jerky, meanwhile, provides a more filling experience, in line with complete meals, but with the added benefit of being able to sit at room temperature for long periods, making it a great option for snacking on in between rounds of Valorant.
As sitting around for hours on end playing Skyrim or Breath of the Wild isn't the healthiest activity to begin with, more health-conscious gamers may consider healthier snacks. Healthy food is often associated with being flavorless, but this need not be the case. Things like carrots or celery sticks, for example, can be infused with a great deal of flavor by adding dip to the equation. Options such as peanut butter or hummus go great with either, can be eaten one by one without diverting attention away from the game, and are very manageable where mess is concerned. Similarly to chips and dip, these would work great as snacks for having friends around to play Halo Infinite on release.
There are boundless options for tasty gaming snacks, with options for all kinds of dietary choices and requirements. Whether sitting down to play a single-player game like Palia or inviting friends around for a competitive LAN party, gamers need not go hungry when indulging in their favorite hobby.