Playing safely and responsibly at GameDuell

 

Playing - a fundamental, human activity

Playing is one of the world’s oldest cultural phenomena. Before man was speaking, writing, or creating art, he was already playing games. The oldest known Backgammon game board is more than 5,000 years old and dice games have existed at least as long.

Depiction of a medieval game of dice

According to the concept of "Man the Player" (in Latin "Homo ludens" 1), playing is necessary for the development of a wealth of skills. Playing gives man the means of better learning to use and master his skills and is a fundamental, human activity that promotes creativity. Competitive forms of playing are also known to release energy and special strengths.

Perhaps best-said by Friedrich Schiller, "Man is only completely human when he plays".

Paul Cézanne "Les joueurs de carte" (1895) and players at GameDuell (2008)

Games have always been a special source of excitement for man.

In the past few years, playing games online has developed into a beloved form of entertainment with several million worldwide participants.

Playing responsibly

Similar to other forms of entertainment (such as watching television, playing sports, dining, and drinking), playing should be enjoyed in healthy proportions to ensure that fun is always the main focus

Problems with gambling - What are the causes?

For those prone to addiction, playing can unfortunately become an obsession. Gambling addiction is defined as a psychological dependence on games, often with the added element of wagering money. The player often attempts to create for himself satisfaction by winning, or to replace troubles from day-to-day life with the thrill of winning and losing. This may be accompanied by financial, work, or family-related problems.

GameDuell is aware of its social responsibility as the organizer of games and takes this responsibility very seriously. For this reason, we have compiled a list of guidelines for playing responsibly and recommend that customers who are prone to addiction seek help from professionals.

Playing safely and responsibly

Please follow these guidelines:
  • Do not start playing thinking you have to win.
  • Allocate a monthly amount you are willing to play with.
  • Do not increase the maximum amount at a later time.
  • Decide beforehand how much you are willing to lose.
  • Never play under the influence of alcohol or medication.
  • Never play when you are feeling depressed.
  • Only play when you are relaxed and concentrated.

GameDuell carries out the following measures to ensure that fun remains the main focus of our games:

  • Security by focusing on skill games:
    GameDuell only offers skill games - games in which the winner is decided solely by his or her knowledge and skills. GameDuell does not offer any games of chance.
  • Protection by limiting maximum entry fees:
    Tournament fees for a single game begin at very low prices. Entry fees for duels are never large sums of money.
  • Protection by setting fixed entry fees:
    Because entry fees are determined before starting the duel, no participants can lose more money than they initially intended to wager.
  • Protection by providing "free training money":
    Before participating in real cash tournaments, each player is provided with "free training money" to learn about the rules and how tournaments work.
  • Protection by providing information to each player about his own tournament account and history:
    Every participant has an overview of his account balance at all times. He can see how and against whom he competed at any time. This provides absolute clarity.
  • Protection by providing a fair matching system (dynamic skill-levels):
    Because all players only play against opponents of similar skill levels, constantly losing against considerably stronger opponents is unlikely.

Problems may begin to develop when a player’s expenditure for games notably increases beyond that which is used for other leisure activities (such as buying tickets for the movies, a concert or sporting event) and his livelihood becomes endangered by these losses.

GameDuell is your gaming partner and we take our social responsibility seriously.

As a responsible organizer of skill games, we are committed to providing unlimited excitement for our members. A high-quality gaming site and your trust in GameDuell are at all times of utmost importance to us.



Michael Kalkowski
Manager Product & Community

1More information can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludology