Yes, you read the title correctly. I think ants would be great gamers if they could play video games. They’re too busy being a slave for their queen to even think of such things, I imagine, but give me a moment of your time and I’ll explain why I admire these little creatures.

Masters of Teamwork

Many of us have played with that one idiot on our team who just couldn’t go along with the plan. Instead, he goes rogue and gets his ass kicked and loses the game for the team. You see, that kind of nonsense doesn’t happen with ants.

Ants are masters at helping each other. When ants find food, they leave markers behind so other ants know where to go. This is like yelling to your team-mates, “Hey, over here’s a powerup!”

Ants watch out for each other. By helping each other succeed, the whole colony succeeds and everyone wins.

Ants Don’t Have Egos

Ants don’t care about being #1 on the scoreboard. They don’t get angry with each other and blame other ants for their mistakes. If you know your team-mate is trying his or her best, it doesn’t help to get all hissy with them.

Ants don’t steal food from each other. They’re not the type to pickup all the good weapons, leaving you to fend for yourself.

Ants Go Above & Beyond Normal Abilities

Ants are freaking crazy. Have you ever seen an ant or two pulling along a big spider? Or lifting something that’s 5x its own size? They’re very strong and dedicated, mentally and physically.

Being persistent and not giving up are two strong qualities in a gamer, particularly when facing against other human opponents.

Ants Do Whatever Works

Ants follow a proven strategy. Like I said above, if some other ant finds food, they don’t go out on their own to be a hero. They just go and get the food. They follow the strategies perfectly.

Some ants have extra sneaky tactics. They remind me of spies from Team Fortress 2. Fire ants may play dead when being attacked by another colony. One type of queen ant can make herself “sleep” so the ants from another colony will bring her back to their nest to store as food. As soon as she’s alone, the queen ant wakes up and attacks the colony’s defenseless queen. After killing her, she copies her pheromones so that the other ants think it’s their real queen. Talk about a covert mission!

So there you have it. Want to be a better gamer? Think like an ant.

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