It used to be that gamers were an exclusive group – and that the rest of us thought that people who spent their time playing video games on consoles, pc or other devices were the odd ones out and ‘we’ were the normal majority.

Now, though, the tables have turned and we’ve suddenly all become gamers. That’s mainly due to the introduction and adoption by the masses of the smartphone, which offers us a choice of games galore that we can play at any moment, wherever we are. The iOS App store alone has more than a quarter of a million gaming apps available for people to download and Android’s Google Play offers a similar amount.

And wherever you might be, just looking around you, you’ll see people of all ages and both sexes playing games on their phone. We never have any excuse to say we’re bored these days – with a phone in your pocket you can access entertainment whenever you need it.

What people are playing varies enormously. You might be one of the 100 million people worldwide who are registered on online bingo sites such as 32red, Vic’s Bingo or Gala Bingo. Bingo’s proved to be a popular online and mobile game because it’s so easy to play, and such good value when you compare it with other online gambling games. For a tiny stake, you can stand the chance of winning life-changing amounts of money. Visit 32redbingo.com and you’ll see that games are available to play on a mobile or online on a round-the-clock schedule.

However, there are plenty of people out there who play other games such as the mobile puzzlers like Bejeweled or Bubble Shooter, where it’s hand-eye coordination that is the biggest requirement. These games are perfect for chill-out time – when you’ve had a stressful day and want to zone out for a while.

A 2014 report by the Internet Advertising Bureau in the UK that looked into online and gaming habits revealed that 54% of the people who took part prefer to play on their mobiles rather than on any other platform. Another report released by the Entertainment Software Association in the USA this year stated that 44% of the survey respondents played on their smartphones.

However the same report suggested that gaming was becoming more of a family pastime, with many respondents choosing to make gaming time a family activity. In fact, 62% of the people who took part in the ESA survey said they played games with others, either in person or online. Almost a third (32%) played with family members, and 18% played with their parents. Of those parents whose children are gamers, 42% played video games with their children at least once a week, while 58% played at least monthly. When asked the reasons for joining their kids in playing video games, 88% said it was because it was a way of having fun as a family, while 75% said it was a good opportunity to socialise with their child. Almost half (47%) said it was as much for their own amusement as for their child’s.

Obviously, those times people play games with family members they are more likely to be playing on a console rather than a mobile phone. However, it’s probably true that many of the grown-ups who now enjoy sharing video games with their kids probably spend time gaming by themselves on their phones too.

Today, whichever platform we do it on, gaming has become a ‘normal’ activity that almost everyone takes part in.