Over the years here at NAG, I’ve tried to do something special every Women’s Day.
Not just because I’m a woman who games, but because I believe in a future where there are so many more of us.
I’ve written about female protagonists I couldn’t wait to play as. I’ve written about games created by women and celebrated women transforming the industry.
But this year, I wanted to do something a little different.
This one isn’t about the games. This one’s about us.
It’s about the women who love games. The women who live them.
To the girls who sit cross-legged on their bedroom floors after school, mics on and Fortnite loading.
To the women spending their hard-earned salaries on day-one editions and digital collectors’ items.
To the ones who write about games, design them, compete in them, or quietly play them at the end of a long, exhausting day – this is your story.
We asked women in the NAG community about their first gaming memories, and it got emotional.
When we reached out to our community yesterday, what we got back was better than anything I could’ve hoped for.
It was warm. Honest. Nostalgic. Powerful.
And it reminded me of something I’ve always known deep down:
Girls have always gamed.
And we always will.
So, where did my own story begin?
Honestly, probably way earlier than it should have.
I have these flashes of memory, of me sitting on my mom’s lap while she played Doom. My tiny heart bursting with joy at the sight of all that pixelated gore.
When I was around three years old, my parents cobbled together a PC from leftover parts and gave it to me.
Mine.
It felt like destiny. That little Frankenstein of a machine kickstarted a love that would shape my entire life.
I was so desperate to learn to read, not for school, but so I could play my mom’s copies of King’s Quest and Space Quest. (And eventually Leisure Suit Larry – on strict agreement that I’d never, ever tell my grandparents.)
That spark exploded into an obsession with horror games like Silent Hill, late-night StarCraft matches, and an arguably unhealthy addiction to League of Legends.
Gaming gave me friendships. Rivalries. Late-night laughs.
It gave me my career.
It gave me a place.
It gave me me.
But that’s just my story. Let me introduce you to some of the incredible women from our community who also fell in love with games – and never looked back:
Gayle Romay:
“Showing my age here – but for me, it started with Munch Man in the UK.”
Smuts Lambrechts:
“The games that made me serious about gaming? CS 1.6, Quake, and RTS classics like Dune 2000 and Red Alert 2. Then came the PS2 era—the golden age.”
psycadillo:
“My first memory? Sitting on my dad’s knee playing Tomb Raider on floppy disc at two or three. But the core moment? Oblivion. It blew my mind that games could be that expansive.”
Tanya Pieterse:
“It all began with King’s Quest: Quest for the Crown in 1984. Playing the game was a whole experience in itself. Disk-swapping, loading screens, puzzles that made my brain ache – it was magic. From those blocky sprites to today’s VR headsets, I’ve watched gaming evolve, and I’ve loved every second.”
Desere Vermaak:
“Xena: Warrior Princess on the PS1. Young me thought she was the baddest—and honestly? I still do.
PlayStation South Africa, if you’re reading this: please remaster it. For all of us.”
Jade Curgenven:
“Old mattress, box TV, Circus Charlie, Tetris, Mario—the classics. Then I got my own PC and went full tilt: Doom, RuneScape, Age of Empires—too many to list. 28 years later and still going strong.”
Marietta Curgenven:
“Got hooked on RuneScape over 20 years ago by my husband. Dial-up. Ten-minute PC warm-ups. Slaying goblins and typing like a queen. I even got my girls hooked so I could steal playtime. Today it’s Sea of Thieves and Enshrouded—graphics changed, but the addiction? Still here. From pixelated peasant to high-def button masher. I may not be good, but I’m enthusiastic and slightly dangerous!”
These stories, just like the women who shared them, are diverse, bold, hilarious, and heartfelt.
They come from every corner of life, and yet they share the same heartbeat:
A love for play. For the challenge. For magic. For adventure.
So if you’re a girl reading this, maybe you’ve never picked up a controller.
Maybe you’ve been gaming your whole life.
Wherever you are on your journey, let me say this:
You belong here.
There’s space for you.
You will find your people.
You’ll find your stories.
And maybe, just maybe, you’ll build a life out of this, too.
I know I did.
Happy Women’s Day.
Here’s to all the girls who game. And all the women they’ll become.
Game on. Geek Out.
