Women are increasingly involved in role-playing games and now form a larger contingent of PC gamers than men

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When I was a child, I never knew that computers, or computer games, were supposed to be "for boys". To me, the Sinclair game Cyber Rats wasn't so far away from the board game Mousetrap, and my Snoopy Tennis hand-held game was a just more exciting kind of travel solitaire. Board games weren't gendered; why would computer games be?

I think it was only when I arrived at university and realised that everyone playing Doom in the college computer room was a man, that I started to feel out of place. In my 20s I certainly felt my gaming habit was unusual among my female friends, though I couldn't work out why.

The traditional explanation has been that women aren't as interested in computers, maths or technology. But I wonder if that's the whole story. In her book The Playful Self, Rebecca Abrams suggests that while feminism has made great strides in getting ­women's work taken more seriously, it hasn't addressed the importance of women's play. Men's sports are given more media time than women's, arcades and pool halls have traditionally been very masculine environments, as have other gaming venues such as betting shops and poker clubs.

The signs are that the gender balance of computer games is changing, though. Manufacturers are attempting to target women – and not only with pink consoles. Estimates are that at least 60% of players of The Sims are women. Women are increasingly involved in role-playing games and now form a larger contingent of PC gamers than men. And games such as Mass Effect and Fable 2 allow players to choose whether their character is male or ­female: a welcome innovation for women tired of playing as male characters.

This is nothing but good news. I had it right when I was eight: play doesn't have a gender, and neither does the joy of gaming.