Playing a sport is a great way to get some exercise, to improve a range of skills from control to spatial awareness, and to give yourself a brilliant hobby to improve yourself in and to pass the time. At the same time when playing a sport this can be a brilliant way to socialise and a great thing to do with friends, and you’ll find that conversation tends to flow a lot more smoothly when you have a sport or some kind of competition to involve yourself in.

However not everyone is cut out for sports and while for some people a game like football is a great way to keep fit and meet people, for others it can be stressful, tiring and embarrassing even. If you don’t have a particular knack for team sports or athletics, or if you’re someone who gets easily tired then you might not be cut out for these kinds of activities. Likewise even if you are a fan of football or baseball, then it only takes a knee injury or the spectre of old age to unfortunately take you out of the game at which point it’s time to look for something new.

The good news is that there are plenty of sports that aren’t all that active that can be just as good as a way to improve your spatial awareness, that can be just as competitive and sociable, and that can be just as addictive. Here we will look at some of the less active alternatives you can try out if you want to play sports but don’t like the idea of legging it around a pitch and helping you to choose the right one for you.

Pool: Pool is a great game that anyone can play without having to run around or suffer any impacts on the joints. At the same time though it’s also an incredibly sociable game (there’s a reason they put pool tables in pubs) and it’s a great game for strategy and planning. You can really feel yourself improve in pool over time so it’s highly addictive once you start.

Snooker: Snooker is similar to pool in appearance but there are a lot of differences – the table is faster, the balls are smaller and the rules are very different and more complex. If you are more serious about sports and want to delve into a game that has a bit more depth, then snooker is a better option than pool.

Darts: Darts are a game you play standing up but again it doesn’t involve any rapid movements, and in fact you can play with a drink in one hand when you get good (and many people do). Again though it requires precise control and it’s highly addictive.

Golf: Golf is a game that unlike the previous options will get you outside and help you to see a bit of the world. This makes it brilliant for travel and great for developing a tan, but at the same time it’s also an incredible deep and addictive game in itself that won’t let you go once you start to get drawn in. Besides, riding around in a golf buggy is always fun.

The article is written by Henry Wood, a sports blogger and freelance writer.