Definitely an M1 MBA for your use case. With 16GB RAM & 512GB SSD you can find them lightly used for ~$850.

A used low mileage M1 Air (think <50 battery cycles or >98% of original capacity) with 16GB Ram & 512 GB SSD for ~$850 is an excellent deal for a machine which should easily see you through 5 years of average use (with a bit of physical care).

As far as gaming though, your best bet is to take up chess ";0))