We all sometimes love to spend time doing what we enjoy. But how much time is too much gaming time?
As a single dude with no real responsibilities except for doing my job and paying the bills, and my pets, I am free to spend most of my evenings and weekends gaming or doing what I enjoy. As a reclusive person by nature, that prefers to physically interact with people as little as possible (except when I have to go feed Jim in the basement and make sure his chains are still intact), it gives me more freedom to hide away and lose myself in the worlds my video games bring to life.
But…I find myself spending less and less time gaming, or just shortening my sessions. Must be because I’m getting older. Sometimes it’s just to do the adult thing… you know… clean the house, do my laundry, poke Jim with a stick, that type of thing. But other times it’s just to do other things, watch a movie or series or read or ask myself….Are we Human, or are we Dancers? What if we are both?
Gaming is still and will always remain my passion, but I feel that sitting down and playing for 8 to 10 hours a day is a bit much. I need to rest as well.
When I was younger I went a whole day and night playing….ahhhh….the days when The Division just came out, jumps to mind. Grinding for that gun or gear piece with your friends. Hours upon hours spent in my own little world, until I tried to get up to go to the bathroom and couldn’t walk.
How much for you is too much? You might have a wife and little mongrels that vaguely resemble you running around and demanding attention, a demanding job or whatever.
How much time do you spend playing your favourite games a day and over the weekend? And how much is too much?
Mouth off in the comments as you please. But please don’t tell Jim that the Woogie Boogie invasion is bollocks, he might try to escape.
Last Updated: July 9, 2021
MonsterCheddar
July 11, 2021 at 09:17
This kak is the result of being really bored at work.
That fist sentence… LOL… WTF.
Mandalorian Jim
July 12, 2021 at 09:10
You’re being way too hard on yourself. You’re posting without an editor and just having fun writing articles. And, I said the last time, you’re improving. 😀
HvR
July 12, 2021 at 04:30
Depends on the game; some just grab me and an addiction sets in.
Lately my digital heroin has been Elite Dangerous, hell of a learning curve but once a couple of friends showed me the ropes and gave me a bit of leg up in inviting me as the useless tag-a-long in pirate massacres giving me a couple of million credits to play around with.
Once that universe (a literal 1-to-1 representation of the the Milky Way galaxy that takes speed runners literal real life weeks to cross) open up it becomes a lot like Eve. You have websites to browse to setup different ships with lots of loadouts or to find the cheapest places to buy new ships, gear and guns. The other websites to figure out profitable trading routes.
100+ hours and have yet to visit engineers for a another level of ship configuration, explore far of stars not one of the 1000s of players over the last 3 years have ever visited, encounter the long lost Guardian’s structures, face of with the scary Thargoids or boot up Oddysey espansion and get out of my ship and run around and pew pew on a alien worlds.
So with lofty goals of getting a new Vulture small ship, figuring out new hard dogfight tactics and I can easily sink half a dozen of hours into a session.
Then the seasons and weather also plays a role, when it is not pissing down and ice cold I normally spend 2 or 3 weekends in a month either camping, shooting, fishing or kayaking. Then very little gaming gets done.
Kromas
July 12, 2021 at 02:31
I used to game a lot. These days it is an hour or two in the evening after I have finished doing other things.
WhiteRock
July 12, 2021 at 04:40
Whole weekends in fact
Mandalorian Jim
July 12, 2021 at 09:09
I wish I could get my weekends back for gaming, but it’s pretty much the same for the rest of the week. There are other things I have to prioritise. :/
WhiteRock
July 14, 2021 at 04:26
Yeah – that’s true. But I’ve also found, though I still really like gaming, there’s stuff I love doing more over weekends.
Gr8_Balls_o_Fire
July 12, 2021 at 03:28
Even when I was unemployed, try as I might, I couldn’t game for more than 90 minutes at a time. Boredom sets in. Meditation seems more entertaining. Dang, I got old didn’t I?
Mandalorian Jim
July 12, 2021 at 09:08
Oddly, same thing happened to me, and there was a time when I could literally spend hours playing games.
Original Heretic
July 12, 2021 at 04:17
Try spending two weeks in utter isolation, COVID…
Nothing to do but game and watch kak.
Krabby Paddy
July 12, 2021 at 04:33
Some would call that the dream holiday … Until they actually experience it.
MonsterCheddar
July 12, 2021 at 04:35
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a44a7b85a3d7149e292f4a60b7a27f7a6b0fd6a9644423a34951902715d48a2c.jpg
Krabby Paddy
July 12, 2021 at 04:33
Some would call that the dream holiday … Until they actually experience it.
Original Heretic
July 12, 2021 at 07:52
Day 1 was kinda fun (barring the splitting headache and lethargy).
Day 2 onwards sucked.
Krabby Paddy
July 12, 2021 at 08:04
Spending 1 day like that can be healthy for one’s mental health but 2 weeks? Hell no. May you never have to experience something like that again!
Mandalorian Jim
July 12, 2021 at 09:24
Do you have have weird and lingering side effects from it? I know a few people that had it, still struggle with tasting, or smelling things, while others just feel tired all the time (and this is months after having had it).
Original Heretic
July 12, 2021 at 10:58
Headache and tiredness is lingering. As is the lack of taste and smell.
I attribute my current spurt of playing Fortnite to my lack of taste.
Mandalorian Jim
July 12, 2021 at 11:05
The battle royale mode or the superior tower defence mode? 😛 Because, that will tell me how really serious a Covid infection really is.
Original Heretic
July 12, 2021 at 12:53
BR….
The horror!!!
Mandalorian Jim
July 13, 2021 at 05:38
This pandemic… it has no shame!!!! :O
Admiral Chief
July 12, 2021 at 04:27
Balance is key. I hit some gaming between 05h00 and 07h30 then again from 16h30 to 18h00 and on weekends more.
Also, different games at different times of the day. I don’t stick to just one game per day.
Mandalorian Jim
July 12, 2021 at 09:23
I generally game in the evenings, but only when I can, most of the time, I don’t get the chance. Over the weekends, I try to put in a few hours over the course of the weekend, but usually I stick to one game at a time – like currently I’m playing Manhunter (the shark game) which has strangely got me hooked. I just love imagining being the shark from Jaws.
Admiral Chief
July 12, 2021 at 04:28
If gaming interferes with your day to day things, then cut back
Krabby Paddy
July 12, 2021 at 05:04
In the end it is all about that self care you mentioned earlier. How much gaming do you need in your life to make you happier and try make the time for it but also don’t let it get in the way of other things in your life that are important to your own well being.
Mandalorian Jim
July 12, 2021 at 09:07
It’s with all things, if it starts to negatively interfere with your daily routine, like for instance, you’d rather be gaming then studying, or being productive at work, or spend time with family, then I think it’s definitely time to cut back the hours.
Having said that, these days, my gaming time is measured in minutes :/ If I can do a solid 90mins, that’s a good gaming day.
Jbumi
July 12, 2021 at 09:31
It’s like HvR says below – if a game grabs you, you’re hooked!! It’s just that, as we get older, it takes something special (to our eye) to hook us because we’ve seen/played more. When we first start out, we haven’t experienced much or anything yet so it’s easier to lure us in. Then we hit the “been there, done that” phase.
Currently, I’ve gotten hooked by Pathfinder: Kingmaker. Whereas I’d been gaming maybe 3 hours a day (I’m retired) of late, now I’m playing 5 to 8 hours a day!!! I love the writing, the music, the turn-based battles (or, if you prefer, you can play Real Time w/Pause), & the fact that they give you so much control over how to play the game (there are a TON of gameplay options)!
Mandalorian Jim
July 12, 2021 at 09:05
Or how much time is too little? 🙁
Mabenito
July 13, 2021 at 05:06
Monday – Friday: combined 2-3 hrs
Saturday: 4 hrs
Sunday: 6 hrs
Total: 13hrs per week.
Francois Knoetze
July 13, 2021 at 06:08
Use to spend hours upon hours gaming before I got married, then even less when my two kids arrived. If I do get time I would be lucky for an hour or 2 during the week. Max play time for me is about 2 hours in a stretch now. After that I get tired and need to go sit outside.
My 4 year old daughter is getting the hang of Ori and Zelda. Small bursts of 10 minutes before boredom sets in.
Brendan Freeman
September 13, 2021 at 15:43
It takes a specific type of game for me to spend hours playing. Otherwise I can put the game down quite easily. I try to have 2 hours a day, but with responsibilities it’s difficult.