<p>This seems unlikely somehow, but are there are other parents here who enjoy computer games as one of their main pastimes? I mean, of course, aside from working, raising kids, sleeping, and reading enough to be able to converse intelligently with other adults once in a while. At any given time I have two or three games that I play for a total of about four hours a week, starting a new one whenever I manage to finish one. I like the escapism, plus I’m fascinated by the amazing things that can be done with computer technology these days.</p>
<p>My DH loves playing World of Warcraft and some of the other RPGs that my DS plays. Then he gets frustrated when DS does better and is faster at it… It’s his way of unwinding from work. Although he has learned (I hope) that he can’t stay up til 2am playing games, get 3 hours sleep and then get up to go into work…</p>
<p>Is CC a computer game?</p>
<p>Apparently millions of people enjoy World of Warcraft, but I’m a little bit afraid to try it because of the crazy stories I’ve heard about addiction, fraud, marriage break-ups, etc. I’m sure it’s overblown, but it still sounds a little scary.</p>
<p>Right now I’m playing a couple of older games (four or five years, I think). I play Beyond Good and Evil with my 10-year-old daughter; it’s cartoonish and harmless, with some fun puzzles and lots of cute creatures. By myself I play Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, a sword-and-sorcery game in which you basically just run around in a Medieval setting fighting bad guys and monsters, which is perfect for the occasional half-hour I get to play. Anything deeper would probably be impossible on my schedule.</p>
<p>Other games I’ve really enjoyed over the years:</p>
<p>The Thief Series
Portal
Deus Ex
and way back when, Doom, but that one’s loooong gone</p>
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<p>Depends on the topic. I think of the arguments about religion as a game, for example. Politics, too. Heck, I guess even the whole college-admissions thing is a game, isn’t it?</p>
<p>World of Warcraft is okay if you don’t let it take over your life. H was introduced to it by a family friend, and I became accustomed to seeing the back of his head. He’d spend hours at a time going on quests to get his creatures to higher levels and then go on raids (“But I have to play for 3 hours tonight–ten people are depending on me to be their healer!”).</p>
<p>After a few months, the friend started getting mad at H for not beefing up his creatures enough, saying he was letting the guild down and needed to play every night to get his creatures up to speed. H eventually got fed up with it and quit playing for over a year, but then he started up again with a different guild.</p>
<p>Between WoW, Civilization, and online poker, H can spend 8-10 hours a day parked in front of the computer on weekends. I can’t imagine how he gained 50 pounds… :rolleyes:</p>
<p>S’s roommate flunked out of college due to WoW addiction. True addiction–kid stopped sleeping, eating, showering, attending classes. . .Scary. Only a small percentage get that bad, but it does happen. If it interferes with what you’re supposed to be doing, it is a problem. I hate it when my kids say–“But I CAN’T leave now. . .they’re DEPENDING on me!”
Your mom is depending on you to take out the garbage/wash dishes/mow the lawn–IRL–NOW!</p>
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<p>See, that’s what I’m talking about. I’m pretty sure I’d be wifeless if I did that.</p>
<p>The key seems to be multi-player games versus single-player. All of my favorite games are single-player; if I do play them with someone, it’s my son or daughter, and they’re in the room with me, so the peer pressure to keep playing is minimal, especially if there’s pie in the next room. :)</p>
<p>Last night, however, my wife was telling me about studies showing that computer use before bedtime leads to insomnia due to adrenaline (in the case of action games) and close-up exposure to the bright light of the monitor. So much for my habit of playing for 30 minutes or so before coming to bed.</p>
<p>When S lived at home, I began several games, like Civilization. Remember Sims? I could lose track of time building cities. Also, some mysteries. I was fascinated that S would have a team with people living around world. Anyone know of a good bridge program?</p>
<p>My son likes this one:</p>
<p>[BridgeBuilder-Game.com</a> - The ultimate bridge building games website](<a href=“http://www.bridgebuilder-game.com/]BridgeBuilder-Game.com”>http://www.bridgebuilder-game.com/)</p>
<p>But I’m guessing that wasn’t the kind of “bridge program” you were thinking of.</p>
<p>My computer game- opening my Toshiba Satellite and hoping Vista will allow the darn thing to start. Then hitting a bunch of keys, powering on and off, until I get lucky.</p>
<p>My H does sometimes play XBOX 360. When he gets a new game he will play it till he beats it. He does this a couple of times a year. The last one was the newest Gears of War. He started back when my son was in middle school as a way to play together.</p>
<p>I love computer games. Civilization II remains my favorite. I also like Doom, although I do not play on Battlenet, only on my own computer, much to the scorn of my S.</p>
<p>I used to play bridge on the Zone until Microsoft shut it down a couple of years ago. A lot of people from there migrated to Bridge Base Online. I tried that and Yahoo bridge but never found a user interface I liked as much as the Zone, so I stopped playing online.</p>
<p>Spider and FreeCell are my only online vices now (not counting CC, of course).</p>
<p>Been playing World of Warcraft since it’s release. Entire family plays together.</p>
<p>Let’s just say my husband and I have been gamers since before we got married. The kid grew up playing rpg, fps, mmorpg and also got dragged to gaming conventions. When she was about 11, her dad took her to a gaming convention. She played a miniatures tournament with some older guys and ended up winning(!!!) much to the chagrin of the <em>seasoned</em> players - lol</p>
<p>Do any of you play video games that enable you to exercise (other than exercising fingers)? I have been looking at the Wii fit games and they seem interesting, but many of their programs seem to offer a lot of stretching (which I do not consider to be exercise). I saw a promo for some new equipment for the Xbox that may result in a lot of exercise but it is not out yet. Any suggestions?</p>