Time To Play: A Matter of Priorities

I'm often asked where I find the time to play these games. And think about games. And write about them. The answer is simple: I made the time.

Think about your day. How much time do you spend in the evenings watching television or surfing the internet? How late do you sleep in on weekends?

In 2001, I was watching too much television. I wasn't even filtering for good TV - I just flipped channels until I saw something that caught my interest. I even watched Rollerball one evening.  My human interaction outside of work was nearly zero - I had friends, I just never saw them. I read maybe a book every month or two (which is very unlike me).

The day I realized this, I re-arranged my priorities. I pushed human interaction to the top of the list. I cancelled my cable, and started working harder to see people.

That first week, I read twelve books.

In September of 2002, I started hosting Game Night - gaming has always been my preferred mode of social interaction. I have never looked back.

About six years ago, I got cable again. I should say "we," as it wasn't just me at that point.  I was really afraid of it, but it worked out okay. For the first few months, I watched very little TV. But I eventually realized - yes, I enjoy watching television, but given the choice between TV and Game Night, it's a no-brainer. I'll go to Game Night every time.

I had readjusted my priorities, and - apparently - that readjustment stuck.

I watch TV, now, but I do so on my own schedule (thanks to a DVR). It fits where I want it to fit, and doesn't usually get in the way of anything else like it used to.

We've played some duds on Wednesdays, it's true - but I don't mind the duds so much, because time spent playing games with friends is always better than time spent watching television. In fact, most things are.