I don’t like board games. Why? Because I’m a sore loser and I have to be nice to the winner. Internet games are just the thing for a person like me. They allow me to play alone or to compete with strangers. When the stranger wins, I can message “Congratulations” while adding “You @*&$#” aloud.
The problem with online gaming is that it takes up way too much of my day. For example, now that I’ve achieved “Pro” level in Farkle, I can play alone or against someone. Lots of people sit in the Farkle lobby waiting for an opponent. So, I warm up with a few rounds alone, and then work my way through the lobby crowd.
Facebook has other interesting games: Farm Town, Farmville, and Yoville. By the time I do the minimum to win coins, the morning is shot. Who would have thought shearing sheep and collecting horsehair would take so much time?
Besides those games, I work the crossword puzzle from the Florence, AL Times Daily, the crossword puzzle from Yahoo games, the crossword puzzle (do you see a pattern emerging), word search, mini sudoku, and regular sudoku from USA Today, and the crossword puzzle and sudoku from the Los Angeles Times.
If I get up at 8 am, read the paper and drink coffee for a while, then log on to the internet, the rest of my day starts at noon or later. Well, by noon, my mind is shot and I have no more energy. So I check e-mails (I have 5 accounts, each having evolved for different purposes) and see how my crops are growing in Farm Town and Farmville. By then it’s too late to get started on a project around the house.
Having said all that, today is day 1 of no internet games for a week. It’s a self-imposed experiment to see what I can do with this new-found time. It’s also an experiment to see if my nose falls off when I don’t return a date tree or chicken to a farmer friend right away. Hmmm. I wonder if that might be a cure for sinus congestion?
This and That 
I think I will try your idea myself. I’ve been on facebook this morning but no games. I have done a load of laundry, swept the kitchen floor and vacumed the floors. That’s all the housework for today till time to cook tonight.
I’m working on two articles, a novel about funeral homes, and getting ready to give the Florence City Council another go-round tomorrow night so refining my alloted 5 minute speech. It does wonders for making for more concise writing.
Enjoy your posts and love your blog.
Two articles and a novel? That’s great! As for the city council, you can’t be more disorganized than Mrs. Romine. Bless her heart. One night she went on about Eddie Frost and he had been dead for 5 or 6 years.
I’m just the opposite! I’m also a sore loser, but I like board games because it feels so much better to tump the board over into the winner’s lap when I lose. Such catharsis!
I had to give up competitive activity on my computer because I kept spitting on the screen. I will admit, though, your way of dealing with loss is decidedly more mature.
One time I played checkers with my brother and realized that he couldn’t make a move without my jumping him. That set me off to giggling and he dumped the checkerboard in the floor. It was the only I would have beaten him.
Spitting on your computer screen is like having dog snot on your windows. Yuck.
That’s why I quit playing Mafia Wars. Well, one reason, anyway. 🙂
I hear you! Between Yoville and Roller Coaster Kingdom I was spending/wasting at least an hour a day, and checking my three email accounts can take another hour or more especially if I explore the links in all of the sales emails. Then Facebook is another 20-60+ minutes. It’s exhausting! I’ve definitely been much more productive with my jewelry making business since I’ve been spending less time with the games. At least you can make the arguement that the crossword puzzles and suduko games exercise your mind. 🙂 Good luck this week!