It's Only A Game

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Last week we talked about our latest reads and swapped recommendations, but let's be honest - there's something else we all do in our spare time. Maybe in bed, maybe in the bathroom, sometimes with others but usually alone...

I'm speaking, of course, about video games. Or computer games, or mobile games - we all love 'em. Or at least some of them. I'm not talking about the MMORPG games that you need special consoles and  headsets for. I'm talking Farmville. Solitare. Angry Birds.

Me, I'm addicted to ULTIMATE JEWEL. It's soothing to watch all those shiny jewels line up and disappear, plus it has the added benefit of being impossible to lose. In fact, I've started playing to get the lowest score possible. I have the freebie version, which means in between games I get ads urging me to refi my mortgage, or to buy clothing perfectly suited to a 13-year-old girl. I guess I'm not their target demographic.

I used to play BEJEWELED 3 constantly - it's another pretty, glittery thing with exploding baubles. It's designed to suck you in by having each level get more and more difficult, with less and less time to make moves, until the program overwhelms you. Eventually, it stressed me out - I have enough going on in my life, did I really need a game calling me a loser? 

My other (current) game is MAHJONG SOLITAIRE.  Like solitaire with cards, it's the perfect thing to keep tucked away on your laptop for mental breaks between writing pages, answering emails and paying bills. 

Youngest's obsession is CANDY CRUSH, which is notorious for its ability to make ravening addicts out of its players. There have been times - I swear this is true - when my daughter is in the bathroom so long I'm afraid something biologically wrong has happened. Nope! She was just engrossed in getting to a new level.

I have a good friend whose love affair with TETRIS was so passionate, it figured into her decision to not install internet in her home. She was worried she'd never get anything done. On the plus side, she's a genius at packing boxes and loading trucks.

And finally, my very first, and well beloved computer game: OREGON TRAIL. Does anyone else remember making the trek with 100 pounds of flour and 15 boxes of bullets (that got swept away when your wagon foundered in the Green River.) How many of us had loved ones die of dysentery along the way? BTW, there's a site where you can play the game the way God intended, with a black screen and little square pixels in the shape of oxen. Good times.

How about you, dear readers? What are your game addictions?