Just One More Game: The Fine Line Between Healthy Hobby and Destructive Obsession

The Spectator, Iss. 2

"Just one more game."  A phrase that gets uttered probably a little bit more than it should past midnight.  The other night, I was having a fairly good night in Halo Arena until I hit a cold spell.  At 10:16 p.m., I lost three straight games with a negative k/D spread of -4, -9, and -1.  Before I knew it, I felt compelled to erase that deficit before going to bed.

+3, -3, -6, -4, +2, -5, +4, +4, -6, -4, +6, -4, -2, +12

I looked at the +12 game as a reprieve, lucky that three Blues quit.  My k/D ratio back rose back to 1.00 for the season and sleep seemed finally around the corner some fourteen games later.  It was 1:33 a.m. and I had to be in court in less than seven hours.  But before I turned in, I played four games of Pac-Man CE DX.  Is that a little crazy?  Ok, perhaps a lot crazy.

But does it sound familiar?  Here's a little test: 

Answer YES or NO to the following questions.

1. Do you lose time from work due to gaming?
YES __ NO __

2. Is gaming making your home life unhappy?
YES __ NO __

3. Do you game because you are shy with other people?
YES __ NO __

4. Is your gaming affecting your reputation?
YES __ NO __

5. Have you ever felt remorse after gaming?
YES __ NO __

6. Have you ever got into financial difficulties as a result of gaming?
YES __ NO __

7. Do you turn to lower companions and an inferior environment when gaming?
YES __ NO __

8. Does your gaming make you careless of your family’s welfare?
YES __ NO __

9. Has your ambition decreased since gaming?
YES __ NO __

10. Do you crave a game at a definite time?
YES __ NO __

11. Do you want to game the next morning?
YES __ NO __

12. Does gaming cause you to have difficulty in sleeping?
YES __ NO __

13. Has your efficiency decreased since gaming?
YES __ NO __

14. Is gaming jeopardizing your job or business?
YES __ NO __

15. Do you game to escape from worries or trouble?

YES __ NO __

16. Do you game alone?
YES __ NO __

17. Have you ever had a complete loss of memory as a result of gaming?
YES __ NO __

18. Has your physician ever treated you for gaming?
YES __ NO __

19. Do you game to build up your self-confidence?
YES __ NO __

20. Have you ever been to a hospital or institution because of gaming?
YES __ NO __

Questions look familiar?  They're questions used typically as a diagnostic to determine whether a person is an alcoholic.  It's something that, as an attorney, I get usually every couple years as part of my mandatory Continuing Legal Education.  Here's how the diagnostic tool scores your answers as it relates to drinking.

If you have answered YES to any one of the questions, there is a definite warning that you may be an alcoholic.

If you have answered YES to any two, the chances are that you are an alcoholic.

If you answered YES to three or more, you are definitely an alcoholic.

Honestly, I answered "YES" to three or more of the questions with respect to both gaming and drinking.  Now, I do not put complete stock in the outcome, but it is certainly something to ponder.  I could substitute reading and answer "YES" to more than three of the questions as well.

I guess one's starting point affects the discussion more than anything — i.e., is gaming in and of itself a negative or anti-social activity?  Too much of anything can lead to an unhealthy imbalance, but I think there's this view of what is productive and not productive that shades judgment.  For me, if I could never game again, would it be something from which I could not recover?  Of course not.  I would miss it terribly, but I game because I enjoy it.  I would never say I need it. 

It's just that sometimes, it is hard to stop when there's that feeling you can do just a little better if you played just one more game.

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