Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

I don’t have any recommendations, but I can tell you how long I spend a day playing games on my computer: far too long! “just one more game”.....and suddenly it’s far past my bedtime. Damn you, spider solitaire!

Far too much time, that’s how much I time I spend playing casual computer games.  Far. Too. Much.  I like puzzle games and adventure games, and jayisgames.com, a site that reviews casual games, was a very happy discovery for me a couple years ago.  If you’re ever looking for some good games to play, look for their “best of” for each year.  Oh and I’ve recently been sucked into the Nancy Drew adventure games from Her Interactive.

Anyway.  Yes, as you can see, I would love to win a free game!

I used to spend a couple of hours a day playing computer games, mostly Tetris, Mahjongg and various solitaire games, but I also played text-based games back in the early days of the Internet. The last graphics-based game I spent any time on was the first Discworld game. Since then I have pretty much given up on computer gaming because I haven’t found one that appeals to me. Heartwild Solitaire sounds like something I could become engrossed it.

No recommendations, and I don’t actually want to win the game download, thanks.

But, sure count me as a demographic representative. In my 30’s, and playing games.

On the computer, averaged over a week, I’d say I spend 3 hours playing a game, unless I’ve just bought a fresh shiny one, in which case, jack that number up to 8-12 hours a week. I’ll play a casual game (Plants vs Zombies!! Great one), but my interest lies more in RPG/First Person shooter cross-overs and hack and slash games.

I’ll also add, that I have two game consoles, a PSX2, and an Xbox 360. I don’t use them as often as the computer, but again, if there’s a fresh game (Bayonetta! My GOD that is a great female empowerment game!), I’ll play on these rather than the computer.

I don’t really consider myself a huge geek though. Honest. I got lotsa interests.

I play different games daily either downloaded or online. I really should be doing something else, but they are addictive. I probably spend 2-3 hrs a day.

I spend… Far to much time playing spider solitaire. I bought a collection of solitaire games for my mac for $17 three or four years ago, and I don’t think I’ve ever spent that little mony for that many hours of entertainment - braindead, but still entertainment. I generally don’t sit down just to play the solitaire games, but I do it while I do other mindless stuff - like watching TV, for instance. All the clicking drives my hubby crazy, but he cliks away on Farmville, so I guess we’re about even.

You want to know how long I spend playing video games? well you’ve certainly asked the right question! For I am a student with lots of free time!
Right now, Dragon Age is taking up the whole of my day :D with it’s damn addictiveness, and when I don’t play that Tree of Tranquility on the wii has taken me a whole month, trying to woo the character of my choice and build my little farm, not to mention save the Harvest Goddess!
While I was doing my exams Heartwild solitare was my thing to do to relax after those hours of pouring over books :P but I never won a game, I am bad at Klondike :(. I’m big on casual games, love the Nancy Drew Dossier and the Edgar Allen Poe search games!
Oh and I musn’t forget Fire Emblem, love trying out different tactics to win a battle. SO yeah, I find games another way of being invovled with a story, that’s why I play them so much :P, I’m not really someone who wants to win every achievement on hard mode, no no no.

I spend way too much time playing computer games of all types. I’ll think, I’ll just play for a little while, and the next thing I know hours have gone by. It’s a weakness, I tell ya.

Far, far too much time.  And I particularly like the “casual gamer” type of games such as Sally’s Salon and Farm Frenzy.  I would love this game because solitaire is a great short break between stints of writing my dissertation (as is Facebook).

I was actually pleased that my Mac didn’t come with solitaire pre-loaded.  It got me focused…for about two weeks, until I discovered internet-based solitaire.  Then, it was all kinds of over. 

Still, I probably only play about an hour or so every now and then.  I tend to pull it up when I’m having long phone conversations to keep my mind and fingers busy, esp. if it’s a boring conversation I can’t get out of.  It actually helps to have part of my brain active!  I’ve been accused of not paying attention, but never when playing.  Go figure.

Ugh. Games. Well, I’m totally addicted to Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook. And I love Jewel Quest. And I get sucked into Three Towers Solitaire on Facebook as well.

They block us out of any game sites at work, but now I have an iPhone. I have loaded apps for Solitaire, WordSearch, Minesweeper (which SB Sarah apparently sucks at), Hangman, Tap Tap, Pac Man, Doodle Jump, and yes, Bejeweled. And I never, ever, play them at my desk when I’m supposed to be working. Never. Ever. Ahem.

So, yeah, I end up getting sucked in for hours, especially at night when I’m playing on Facebook. So add me to your demographics - female, 40s, and fanatic about games.

This Hearwild Solitaire sounds amazing. Do they have an app for that?

Well, until I discovered Heartwild Solitaire here I haven’t played any games for a long time - I’d rather read.  But now I play more - though not every day - and always longer than I planned.  And I like it better than the normal solitaire because it is much nicer to look at.

I have a series recommendation.  I like the Suzanne Brockmann Trobleshooters books.  I think those have a relationship focus and there is also enough other stuff going on to make it a good read.  I’m in for a free download.

Don’t enter me (I already have the game) - but to add to your demographics set… I spend a LOT of time on computer games - the actual hours fluctuate depending on how much ‘real life’ stuff is going on, but generally 20 or so hours a week.  This is what I do instead of TV.

I like online MMO’s - used to play Everquest and then got into World of Warcraft - to which I’ve been addicted since it came out. I also play casual games occasionally and strategy games like Civilization and Age of Empires.

Female, about to be 40 :)

I bought the full version of Heartwild Solitaire within days of downloading the free one (so don’t give me the coupon), and I can vouch for its awesomeness.  Such a pretty, pretty timesuck.

I play games easily a couple hours a day.  I love adventure and puzzle games (Theresa, if you dig Nancy Drew, you’ll really like the Mystery Case Files series - go for the two Ravenhearst titles or Dire Grove, they’re incredible), word games, mahjong, RPGs, time management titles, match 3…you name it.

Last year, my husband got me a membership to Big Fish Games to feed my addiction, and I love it.  One game credit a month, good for any game on the site.  For seven bucks a pop.  Yes, please.

I spend *hours* playing games. My best friend’s boyfriend can’t figure it out: he’s the gamer, yet his girlfriend and her best friend easily put in 7 hours of “gaming” when they can. The only difference? We play “casual” games, things like Heartwild (which I desperately want to download, but haven’t convinced myself to pay the money for the full version) and CakeMania, and other dining/cooking sorts of games.

Huh. Had no idea we women game players were Legion.

These days, it’s mostly Solitaire—an hour or two a day, the old-fashioned kind and Spider. But in my youth—Tetris endlessly, text adventure games, Rogue. Lots and lots. Later, Snood. (Once had my high score up at work and someone came by who was awestruck—neither he nor his friends had ever come close. That was soooo cool.) Went through a major Minesweeper phase—when I wanted to blitz out, I’d just get lost in it.

Good times!

My favorite emotional love stories are Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife, Wendy Markham’s If Only in my Dreams, and Tiffanie deBartolo’s God-Shaped Hole.

Kimberly Anne - Just finished playing Dire Grove, actually.  It was good, but almost more creepy-spooky than my nerves can take!  Big Fish games, yes!  I’d let my credits accumulate, and purchased a bunch of games at the end of January.

Everyone chiming in here about how much time they spend on games is making me feel a wee bit better about my addition.

No recommendations, but just to chime in on games. I spend waayy too much time on casual games (the aforementioned Facebook and such games as Plants and Zombies), where I just tell myself, 1 level more… and more… But I started gaming with Warcraft II, so that’s where my real gaming passion is, RPGs and strategies; but those suck up even more time, I’ve ever played for 24hrs straight on those before.

Theresa—that’s interesting. My fiancee said exactly the same thing about Dire Grove. It was too creepy and depressing for her. What’s interesting is that she had no problems with Ravenhearst. Weird. Maybe it’s the cold, winter setting in DG…

I spend FAR too much time on games… I start playing freecell, zone out, and before I know it I’m late!

I mostly play card games, but my little sister recently introduced me to “Circle the Cat”. It is far too addicting.

Thanks to this site, I bought Heartwild just before Christmas and have been hopelessly addicted ever since.  It’s crack, it is. 

Of course, that was the first slip down the slope.  Just finished Dream Chronicles and Mortimer Beckett.  Both awesome games!

At least an hour of Solitaire daily. It can go up to five or six when the Sims are involved, though. *g* Or those hidden object games. Love those, too.

My recommendation for excellent reads are anything by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Her paranormal books are fascinating and the romance is always so amazing.

As for games… I spend 3-4 hours in the evenings playing World of Warcraft. I’ve been playing for about 4 years.  I also play several different Final Fantasy games on my Playstation. I was into Guild Wars briefly, which is excellent and requires no subscription.

I already have Heartwild on my mac so don’t need the free coupon. I do enjoy the game, though. It’s relaxing but engrossing. It’s the prefect thing to come back to between household tasks, kind of like reading a couple pages and putting the book down as you work.

I am a big fan of HO games but do have some trouble with Ravenhurst. I know it is meant to be Gothic/romantic but I do find it a little creepy.

captcha is going 84 which is when we bought our first computer and I learned to do a little Basic programming to rewrite a couple games to put on it…..

I immediately thought of Suzanne Macpherson’s books, which have a very B&W movie feel—although more screwball comedy than François Truffaut.

For sheer depth of emotion, you’d be hard=pressed to do better than Kristin Hannah or Susan Wiggs.

As for games: Have been doing very well without any on my computer for the last couple of years, but Heartwild just looks so lovely. I will not, however, load it until this WIP is done (in case my agent or editor are reading this !)

I’ve wanted to install and try out the Heartwild Solitaire, but it slipped my mind for weeks. I already spend so much time using my computer that I rarely play games. If only there were more hours in the day… When I play, it’s usually the pre-installed games like mahjong or card games. Easy access.

I spend no time playing games on the computer unless I’m on vacation.  Since I’m at the computer at work ALL DAY I prefer to read or listen to audiobooks and knit when I’m at home.  On the weekends when I have time my husband and son are on the computer! Sigh!  I must say that I bought about 4 computer games at Christmas—mostly strategy, maze-type games, no shootumups.  THEN I played much too often. Sigh.

Well, can I say that I spent absolutely NO time on casual games UNTIL some evil woman wrote about the Heartwild Solitaire game???  And I downloaded it?  And I unlocked the stories?  And kept playing and playing and playing and playing?  And now I spend *cough*2 hours*cough* a day playing it? 

(Besides blaming that devious dame, I blame the 2 year old—solitaire doesn’t suck my brain out of my head quite like he does and is thus oh so attractive.)

It varies, but I spend between 1-3 hours a day on computer games.  I like casual games because I can easily play them a few minutes at a time while watching my kids, and it’s not a problem to pause for awhile when the kids need me.

Oh boy the games I play. If I don’t have to shoot anyone, beat up a hooker or execute a fifteen minute long high kick sequence- then I’ll play it.

I play adventures, HOGs, puzzles, crosswords, word puzzles, card games etc. I like stories that are engaging but some of my favorite games don’t have a story at all. I don’t like being timed or pressured when I play. I get enough of that in the rest of my world so I’d really rather not add more pressure when I’m trying to relax.  For me just solving the puzzle is fun enough most of the time.

I’m a SAHW so in-between cleaning, cooking etc I play a quick game throughout the day. On a calm day I have no problems putting in six hours playing. On a busy day probably two hours spaced out in intervals throughout the day.

I think that’s something that is misunderstood about the female market. It’s not that we’re only into casual games, it’s just that most of us don’t have the time to sit down and play that long.  If a game doesn’t automatically save then it’s a huge hassle for me to play. If it takes two hours to progress a level, Lord, I just don’t have the patience anymore.

play29- If there were 29 hours a day I might have more time for gaming.

I spend quite a bit of down time playing Sudoku and/or various card games. But I have to say, even if I didn’t play at all, I’m SO intrigued by Derek’s voice in this interview, and the concept of the game, that I would LOVE to give it a try.

As for a recommendation for him to read - this isn’t a “typical” romance, but it’s got the emotions and depth: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.

Thanks for the post - I’ll be checking out HS even if I don’t win one in the drawing!

I spend a good hour, hour and half, playing solitare on my computer every day.  I am not much for other computer games, but I am tyring to find a java game from about ten years ago where the character is a wizard and you have to manipulate him through different levels.  My favorite games of yore will always be Sim Farm and Sim Tower.  Over winter break my friend and I rediscovered Sim Farm and found out that it works on XP and were not to be seen for days.

Oo, romance novels and gaming. If they could just get knitting in there somewhere, it’d be the trifecta of Jessica hobbies.

I don’t play games daily, but when I do play I get sucked in for hours and hours and hours and holy crap is that the time? I also play Free Cell on my netbook at lunch when I’m having trouble writing.

Sometimes I get lost in the so-called casual games, like Free Cell and Mah Johng, but I also love strategy games (I rocked Civilization II, sort of have the hang of Civ III and am completely hopeless at Civ IV…so far) and D&D-based adventure games (Neverwinter Nights, Baldur’s Gate, Planescape: Torment). If I get snowed in this weekend, I might take a crack at Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (which I’ve watched but never played), if The Boy will let me at the Wii long enough.

My computer didn’t come with any games pre-loaded. Heartwild was one of the freebies I downloaded. I love it! I don’t play games every day, but once I start, I’m definitely going to be on at least an hour.

I tend to play games on my iPhone rather than my computer. The computer is for writing. And probably about an hour a week—sometimes more.

Books for Derek: How about Meljean Brook’s Demon Forged? I think that whole world would be an awesome setting for a game for one thing. In Historicals, how about anything by Jo Borne or Sherry Thomas?

I’m on the computer for work. I get distracted and start a game. Free Cell/Spider/Heartwood Double Klondike/Jewel Quest III - which I finally broke down and bought/anything on Gamehouse’s site that looks fun. I tend to love the match 3 games that have some twist, a different geometry or a weird piece that changes what happens.

My eyes burn a lot. Must be the dry air in the office. It couldn’t be the hours of games.

Oh, Puzzles - Sudoku, paint-by-number (it has a few names, but it has a grid that you fill in using number information on the side) Jigsawdoku. Do not go near Jigsawdoku unless you have a will of iron.

Or jigzone. They can take any image and make it into a gorgeous jigsaw puzzle, with different cuts to make it hard or easy. You can use your own picture and load it to your website (although I have no idea how hard that is) but their photos are very nice to look at and work with. Just a pleasure to the eye with a satisfying “snick” when a piece fits.

Hmm, I don’t actually play games on the computer every day, but during reeeaaalllly long city council or school board meetings? Yep, that soft clicking is me playing spider solitaire or free cell. I also like Bejeweled and Snood. I finally removed Snood (and Zoo Tycoon—who knew washing an elephant and picking up animal poo would be so fun?) from my computer because they were becoming huge time-sucks. I admit that if I need to read a manual or go online to figure out how to play the game, I won’t play it. I like simple games that I can figure out after clicking through the instructions one time.

I’d guesstimate I spend a cumulative 1.5 hr/day playing various online games.  Tetris, Bejeweled, a few facebook apps (does Farmville really count as a ‘game’?), solitaire, various point-and-click flash games - depending on my mood and how much time I want to kill.  It’s important to me that the game work with MY schedule, that I can pick up and put it down as frequently as I want.  I can’t commit to games where starting them means a minimum X amount of game time.

I’d say 2-3 hours a day.  Mindless clicking games, mostly - Spades, Luxor, Hearts, and for a shamefully long time, Farmville.

I was relieved to see other commenters above mention World of Warcraft and Dragon Age; I thought I was going to be the only one!  WoW is enough of a time sink right now (3-4 hours a day on raid nights) that I’ve put DA:O on hold until I have more time, though.

I play casual games now and again on Popcap and other sites. I spent money on Plants vs. Zombies and thoroughly enjoyed it (BRAAAAAAINS). Sometimes when I’m feeling down I play Chuzzle because the little fuzzy blobs make me happy. I was gifted a copy of Braid recently but have yet to play it. Growing up (which for me wasn’t all that long ago) I played Solitaire, Spider Solitaire, etc. - whatever was available on various versions of Windows. I remember Hover on Win95 fondly, and my uncle had a skiing game and a golfing game on one of his machines about 10-12 years ago that were a lot of fun.

You don’t have to enter me in the drawing, I’m just proud to be part of the “people who play MMOs (and other traditionally “male” games)” and “people who read a romance blog” demographic!

I go in cycles where I am addicted to games, then I don’t play for awhile.  When I play, it may be anywhere from 30 minutes to 10 hours a day. I like many of the casual games, like Bejewelled, word games, and puzzle games .  I was into Morrowind, Oblivion and The Witcher for awhile.  And I play Still Life, some of the Sherlock Holmes games, and others like that.  I loved the old text adventures and remember having a romance novel based one of those, but can’t remember the title.

Spam work yet96.  No I am not yet 96.

I’ve been gaming since high school (now in my 40’s) and with the advent of computer games my addiction really took off.  MMORPGs was an amazing step, but were obviously made by men - testosterone filled male fantasy based games.  Then, recently, a game called Dragon Age came out…it actually had a romance element!  I was amazed!  I played it nearly straight through, 8-12 hours a day, just to see if I could get my character and the NPC “coupled” at the end (alas, he died, it was quite tragic…).  I’m very glad to see that gaming companies are finally recognizing that women are playing games!  When I play, I play often intensely, often 8-10 hours a day, every so often, I’ll just do casual games, like solitaire (I do like the Heartwild feel) and will play such games .5 to 1 hours a day.

Gamers must be the only one answering?  I play computer/online games about one time per year.  I waste too much time on the internet as it is. =)

I have played casual and online games in the past, though!  I agree with the comment about no time pressure, and being able to save where you are at, even if logging out.

I will have to check out Heartwild!

plant65 - no thanks, I am not that much of a gardener!

When I add it all up, I probably spend a couple of hours a day playing games—in 5-10 minute snippets. I have Minesweeper, Bejeweled, and Sudoko on my iPod Touch, not to mention Solitaire, Mahjong, Snood, and Facebook’s Bejeweled on my laptop. Any time I get frustrated or bored, I grab one or the other and spend a few minutes playing.

On the other hand, I had a friend link me to a first-person Tetris game online, where the whole ‘camera’ rotates with the pieces—my eyes were crossed and my head hurt after a few minutes, so I avoided my usual games for the rest of the day after that, heh.

I play computer games (varieties of Solitaire, Mah Jongg, and Sudoku mostly) about 30 minutes during my lunch hour and up to an hour in the evening at home (though sometimes I get caught up in “just one more game and then I’ll stop”).  I have never really liked adventure-type games though I have played them with my teenaged nephews.  I like the aarp.org/games page and Great Day Games.  I am 60 (am I only the only one that old here?) and I started with Pong and PacMan, and my ex-husband used to be very upset because I routinely beat him at Asteroid!

Wayyy too much time. We own every console and handheld known to man and everyone in my household plays World of Warcraft. I have a strange addiction to Taipei/Mahjongg and Picross. So all in all, I often spend 2-3 hours a day gaming on average, but if I’m sick or just lacking in motivation it can go up to 6 or more (but I try not to do that regularly). On the other hand, none of us watch TV. ;)

I play anywhere from 20 minutes to 2-3 hours, depending on my time ability.  If I have stuff to do, I’ll just poke around my Facebook games.  With time to kill, I head right for World of Warcraft.  For the Horde!

I am a classic Solitaire addict. Right along with Jawbreaker (aka Bubble Breaker). I spend a minimum of an hour a day playing those on my PDA. Seriously, it’s like I’m in some kind of hypnotic trance when I’m playing and I have to FORCE myself to stop. Every now and then I’ll also pop onto an online site for Bejeweled.

The first emotional book rec that popped into my head for Derek is CRY NO MORE by Linda Howard. It’s not flowers and hearts, it’s not even much of a “Romantic” Romance, but I DARE him to read it without sobbing… out loud!

Oh, that looks like an awesome game.

And add me to the list of “way too much time” people.  My current timesinks are WoW and Bejeweled, and http://www.zengaku.com/ ... but I’m always on the lookout for fun new games :D

I tend to multitask when I’m playing casual games (Spider Solitaire, Mah Jong, Bejewelled, etc.), in that I’ll play a round or two, do something else, then come back and play another round.  All in all, probably about an hour or so spread out over several. 

Of course, RPGs, Guitar Hero, and console-style games take more full attention, and I probably average 4-5 hours of those a week.

At least 2 hours a day, playing on a PC and pda.  Mahjongg, Spider Solitaire and Zuma the biggest time-sucks on the PC CrazyDaisy, SolFree and Sudoku on my pda.  Heartwild Solitaire sounds like a fine addition to these :)

I’ve been trying to cut back on games on my computer.  However, Heartswild Solitare is one of the *few* games I still have on my laptop that I play when I’m needing a break between activities. 

Between Puzzle Pirates, Cribbage, and Solitare, I was averaging 4 hours a day last summer on games…. Now, I’m down to 3-4 hours a week, which is a huge improvement :)

I probably spend 2 hours a day playing games. I tend to fill dead time at work with spider solitaire. At home I’m more likely to play freebies from games.com or Yahoo Games. And then there’s Snood, which is totally addictive. And Kyodai mah jongg. And I loved the free version of Heartwild Solitaire—so beautiful and mesmerizing I suspect it’s good for my high blood pressure!

I’m addicted to Facebook’s Bejewled Quest.  I play that everyday for at least an hour.  It can and does go longer if I’m on a hot streak.

I just pulled up Heartwild Solitaire last night to play again and was admiring the designs.

I’m more of a Wii gamer (Lego series anyone?), but I was watching my fiancee play Civilization this weekend and it looked fun.  I kept asking for the other game where you can attack with a monster or other natural disaster.  Can’t recall what it’s called now. 

As for recommendations, I’ve heard the JD Robb “In Death” series is a good starter for men.  I love the series myself.

Currently, I spend no time playing games on my computer. This is very much on purpose as I’m an “all or nothing” kind of gamer. Meaning when I DO play, I can (and have) spend an entire weekend raiding villages or shooting aliens or whatever. When I was in grad school, marooned in a middle-of-nowhere town, I would spend 4-6 hours a day on an old version of Quake. Not as responsible as doing research, but better than excessive alcohol consumption.

I don’t want to think about how much time I spend, because whenever I feel like procratinating, I go play Kakuro or Killer Sudoku. I keep telling myself that these games are good for my brain because they’re logic.

A rough estimate would be 30 minutes a day, Solitaire, Minesweeper, or Tetris.  I used to play Risk with my brothers, but we got too mad at each other and stopped.

Well, I think it’s more an age thing than a gender thing… for me at least. When I was a teen I plaid the occasional game, but nowadays I don’t have the time / money / interest to discover new ones

I would say that I spend about 5 hours a day playing computer games, mostly Pogo games. And, I get swollen ankles to prove it.

The Wii has sucked my computer time in the evenings away.  I am embarrassingly addicted to Animal Crossing.  But pre-Wii I could easily lose three hours to Bookworm or various puzzle games. Heartwild Solitaire has been on my mind since you last mentioned it, however, and I suspect I will be buying it for my mom to play while she recovers from surgery later this month. That’s the excuse I’m sticking by.  I’m also intrigued by the puzzle game by a different company to be based on Marjorie Liu’s book.  Her books are like crack for me.  I will drive my exhausted butt into town on release days for her books because I can’t wait for them to come by mail.

Sometimes I log into a game for an hour, sometimes i’ll be on for 6 hours. I’ve played games straight from dinner one day until lunch the next before, though these days I don’t really have that kind of free time. I’d say on average, 2 to 3 hours a day.

I’m not really a computer gamer, but I do play a couple MMOs, and I have an emulator installed for old PS1 and SNES games. I absolutely love games with deep and complex stories.

Well, and when i’m in class I am often playing Hearts or Mah Jong.

I play solitaire on the computer at the very end of my day, to unwind.
I try to watch the time, since my DH is usually just gone to bed!

My computer gaming is mild right now. I finally gave up on World of Warcraft for right now, I am waiting for the Cataclysm to hit. I have spent time on Final Fantasy XI and Lineage 2 in the online gaming world, and have spent entirely too much time with console rpgs. I have an xbox 360, ps2, and we are thinking of getting another ps3. I am anxiously awaiting ffxiii next month. (wow next month! yay!)

I always have a game open on my work computer. I play puzzles mostly while I pretend to work (Shhhhh… don’t tell LOL) But when i get home on my own computer I usually limit the playing to about 30 minutes but have been known to waste hours and hours and hours playing games instead of doing what I’m supposed to be doing :) But I have the free version and love it… it would be great to try the full one too!

I definitely play games (mostly on my iPhone, but sometimes on the computer) but they are always more word based or puzzle based than the sports/guns/war style games the boys around me play. I don’t know if anyone remembers this, but back in the days of massive computers with green screens, there was a word-game designed by Douglas Adams based on his book Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I was a teen at the time and the only one I knew who EVER managed to get past the first stage!

I definitely spend too much time on my laptop playing games: solitare, minesweeper, bejewled, and really anything that tickles my fancy.  I downloaded the Heartwild free demo a while ago and loved it.

In between Neopets and Heartwild Software (the free trial), probably about an hour to three hours if I get really caught up in it.

If I find a game that interests me - usually if there is a good story to suck me in - I’m like an addict.  I do love solitare games too just for the zen-like mental break they give you.  I’ve really enjoyed the free download of this game and would *lurve* (!) to be able to enjoy the full version.

It varies pretty widely, depending on how busy I am at work—occasionally there are times when I legitimately have nothing better to do.  I’ll say maybe anywhere from 30-90 minutes a day?

I’m a gamer, I’ve like a few others here, have been playing since high school with Pong and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - (I found a nice BBS full of hints to get me to the end) .

I have a lifetime sub for Lord of the Rings Online and I usually play at least 2 -3 hours a day or 8 hrs/day on weekends.  I like to take a break and read for a few weeks before I head back to LOTRO or try another game. 

I’m a sucker for historical romances… but depending on your tastes, you can count on the reviews on this site for a good read.

Ahh games.
They are dangerous. Once I find one I like, I get totally addicted and need to play for hours everyday until I get bored with it, mostly after 2 weeks or something. But in these weeks I barely do any other stuff. So I tend to be careful with games, and only start them when I’ve got time :)
In my hometown we have a gameshop that also has a library system, so I often get my games there, to try out if I like them or not.

I’ve played a lot of Strategic Games, like Age of Empires when I was a kid, and various version of Civilization. The Sims and Spore were quite addictive too. And Rollercoaster Tycoon, I love Tycoon games.

I learned English playing Neopets (on Neopets.com) back when it was still very, very small and had only an English version. Popomundo was a devious timekiller for a long time too.

Lately I tend to play short flash games on Kongregate.com when I need to make my mind blank when I’m stuck on writing.

If it’s solitaire,| can literally get carried away for hours. I’m also guilty of the 2+ hour long gaming session on Dream Day Wedding. What can I say - I’m addicted to finding an egg in the bridal salon!!!

I like to play hidden object games randomly and when I do I usually play until its over which can last anywhere from 2-4 hours.  Its not an every day thing but I play World of Warcraft on days I don’t find a hidden object game to play.

Hmmm, well I play a lot more than I should.  I play several facebook games, also my Big Fish games ( I played straight through that Harlequin mystery object thing in one day) and I have the free Heartwild Solitaire download.  I also play Civilisation and other city and world builders.  Um, yeah ... faaaaaaaar too much time.  At least 2 hours a day while watching TV.  I probably spend as much time gaming as my husband does, which is kinda spooky.

death47: yes gaming may cause my early demise at 47.  Thankfully that is a few years off yet.

Just seen all the comments about Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.  I loved that game so much (and a number of other games we had on our old Apple II C, haha), but I got stuck at the door that wanted tea and no tea at the same time.  Even after my cousin explained how to get past we never managed to make it work.

I play World of Warcraft, so usually I end up spending waaaay too much time playing the game to admit how much time I really spend.

This was a really pretty time-wasting-brain-off game. Much prettier than Windows Solitaire.

I tend to spend about an hour or so playing logic and word games a day.

I have two brothers, so I’ve grown up playing video games and computer games.  What with university going on now, I don’t spend as much time playing games as when I was younger, but I’d say I spend at least half an hour to an hour playing games a day.  It’s a nice way to relax.  (:  I’m currently hooked on Fable II (my brother bought himself an XBox 360 for Christmas).

I haven’t read any romance in a while…  ):  Most of my reading is in textbook-form.  The last novel I read was ‘The Birth of Venus’ by Sarah Dunant.  It does have romantic elements to it, but most of the plot is focused on the protagonist’s desire to paint and how unusual it was to have female painters in 16th century Italy.

I probably play about 3-6 hours of computer games a day. World of Warcraft is my main source of gaming fun although I’m also working my way through Mass Effect and play some Left for Dead from time to time.

Throwing in another For the Horde!

How much time I spend on computer games depends on my moods. When I’m just really in the mood to sit and game, it can be hours.

Count me among the World of Warcrafters. My brother and sis-in-law got me started on it. I’m about to level my first 80! Whee!

Back when I worked an office job I used to fill the lulls with Spider Solitaire, Free Cell, Chinese Checkers, Bejeweled and Pinball. (Yes, I occasionally fit in some actual work) Oh and Word Whomp. For a while I was completely and totally addicted to Word Whomp.

Oooh, the game sounds fun.

I go through spurts where I play games and times I don’t. Right now, I’ve rediscovered Majong on my computer and will obsessively play until I win. (Same for my Solitaire and Free Cell spurts, too. lol)

Other games that have sucked hours from my life are PuzzleQuest and GalaxyQuest. Love, love, love click-y games.

Around 6 hours a week. Thought that was a lot but glad to see others are spending around the same amount of time;-)

Does Wii count?  It’s my exercise method of choice and I like playing the balance games as well as some others.  I go in spurts otherwise.  I was playing about 30 min. of various games on pogo.com for a few months.  I prefer to play games than start a novel when my to do list is very long.  This allows for a little down time without the commitment.

Also, someone has probably mentioned this above me (84 comments) but “can on a hot thing roof”?  Typo or is that what he said?

I’ve got nothing to recommend.  I like funny more so that drama for my romances.

I always have to do something on my computer while I’m watching TV and its usually playing a game online. Sadly, I spend WAY too much time doing both.

At least an hour of Solitaire. Every day. (I have to play Solitaire before I can write. It’s Zen-inducing.) But lately I’ve been playing this online RPG called Dream World; it’s ridiculously addictive. I discovered it last Friday and I’m already a level 21 Mage with a familiar unicorn. (It is exactly as awesome as it sounds.)

And I was up until 4 yesterday playing Sporcle quizzes with my friends. But I suppose that’s what you get putting a bunch of former high school quiz bowl team captains in a room together.

Playing games? About four hours ago, my answer would have been a few hours a week. Now that I’m COMPLETELY addicted to Heartwild Solitaire (thank you very much Sarah) I can’t quite answer the question. Let’s put it at four hours and counting…

I’d recommend Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Devereaux. I know it’s an old book, but a male friend once read it and seems to like it.

As to gaming, on week nights, I play around 2 hours and weekends, I try to limit myself to 4 hours a day. If I don’t restrain myself, I think I’ll play from the time I wake to the time I need to sleep. LOL

Okay, I forgot to add. I’m in my mid 30’s. I play World of Warcraft as well as casual games such as Cake Mania and Farm Frenzy and Facebook games like Cafe World. I also have Dragon Age but haven’t played that yet. Can’t afford to be addicted right now. :)

Most days I spend no time playing games, as the only game on my computer is the sample Heartwild solitaire…

I don’t play games all the time, but when I do, I can be on there for hours.  Like others have said, it’s “just one more game.”

I tried to download this game three times and I could not get it to download.  I play solitare at least an hour a day—it is such mindless entertainment and allows me to turn my brain off.  Any suggestions Darek?

Don’t enter me, don’t want the game.

I spend way too much time on games on my computer or PS2. Farmville (and other like that) and Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook, easily over an hour daily, and often the daily Big Fish game. Hidden Object games and swap 3 are favorites there.

I also like RPGs and Hack ‘n Slash games; Sacred, Morrowind and Oblivion are long time installs on my computer.

On Playstation I like Ratchet and Clank games, Singstar, Prince of Persia series, and Burnout: Takedown.  I got Trivial Pursuit as a Christmas gift, I have spent hours playing that one lately.

Counting all that, I estimate I play games in one way or other maybe 3 hours daily, more on days off from work.

I play any and everything all day while I’m at work and also when I’m home.  Anything ranging from MindJolt games to GeoChallenge to random games I come accross.  Right now I’m saving up to buy an old school NES system to play some games on.

That is ever so groovy. I’d love a copy!

Don’t enter me as I already own the game and love it.

I’m in my late 30s and have been playing games for about 8 years now. I played a bit when I was younger, mostly Tetris or Solitaire, but it was my husband wanting a PS2 that did it for me. He said I’d get addicted, and he was right.

I play both casual and non-casual games, and I go through phases of playing lots and then not at all. I’ll try most genres except first person shooters (I suck at them and the motion can sometimes trigger migraines) but my favourites are adventure games and hidden object games. I’m also a Big Fish Games member and am looking forward to Dire Grove now that it’s finally out for Mac. I’ve just got a huge pile-up of games at the moment, especially with the new punchcard.

As for non-casual games, I tend to play them more on the Wii or DS. My favourite game series is the Ace Attorney series, which has some romance in it, both in-game and subtext. (And, yes, I ship Phoenix and Miles, but that’s not the only reason I play the games.) I’ve wanted to try World of Warcraft, but I’m actually scared of it due to the time commitment.

@SabrinaSassyPants

You probably already know this, but if you get a Wii you can play some NES games on the virtual console, along with SNES and other classic consoles. Obviously they don’t have every game on there, but most of the famous ones are there.

Well, are we talking about free to play and pop cap games, or just in general games on our computers?

If it’s general, then I play World of Warcraft for at least 2 hours any given week night and around 5 hours on Saturday and Sunday.  So, at minimum about 20 hours a week.  (I play with my hubby :D )

*gasp* There’s a use for computers besides playing games? Why am I only hearing about this now?

Seriously, though, I spend more time gaming than I want to think about. Solitaire is my comforting fallback while I wait for stuff to finish loading, but I also spend ridiculous amounts of time pwning Luxor and trying to pwn Luxor 2.

Also: The Sims 2. For reals. I have to save it for weekends when I’m going to have a lot of free time, because I could spend days playing it without even trying. I know they’re just pixels, but I get so darn attached to the little guys, and I love watching their lives unfolding—admittedly with the help of a lot of sadistic plotting from yours truly. I also spend a lot of time finding nifty downloads for my Sims; you know it’s sad when your pixel people have nicer clothes and hair than you ever will.