Lockdowns Are This Gamer’s Delight

By Cooper Banks

Boy, do I love to play games.  Ever since I can remember being alive, I’ve always had an intense interest in strategizing, planning, and playing out challenging “what if” scenarios.

You might remember my blog about the “Video Game Of The Century”

Lucinda and I also talked about it at length on Friday’s edition of Portland’s Afternoon News;

None of this is to say I’m particularly good at gaming, in many instances, I’m not, but I love it anyway.  And if I’m being entirely honest, the current “Stay At Home” stuff is kind of a welcome thing for an avid gamer like me.

In today’s lockdown reality, after work, I get to dig into my massive collection of games.  I have everything from board games to historical war games, and fun video games and I get to play to my heart’s content or…until I have to do the dishes.

Yes, I’m also single.  Feel free to pity me, I suppose (lol)

Most recently, I’ve been on quite the tear with my PS4, playing through the worlds of Red Dead Redemption 2 (yes, I’ve managed to enjoy it for nearly a year now), Assassin’s Creed (Odyssey and Origins) and Star Wars (Fallen Order) along with sports titles like EA Sports’ Madden NFL franchise, FIFA, and NHL.

Frankly, no one can really admire such a hobby, after all, it engenders very little in the form of genuine productivity or progress through life, but with the whole world basically “on pause”, it’s really great medicine for a guy like me.

You see, my mind is always kind of playing through real-world scenarios like games anyway.  In fact, I’m constantly trying to play this COVID-19 situation out for “the next 5 moves” or the “next 5 things”.

I can only handle so much of that given the very real threat the pandemic poses.  Also, I am very limited in my ability to influence the overall “game” when it comes to COVID-19.  So, it hits me hard if I spend too much time trying to “play it out” to the next set of inevitable (or potential) conclusions.

It just becomes a bummer at the end of the day.

So, gaming things that aren’t so real, kinda helps me stay sane amidst all of this.

I would certainly encourage anyone or any family, if you can spare the time, to dive into gaming as a nice escape.  There are some pretty amazing experiences waiting for you.