Drink, Drink, Game? Maybe Not

It’s a trend we’ve all tried once, much to our skill level’s chagrin. And more and more gamers (especially those of us in college) are finding ourselves doing it: drunken gaming. Although it seems like a good idea at the time (and when you’re at that stage, what doesn’t?), let me tell you, not only will your head ache the morning after change your mind, but your decreased skills (and former teammates) won’t thank you, either.

It starts out simple: you and your friends decide a great way to pregame for a party is to play video games. So you take a shot for every time you die in the game, and you soon find yourself a little more than buzzed. You’re drunk. And at this point, going out to that party doesn’t even sound fun. In fact, you would rather just stay in your cramped little room and keep playing Halo until you pass out (well, maybe you’re not in college and actually have space in your place, but still, you get the idea).

In the morning, you wake up and discover that the Major rank you worked so hard to get dropped like an anvil and suddenly you’re a lowly Corporal yet again. And to top that off, you have a headache that makes you wish that you could undergo Egyptian mummification just to get the brain out. But what’s a headache in comparison to the loss of hours and hours of dedicated (and sober) gaming?

So you take a few (or the entire bottle) of Ibuprofen, chug a bottle of water and sit down to reclaim your deserved title. You swear that you’ll never do it again, that you’ll stay away from the controller when drinking, but then a case of beer gets dragged out and you soon find yourself on the futon in that familiar position yet again.

But really, what’s the harm in drunken gaming? Well, as your eyes get slightly unfocused, your “perfect” headshot suddenly whizzes by harmlessly, you find yourself on the losing side of many battles, and to top it off, the graphics make you dizzy. And dizzy, when you’re under the influence, is dangerous. It can lead to you hugging the porcelain throne and wishing you had died, or worse—hugging the just-toilet-shaped-enough console that’s immediately accessible. Overall, dangerous for your health, pride, and precious gamer rank.

Of course, you could be the rarity. You could be that one man in a hundred who has gamed drunk so many times that he’s actually better drunk than sober. But don’t count on it.

So, play it safe. Don’t drink and game, but rather, play a few hands of cards and actually go to that party. You might even make some friends to play with when you’re sober.