Play More: Ways to Convince Your Other Half

How many times have you been deep in a game, cut off from reality, when your significant other came wanting your full attention? How can you defer their attention to get those few more hours of game time? Here are some options.

First – you have to have a girlfriend/boyfriend. Have one? Great! Along with all your other issues, a member of the opposite sex has found you desirable despite your sick addiction to video games. You’re ahead of the curve!

Misdirection

Magicians do this all the time, along with con artists and frat guys slipping more vodka into your jungle juice. When first approached, immediately change the subject. Look them in the eyes, play the game simultaneously, and tell them something that happened during the day. Don’t lie, but embellish a tale about school or work. Take quick glances at the screen, but sound interested when they reply with their recollection of the day. Congratulations, by showing you care about them, they’ll wander off like a shark full of whale meat.

Convert them into a Gamer - Nintendo DS/PlayStation Portable-specific

If you’re a true gamer, you own one of these systems. Introduce them to each other. They play games, but they just don’t know it. Solitaire? Snake? Those are games. Consider their interests and buy a game that caters to it. When they want to have some time with you, carefully suggest they try the game, and show them how to play. Slowly wean them to other games, while strictly keeping them to portables. You wouldn’t want them using your console; that would defeat the point. Eventually they’ll understand why you sit in front of a screen for ten hours. This could backfire when they ask why they can’t play your big boy/girl system, so be careful.

Make a Promise

We’ve all done this at some point. The promise of a date night or going out with their friends is a standard answer. It will seem like playing F.E.A.R. for PS3 when you’re with their friends; but it’s a small price to pay to play World of Warcraft for three more hours, and usually alcohol is involved, so drink away the pain.

Give a Gift in Advance

This may buy (no pun intended) you some time in the future. Think of the amount of money as directly effecting how much more time you get. Buy your girlfriend some jewelry, cringe at the thought of how many games you could have purchased with said money, and give it to her. She’ll be so happy, she’ll want to go out with her girlfriends and brag about how caring you are. Additionally, she’ll be out of the house. For your boyfriend, movie tickets to that no-brain action movie you didn’t want to see. Or tell him to go out with the boys. Out of sight, out of mind.

Ignore Them

Use at your own risk.

So there are five options that you, the gamer, can attempt to get those hours of game time. At some point however, you have to put the controller down and get out into the world. Make friends with the sun, it provides Vitamin D and gives your sickly white skin some color. Remember, unless your significant other begrudgingly accepts your “hobby” or likes you a lot, they could do a lot better.