A Rose Is A Rose Is A Rose!

Things are as they are, not as they should be!

A is for… Addiction

a-to-z-letters-a
As a child, I was never good at games.The basket ball coach at school identified this trait in a week and kindly suggested that I better opt for Yoga during the sports period.Try throwing a key chain from a distance of 6-8 meters and chances are that it will drop in front of me but not in my outstretched hands or will simply hit my head!!Hell, I can’t even play ‘games’ with people.

But God has his own ways. He compensates… and how! So, what if I am clumsy in outdoor games, He ensured that I had a flair for some other games… the computer/online games.

So, when I first started using computers in 1997 at workplace, I was pulled towards the Solitaire Solitairegame which comes pre-loaded with Microsoft Windows. Every free minute and sometimes when the boss was not around was used to play Solitaire. I was so hooked to it that I would request hubby to get his official laptop home for the weekend, so that I could put it to good use by playing Solitaire. One game after the other, I could play this game for hours and hours together. So much was my craze for this game that I started playing it from serial number 1 and maintained a notebook which had the game numbers which I was not able to crack. And these failed games were re-visited again till the screen showed “Congratulations, you have won the game!”

After the Solitaire phase, next I came across Bubble Breaker. I got this 2913_boxshots_medium_820x480game in one of the forward emails which was duly saved on the system and this was another game that saw me playing liked a woman with a mission. And the mission was to create the highest score. The zeal to break your own score one game after the other gave you a different kind of high. While the husband and friends started labeling me as being addicted to Bubble Breaker, I rationalized by saying, “the goal in life is not surpass the competition, but to surpass the expectations we set for ourselves. Success is sweetest when we break our own record then wake up the next day ready to do it all over again”.

A few years later, when I started playing, FarmVille (FV) on Facebook, even I realized that saying “I am addicted to FV” is putting it very very mildly. While many friends started playing FV during 2009-10, all of them abandoned the game after a few days or months. But not me… I played FV for 3 consecutive years non-stop, day and night. Since, I didn’t play any games as a child I was certainly making up for lost time by playing FV.538566_259218387502855_360601449_nMy day started with it and ended with it. I would get up in the middle of the night to harvest my strawberries or feed the little puppy on my virtual farm. The joke, “Normal people: “What a lovely home!” Me: “What’s your wifi password.” was inspired from my life! I had blogged about the insanity of my addiction for FV here. This addiction could have gone more worse, till I read a post by Purba. This post, really made me do the reality check. I thought for a while, of course the threat of carpal tunnel syndrome loomed large too and I quit my addiction for FV the very same day!

Was I happy?? Was I proud of myself? Well, I had so much of time on my hands… I had more time for myself, more time to read, more time to play with my child and more time to spend in the kitchen too.

Did this phase last for long??

I quit my addiction for FV and discovered another game on Facebook… Hidden Chronicles. Even as I write this post, I must have visited the game a dozen times in 5 minutes, despite knowing the fact that the optimum energy required to play a scene would be available only after 50 minutes! The addiction continues….Hidden-Chronicles_Poster
Images Courtesy : Google Images

114 Responses

  1. OMG all the games you have stated here till FV were popular… I remember I had an addiction for solitaire, then freecell and then the real addiction was Farmville and Mafia wars… And growing crops and harvesting them remained the main occupation like a real KISAAN , spending my whole time and energy into it. And then one day my siblings helped me in quiting it. It was Hard though… Last year I was hooked to some word games on IBIBO, but then realized better leave than never 😛

    1. God! We all have given so much of our time and energy to these games! The developers of these games surely know how to keep the players glued to their computers and keep doing the same routine again and again… day after day, months… Glad you are off these games, Shesha! 🙂

  2. i can so relate to the FV addiction shilpa – 2 long years of mine were wasted harvesting berries and building wineries 🙂 now thankfully there is no online game playing but yes the addiction to remain online continues (hee hee)
    nice post gal 🙂

    1. You are better than me, Priya, I played for 3 years till better sense prevailed! I know being online always is such an addiction… it is like, you will miss out on something important if you are not online! When will we learn!! 😀 Thanks Priya 🙂

  3. Addiction to playing games on the computer is so strong in me that even 24 hours of the day seem too less.I started with Solitaire, shifted to Free Cell and now the latest Scrabble and Mind Jolt games have made me so crazy that I can sit endlessly in front of the computer.

  4. A great start to the challenge, shilpa. Good… so you got the ‘A’ at last and seem to be an ace in online games too:)

    Even i was addicted like you in the late 90’s to solitaire, a brick game, Dave and another treasure hunt game.

    Some two years back, i played Atlantis on the computer all through the night and in the morning when i had to go to work had a severe wrist pain and throbbing headache. That is when i quit. i still have wrist pain since my job involves working on the computer.

    1. Yeah, finally, the ‘A’ clicked on Sunday! 😀 I can understand the pain… I had a constant pain in my fingers due to the constant clicking of the mouse and then read about CTS and visited a doc too and that really scared me… so immediately quit FV which is very very time consuming and is nothing but clicking of mouse all the time! 😐

  5. OMG, you have written about me…..till the time I gave up all games. I am now only a scrabble freak. I tell myself it is because I love reading and writing….but I do know better. It is crazy this addiction. I asked my sister to look after my farms when I was on vacation…..and then one day I simply went and deleted it all. And I have been sober since. Good post.

    1. LOL, you too V?? You asked your sister to look after your farms… and I used to look after 3 farms of mine (had created 2 extra FB accounts just for FV), husband, sister and BIL’s farms and then created one for the son too!! 7 farms… seen anybody more insane than this?? Thank God I am out of this farming business! But those were some days of sheer madness and fun too 😀

  6. I was useless at games too as a child so your post drew me in. Luckily I’m not addicted to computer games though I enjoy a bit of sudoku now and then. Dropping by from AtoZ.

    1. Hi Suzy! Welcome to this space. Sudoku is so good… at least you are using your grey cells… but in all the games that I played, it was all clicking of the mouse, that’s it! Though it did teach about sharing and caring 😀

  7. 🙂 I used to yearn to take part in sports but was terrible thanks to my short-sight/astigmatism (now there’s an A word!) But board games, yes! 😀 Somehow I’ve never even looked at Farm Ville.

    Happy April to you, Shilpa!

    1. Oh, my son has astigmatism too! 😐 That’s such an intelligent choice you made Vidya!! Spending time on useful and productive activities is way better than playing these mindless games! Look who is talking, though 😀

  8. A for addiction is a super start to the A to Z challenge indeed. I liked the lines in which you have described your prowess on the sports field. I am like you too in many ways. When I was a child, I was always the kaccha limbu of my team. Good luck to you for the rest of the challenge.

    1. Thanks Cynthia! I am so glad to have your company in this field… I could never catch a ball, never run fast, never throw perfectly… kaccha limbu is/was the word for me! Good luck to you too 🙂

  9. lol!!! Been there and done that! I was addicted to Pac Mania and Emperor of Ages. How I got de addicted? Well, when I started dreaming about the games and started having abuzz in my head while going to sleep I realised that I have had enough. That was some 6-7 years ago and i have not gone back there!!!

    Because I know it is damn addictive and frankly there are better things to do in life 😉 My hubby though is a FV addict and loves computer games per se.

  10. I was always out playing some sport throughout school, love cricket the most(Even now). My daughter is into all online games you mentioned and a lot more on the X-box and Play station, which I just cannot master. Great beginning to the challenge.

    1. Wow! We have a sports enthusiast among us! How cool! 🙂
      I can’t play X-box and Play Station games… son is into all these!! Thanks and wishing you a great time doing this challenge too, Sulekha 🙂

  11. I am not at all into online games ! Dont know how to play any of them !And I think if I ever did start playing them I would really suck at them ! My addiction was browsing the FB on my mobile but it gave me such a bad case of cervical that I forced myself to stop doing it !!

    1. Glad you are out of all these addictions, Ruchira! Though let me tell you that playing these games is no brainer and also they come with such simple and easy to follow instructions that you can never go wrong! 😀

  12. I was a total Solitaire addict. Then it was Scrabble on Yahoo games and now on Facebook. But the addiction is much, much less. Now I’m blog-addicted! 😉
    Looking forward to your posts this challenge, Shilpa.

  13. I am so addicted to my games. My one friend and I joke about the getting up or working our plans around harvesting 🙂 We have chilled a bit, and I haven’t been one in three days! But I keep thinking about what I’m missing. Are there spiffy sheep I can be getting? Still, even without that, my big time taker is the Bejeweled. Oh the pretty little gems falling away 🙂

    1. Hi Kathy and welcome to this blog 🙂
      Oh, you too are addicted like me!! Gosh, we have a big tribe 😀
      I can so relate to what you have mentioned… not resting till we got that cute little baby elephant or that blue winged unicorn… it was never ending… I have stayed away from Bejewled though many friends pushed me try it! 😛

  14. I can so relate to the ‘never able to catch something thrown at you’. It is standing joke at home. And addiction to Solitaire, FV… Thanks heavens I have left all that behind 😀

  15. Thanks to FV we are friends today. We wrote about FV for BPL too remember? 😀 I play free cell even now. It’s a good stress buster.

    1. Oh yes… I remember you planting and harvesting so many things for my co-op jobs even when you were not very actively playing FV! Yes, I remember that too and guess your post won… right!
      I play free cell sometimes when internet is not available 😀

  16. haha
    same pinch Shilpa did u try criminal case ??? am sure u will be glued. Do join. We can play together !! I was never glued to FV though but used to see that many r playing it. Never a fan of online games but these days as I got some free time realised the fun in it. Got addicted to Angry birds, followed by Temple run , Brave and criminal case (I have 20 team mates ) and its like a dialy thing !
    Yep u shud take care of wrist and play for a limited duration.
    Loved this post 🙂
    and quote Success is sweetest when we break our own record then wake up the next day ready to do it all over again”.

    1. Oh, I am so tempted to try Criminal Cases… so many friends are pushing me to try it and keep getting so many requests too… but I cant handle 2 games… I am in love with Hidden Chronicles and cant spare more time to any other game… 😛 And yes the aching fingers and wrists are a big ‘motivation’ to stay away too! You enjoy your time solving the cases 😀
      Thanks, glad you liked reading this post, Afshan 🙂

  17. I play one game regularly – Pinball. That’s the only game available on my computer and I play that because my internet takes 5 minutes to connect and I need something to do at that time!! But I would have played it at least 10,000 times over the last two years. But many times, I would close the game once the net is connected.

    I feel that we should always be vigilant about addictions, and not get carried around too much by them.

    Destination Infinity

  18. I can completely relate to this addiction, for me it started with spider solitaire, and it went to such a level, that my greatest pride was not losing a single game and completing it under 4-5 min flat! and then Tetris followed….one fine day i decided that i had had enough and i disconnected my internet for 1 whole month, and deleted all traces of the game from my mobile and computer…. it cured me!

    1. I can relate to the pride you experienced at achieving the goals you set for yourself 😀 And your recipe for curing yourself is admirable too! WOW! 🙂

  19. OOOOh too familiar. A lot of good books haven’t been written because of computer games.
    (You could do yoga instead of games at school!!! What a civilized place, deeply impressed.)

    1. True true… agree completely… a lot of good work, spending quality time with your loved ones, or doing something constructive does not happen just because of our dependence and addiction to these games. Thanks Bridget and welcome to this space 🙂

  20. Superb post. How did you think of it Shilpa?

    I was addicted to FV and the to Mafia wars. But for a li’l longer while only. I even have 500 FV cash in my FV account. 😛

    These days i play Criminal Cases. But Thankfully i am not addicted to any game anymore. 🙂

    1. Thanks Preetilata, glad you liked this post 🙂
      Well, it was easy… addicts think about their addictions all the time 😀
      500 FV cash… OMG… how many things I could have bought with that 😀 Gosh! I am incorrigible 😀
      I am not trying CC, coz I know, I will be hooked to it! 😀

    2. :O :O :O
      500 FV cash! That’s a LOT of money! Did you win a Farmville lottery or something?

      See! It’s over 2 years now since I quit FV! Still my eyes pop out at the mention of 500 FV cash! Gosh! You’re right Shilpa… 500 FV could have bought so SO many things! Tiny images, rather! Tiny .gifs or .pngs!

  21. I know a lot of people who are addicted to the games mentioned by you. Even my daughter plays such games aimlessly just to pass time and doesn’t realize how so much precious times has gone by. In fact I have known people become so obsessed with these games that they finally end up with severe nerve damage in their brain, and cannot concentrate on their real jobs. Doctors advise people not to get into these games addiction, but it is so difficult to resist.
    Any way a good start to your to your goal of reaching till ‘Z’.
    I am addicted to watching exercise videos in the internet, and also finding about a lot of things that I cannot understand, which thanks to the net , I am able to educate myself. But i have to be very careful for I also don’t realize how much time I spend just learning through the net. everything has to be balanced, only then we can be healthy.
    All the best to you.

    1. Oh! These games can lead to nerve damage in the brain… that’s scary!! True, addiction of any kind is bad!
      Hopefully, will reach Z 😀
      Oh yes, time flies when you are on internet! Your desire to learn more and more… awe-inspiring! 🙂

  22. never ever was into Online games. Totally eclipsed the Farmville. Like Corrine, i was into Blogs soon after switching to Facebook from Orkut.

    Interesting posts expected Shilpa 🙂

  23. I too am not good at outdoor games and in playing “games” with people either…My all time fav is Uno ,scrabble and these days I am addicted to Criminal case!!!
    Nice post 🙂

  24. So much was my craze for this game that I started playing it from serial number 1 and maintained a notebook which had the game numbers which I was not able to crack. And these failed games were re-visited again till the screen showed “Congratulations, you have won the game!

    That made me say ‘wow’. True Story!!

    Baki FarmVille ki story to kayio ke sath hui, including me. Played it a lot for some months. 🙂

  25. Nice post! I can totally relate to it I love Solitaire too. A close second is Mahjong Titans, have you tried it, can be pretty addictive. Especially when I need to keep my mind off something.

  26. I too love Solitaire and there are many variations available on FB and have played most of them. Yeah, there was a time when I too was addicted to many games and we, a group of friends were constantly beating each other. And, we grew up.

  27. I was addicted to Pacman and Mario when we first got desktop. Wow! now even with all these high tech games, I think they can’t still beat the simplicity and the fun those games gave.

  28. Shilpa!!!! I loved, and still do, Solitaire!! My god I was so addicted at one time, my fingers, knucles everything used to hurt but I never stopped. Crazy I was.
    And now, I play Sudoku online. Not addicted that much, but do go a certain length if I dont win a game in one session. 🙂
    Nostalgic post!

    1. I can relate to your craziness, Naina!! I know, till a particular game is not won, we are so restless and so stubborn about it and will be at peace only when the mission is accomplished! Wish we showed this much of tenacity in other things of life too! 😛

  29. Hi Shilpa

    I was a FV addict too but yes, I gave up after a few months! And now with IPhone, I have got a game that seems to be similar to your Hidden Chronicles and boy! it keeps me hooked!

  30. I can relate to this, I too am not good at sports and also got addicted to games, though none the same as yours (mine included Draw Something, Candy Crush, Friendstock, etc.) Maybe A-Z blogging is your next addiction. 🙂

    Your fellow A-Z challenger,
    Deecoded

  31. I can relate because I went through a similar phase with Plants vs. Zombies!! I would sit in bed late at night planting my plants and attending to my Zen garden instead of attending to wifely duties…ahem! 😉

  32. You are definitely an addict of virtual games 🙂 I also played FV for a year but realised that it was a waste of time so dropped it. I love Solitaire and play it when I am bored but no addiction 😛

  33. Hidden Chronicles does look intriguing. And if you like solitaire, you should try spider solitaire. It’s so addicting. I just got a new laptop and Microsoft has so many new games! I’m totally addicted.

    I’m from the A-Z, a minion from Spunk on a Stick. It’s great to meet you! I’ll be back 🙂

    1. HC is interesting and fun. I have played spider solitaire too and yes there are a lot of new games which are preloaded in my Windows 7 Home Premium. see you around, Gwen 🙂

  34. Hi Shilpa! Cool topic for ‘A’. I wanted to take up this challenge too, but I have a lot of pending book reviews and recipes to post this month. So it wouldn’t have been possible to stick to the A-Z theme. But I will probably do a daily blogging round too this month.

  35. Hi there!

    It’s my first time here. I found a link to you via #atozchallenge on Twitter.

    The only one I play these days is Words with Friends – especially when I get middle of the night insomnia, because I can play it on my phone while still in bed!

    Happy A to Z to ya! I’ll be back to see how your month is going.

    ~Tui @mentalmosaic

  36. Hahah…Shilpa, I sail in the same boat…no games/sports. Fortunately, I don’t have an addiction for any of the computer games too…I just can’t stand them..the only games that I can play for few minutes are either scrabble or any word game..not beyond that..my son is like that. We don’t have to talk about kids in that matter though.. He used to play temple runner that way crossing his own scores…3 million and more and me I would fall down after a couple of thousand 🙁 boohhh!!

    1. LOL you too were like me in outdoor sports 😀 Good that you are far away from these games. Even my son is crazy about improving his score in this Temple Run 😀

  37. I don’t play the Facebook games, but I do play tons of those mindless games. I’m particularly entranced by hidden object games and tile breakers as well. A fun start to the A to Z Challenge 🙂

  38. I’m glad I never played FV, spent enough time with Mafia Wars. (ditched that when they wouldn’t let me past an email screen).

    I love solitare, be it on the computer or cards. I also like hearts.

  39. I used to be crazy about Road Rash and DX Ball once upon a time. Not any more. Your solitaire addiction seems interesting. I came across this freak news somewhere that a couple (in Canada , I think) sold all their property to play Farmville. The authorities came to know this when they found the kids starving at home! Too much, right?

    Yours I believe is enthusiasm, so game on, Shilpa! 😀

  40. Well I am tom boy 🙂

    A basketball champion, a volleyball captain, a girl scout – field is where I need to be!!

    Have not been much into computer games though but addiction to games is something I can relate to..!

  41. Oh, dear, Shilpa; I am so sorry to hear of this addiction. But I may have a solution. Take two Giant Squirrels now, and half a Mongoose after breakfast. If that does not affect a cure, repeat the procedure with the Squirrels in the afternoon and the Mongoose in the evening. I trust that will help.

    And thank you for coming and visiting my blog.

    Blessings and Bear hugs!

  42. Thankfully, haven’t been tempted by the Farmville craze. Though I too had my share of computer game addictions (mostly car/bike race games, word games…), it wasn’t as bad! Just the break times (sometimes, extended breaks) were used to keep my mind off the work stress 🙂

  43. I am pathetic when it comes to games ,well most of them except brick breaker I guess.with this A to Z challenge,I am hoping to get addicted to blogging though :)Had fun reading this Shilpa..

  44. Solitaire used to be my favourite too but considering how addictive these online games are, I stay away. You know what, I have never even played Snakes on my mobile ever! Farmville seemed to be quite popular among all the friends and now this Hidden Chronicles. My husband has coaxed me several times to play on his PS3/ PS2. At most I have played ‘Take down’ that too with much reluctance. I am a bookaholic, he is a game freak; and so we co-exist 🙂

    1. Ah! Snakes… I have played that too but not like crazies! PS2 and PS3 are not my cup of tea either…. these are sonny boy’s fixations!
      LOL… peaceful co-exiting is the bestest thing 🙂
      Cheers 🙂

  45. wow so many games 🙂 I loved Solitaire too.. even now I love playing it. Other than that FV was on for some months till I got bored of it. I seem to get bored of games very easily and am in hunt of something new always 🙂

  46. As if almost read my story….though I started my A with ‘Freecell’ and like you kept a tab in notepad with the numbers! Then Virtuacop, Cybertris, winbrick, and even sometimes roadrash :)….even today i sometime play winbrick & cybertris to destress myself.

    FV story is same although I played only for 1.5 years…I pleaded to my teammates to my neighbour and used to trade gifts & animals. Then I played ‘fashion world’, treasure island, and even chefville. But realized it as BIG A and blocked all these games.
    BTW, I read all the above comments just to know how many ppl played FV like me 😛

    1. God! Et tu, Nibedita!! You also maintained a notepad!! Thank God, I am not alone… *Evil Grin*
      You are still better… you played for 1.5 yrs, I did farming for 3 yrs!!
      Gosh… we are truly addicts!! 😀 😛

  47. Game addiction is always one reason for which kids get warnings and scoldings from parents. See who is here, a mom affected by game addiction 😛 But game addiction isn’t a bad one. The very hunger of victory personally motivates us to achieve that victory in everything we do. And one more news, I started playing Hidden chronicles after reading this post 😛

    1. I like your positive outlook in this addiction, Hari 😀
      Ah! Pls be careful. Dont get addicted to HC, pls! I’ll not be able to forgive myself! 😀

  48. Hi Shilpa, I am visiting from A to Z. I see how quickly even blogging can become an addiction. I have avoided some of these games which become alternative lives because I can see myself becoming addicted. Great post. Thanks for your transparency and warning. Great posts through M. I wish I could be more organized with my photos digital and otherwise. It is so hard to find the time to get the scrapbooking done. God bless, Maria from Delight Directed Living

    1. Thanks for the visit, Maria. Glad you have avoided these addictive games! Try to get your pics together in a scrap book… you will love the experience and you will enjoy the memories more often! 🙂

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