Hacker News Reader

Comment by LunaSea | Hacker News Reader

They are about as much a time waster than any other hobby really

But in terms of other benefits of that time spent, (imo) they're probably somewhat better than micro-transaction-gambling-mobile games (or just plain gambling), but likely worse than a sports league or chess club.

Not sure how it'd compare against similar amounts of youtube/netflix though.

>The ability to play chess is the sign of a gentleman. The ability to play chess well is the sign of a wasted life.

- Paul Morphy

One of my favorite chess quotes. As an avid chess player, I can't agree more.

Why should I weigh the benefits of time spent on something that I enjoy doing? That would make it unenjoyable.

> chess club

How? A lot of games could be seen as a sort of 3D chess.

Specifically meant in-person chess clubs as opposed to only playing lichess from home for hours every day. I'd probably have a less negative view of "time wasting" if video games were played more in-person too.

I have fond memories of LAN parties growing up, where socializing was as big a part as the actual gaming - it's not like we were sitting there harvesting wood for hours on end!

Socialising is still a very important part of games (eSports, dungeons and raids, Discord / TeamSpeak / Ventrilo, forums, guilds, etc), especially for MMOs.

Much more than chess which is mostly a individually played game whereas an MMO is a cooperative game.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com