What I Do When I'm Not Playing Board Games

While I'm still writing about and making videos about board games, you might have noticed a slight slowdown in my online activity. There are several reasons for this, and I figured I would write about them.

It seems like every other week or so I see a post on Facebook written by someone who isn't in the mood to play games and is starting to get worried about it. Here is my response to that: You're normal. All relationships run hot and cold, especially the ones that last a long time. The passion will most likely reignite if you give yourself a little space.

So what have I been doing these days? Playing games, but a lot of other stuff, too. 

1) I am busy. 

I'm going out of town three times in the next month. One of those trips is to PAXU, and I'm pumped, but the other trips have to do with my professional life as a Latin teacher. I've been reworking key parts of my program, and my students have been getting most of my attention. And they should! I've also been dealing with assorted annoying stuff, like the fact that a parent backed into my car in the school lot this week. Exhaustion, thy name is calling the insurance company.

2) I have other hobbies. 

Every year for the past three years, I have completed a 100-book challenge on Goodreads. I am a bit behind right now, but there is no way I am going to break my streak. I've been reading like a maniac, and I am not going to stop until I reach my goal! Also, I spend so much time playing board games that it has felt great to indulge another hobby. I tend to get into things in cycles, so I switch off between heavy reading, heavy gaming, and whatever else is temporarily striking my fancy. 

3) I overcommitted myself and need to decompress. 

I am finishing up a phase where I've been working through too many KS previews and review copies that need to be covered on a timeline. On the one hand, getting to check out prototypes and review copies is awesome and I realize that I'm very lucky. On the other hand, learning games—and getting good enough to film yourself playing them—is a ton of work. Games I've been dying to play are gathering dust on my shelf, and having to hold myself to tight deadlines has cooled my ardor just a bit. I need to spend some time playing the things I want to play, when I want to play them—nothing feels better than having a great time with a great game, which is why I started reviewing and filming games in the first place!

So, I'm still here, but I'm taking a little bit of a breather. And if you need one, too, I recommend you take it! We may be part of the best hobby in the world, but life is full of exciting things to do, and only so much time to do them in. 

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