What Play Looks Like Now

Saturday mornings used to be pretty simple.

Wake up. Watch cartoons. Play video games.

Today, we've got soccer, then robotics, then a visit with my parents. Somewhere in there, I need to deal with the chores I haven't started.

The yard is mowed. Before you give me any credit, I paid somebody else to do that.

Please don't ask about the rest of the yard.

Over the last decade of being a dad, the time I have for video games has gotten smaller and smaller. I still enjoy them. I just don't know where a long adventure game fits into this version of my life.

Five or ten minutes? Sure.

An entire Saturday disappearing into Hyrule? That's a little harder to arrange.

And here's the part I've been thinking about: when I actually get some free time, playing a game usually isn't the first thing I want to do anymore.

I want to build something.

I'll start messing with an agentic tool set. Try an augmented reality idea. Figure out how to automate something. Explore a new way to teach people, or how to give a tool better instructions so it can actually help.

There's always something new I want to understand.

I know. That sounds a lot like what I do for work.

It is. And I really enjoy it.

The experimenting, the problem-solving, the moment something finally works. A lot of what I loved about video games shows up there, too. I get curious about something, start figuring it out, and suddenly I've spent my free time happily working through a puzzle.

Maybe that's what play looks like for me now.

I do wonder whether I need to get better at switching off, even when I enjoy what I'm doing. I haven't completely figured that part out.

And I still miss the games sometimes.

The upcoming Ocarina of Time remake definitely hits the nostalgia button. I'd love to experience that adventure again. I've also beaten it multiple times over the years.

What really makes me smile is that my kids will get to discover it for themselves.

We still play Pokémon GO together, my wife, my kids, and me. That fits our lives. A few minutes here, a few minutes there, and something we can enjoy as a family.

I'm also still walking, getting outside, and making more room for physical activity. That has been a positive change.

TV has ended up in much the same place as the longer games. When I get a stretch of time to myself, I'm more likely to spend it learning, experimenting, or trying to build something that didn't exist when I sat down.

I don't know whether I'll ever get back to playing video games regularly. Right now, this is where my curiosity takes me.

So I'm curious about everyone else, especially those of you in your 40s with kids.

Are video games still part of your life? How do you make the time?

And when you get a little time that's actually yours, what do you reach for?