How Do You Find Time to Play Games?

Editor’s note: Chris seeks advice balancing his marriage and his love of video games, but his time management problem is relevant to pretty much all of us. We’re all balancing school, work, family, and a million other things with our beloved — and time consuming — hobby. What are your strategies for finding time to game? -Brett

Finally convincing my wife to let me plunk down a few hundred bucks of our monthly income on a PS3 has turned out to be both a blessing and a curse.

At long last, I’m in a position financially to indulge in this expensive hobby — and the games are better than they’ve ever been.

But the sad irony is I’m going to miss out on many of the games that I want to play. There are simply too many old games to catch up on, too many new ones I need to buy, and not enough time in the day for a thirtysomething gamer with a full-time job, a wife, a house, a dog, and all of the other time-sucks that come with domestic bliss. God help me when we decide to have kids.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m not complaining. I recognize that my “problem” is hardly a matter of life and death. I’m a lucky man with a great life. I’d just like to balance that life with my favorite hobby. I want to be able to experience a game like Uncharted 2 — a game that’s doing things I only dreamed about as a kid playing Pitfall on the Atari 2600.

Yet when I look at a tantalizingly rich RPG like Dragon Age: Origins, I just get bummed out because I know I won’t have time for it. I want to go back and play Fallout 3 and BioShock, but let’s be honest: It’s never going to happen. Not with must-have titles like Assassin’s Creed 2 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 coming out this fall.

Worse, I find myself rushing through games in order to make room for the Next Big Thing. I flew through Uncharted 2 on easy just to get through it in time for the November releases. It felt like wolfing down a plate of filet mignon while chugging a $100 bottle of fine wine.

I hear game reviewers complain about this problem, too, especially at this time of year. But at least you guys can tell your wives, “Honey, it’s my job.”

I would love to hear any suggestions from other members of my generation who have this problem. How do you prioritize (without ending up divorced, that is)?

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a kitchen faucet to replace. Seriously.