I've been thinking about how my gaming preferences have changed over the last few years; namely once I got married and added a kid to the mix. Once upon a time I used to play CoD, Halo, Eve, and other assorted games on the consoles and PC. I could easily sink an entire Saturday into online matches or epic runs of Civ and Company of Heroes against stupid hard AI. But not any more...

Now I've noticed that fast paced games with no pause are practically unplayable between work work, house work, and being a dad/husband. And you know what? I honestly don't miss it that much. Some of it can be attributed to just getting older and the slow rusting of twitch reflexes but some it come from what my gaming means to me and what value I get out of the experience.

I've always enjoyed strategy games, Command and Conquer, Total Annihilation, Civilization, Sim City to name a few but I have a new appreciation for them since those significant life changes. I'm more likely to crack open EU4, Factorio, Civ (still), or Xcom than Destiny, CoD, or any other FPS. And you know why? It comes down to relaxation and enjoyment than the victory of conquest.

I remember beating my head against Legendary on Halo just to say that I did it. Now? The thought of doing the same level or segment over and over to memorize the layout and enemy patterns seems like a complete waste of time. (It probably was then too but I apparently could justify it.) I probably still sink in close to as many hours as I used to, but they aren't contiguous. A few hours here and a turn or two there. But one thing hasn't changed; gaming has been a part of my life since I hooked up my NES at age 5 and I still prioritize my discretionary spending to get games and an awesome laptop (so I can hang out with said family on the couch instead of locked away in a command center.)

All in all, I'm still turning on games for enjoyment, that hasn't changed, but what I enjoy certainly has changed... And I wouldn't change that for anything.