Games for Downtime

Gaming is a hobby. Unless you've managed to incorporate gaming into your career, it's something you do in your free time. Depending on how the day has gone for you, you can find yourself in different moods each time you sit down to begin a gaming session. You could be ready to jump into the main game you've got on the go with some real progression in mind. At other times, however, you've had a long, stressful day at work and your mind is frazzled. You still want to play something but you just don't think you have the mental capacity to face the unknown challenges that await you in your main on-the-go game. For this type of mood you need games that truly allow you some downtime.

Games that are most suitable for this are any that have a large amount of re-playability. Repeat visits to a game allow you to develop a sense of familiarity, such that the mechanics are well known enough that playing comes naturally. There's nothing new to learn and you mostly know what to expect, so a little less brain power is required to pick up the game and start playing.

There has to be enough content to make it worth coming back to. Playing through a story-based game with a beginning and end, that you've finished previously, may entertain on the first or even second play-through but eventually it just won't be enough as everything will become too predictable. What you need is something open-ended.

Generally it's more desirable if the game is mostly simple. When you're in this state of having your mind close to melting point, it's best not to make it worse by trying to deal with complex systems or frustrating sections that require no less than perfect play. The exception, of course, is if it's a game that's complex but you're so highly skilled at it that playing is second nature.

There are plenty of games out there that meet these criteria but here are a few examples of games that are great for downtime.

The Sims 3

The guilty pleasure of many gamers and one that makes little sense on paper. Why would you want to spend your Saturday afternoon playing a game that involves life when that's the very thing you're trying to escape? The most probable answer is that it's life simplified for your enjoyment. All you need to do is give the orders and your Sim will follow them while you sit back and watch them slave away.

It's difficult to explain how The Sims gets its claws in. Whatever the reason, it doesn't take much to become completely enthralled. Since you spend most of your time queuing up actions for your Sim to carry out and then watching as they do so, it's a very easy-going game. Other than making sure your Sim is happy and healthy, what you do in The Sims 3 is entirely optional meaning you can be involved as much or as little as you like.

The addiction comes so naturally that it's easy to just give in and let it take several hours from you. Not only are you attending to your Sim's basic needs such as hunger, hygiene and calls of nature, he or she needs to be constantly improving their skills and relationships to keep moving up the career ladder towards a higher salary. Add to that the random opportunities that come up, offering you the tempting reward of more cash, plus a handful of skills that introduce further actions as your Sim becomes more proficient in them, and what you have is a reward system that gives you a reason to engage in as many activities as possible while your Sim is awake.

 

Little Big Planet 2

Sony recently announced that there are now over 4 million user-made levels available in Little Big Planet 2. While it's true that the majority of these will be of questionable quality, there are some real gems out there and even the levels that aren't particularly ground-breaking can still be highly enjoyable. Repeat visits will always bring something new, keeping the game fresh for what could be many months or even years to come. With options to filter by genre or the specific mechanics you're interested in, it's easy to build up a list of levels to sink your teeth in to.

Little Big Planet 2 has an ideal premise for a downtime game. Each level tends to last no more than 10 minutes and the well made ones are very easy to get into from the start. Even now that the game has expanded so that it includes more than just platforming, the top creators seem to have a knack for creating levels that you instinctively know how to play from the get-go. In a way it's a collection of mini-games, which are great for the exhausted mind as there's absolutely no commitment required. Regardless of whether you play for 30 minutes or 2 hours, you're still going to get a lot out of this brilliant example of a pick-up-and-play game.

 

Torchlight

Until Diablo 3 is released, Torchlight is the most up-to-date Diablo-esque experience you'll find. Dungeon crawlers such as this are great when it's addictive simplicity you're looking for. Gameplay involves running around dungeons, killing hordes of beasts and demons and reaping rewards of gold and gear. The combat generally boils down to right-clicking on whatever you want to die (or pressing the "kill stuff" button on consoles) along with pressing a couple of hotkeys (or buttons) to switch to different spells or abilities to assist in your dealing of death and destruction. Since you usually have a few 'signature' abilities you use repeatedly, the combat is easy to get into without causing any headaches.

The best part is, Torchlight pleases your mind with a constant flow of rewards. Your character's armour and weapons will continuously improve as you play and once you figure out that there's every chance of a truly epic sword or chest-piece dropping from the next creature you kill, you'll find it difficult to stop. Right-clicking on things has never been so lucrative.

Civilization V

This might seem out of place in a list of games that are simple and easy to pick up as the Civilization series is known for its complex tactical and management-based gameplay. However, one of the great things about turn-based games is that the player gets to set their own pace. In the Civilization games, you have as much time as you like to move your units, decide on buildings to construct and manage your worker distribution. It's true that there's a lot of strategic thinking involved but this is one of those games where the ability to play well eventually comes naturally. The lower levels of difficulty are not particularly taxing and it's here that beginners can practice different strategies to figure out what works well and what doesn't with less consequence than in higher difficulty modes. As players improve they'll find themselves comfortably moving up to higher difficulty levels.

Specifically, Civilization V is much friendlier to newcomers than any of the previous games in the series as much has been done to streamline the gameplay and remove the more demanding and unnecessary aspects of micro-management that may have deterred players in the past.

World of Warcraft

There are some parts of World of Warcraft that certainly aren't for soothing a fatigued mind. Partaking in group activities, such as dungeons, raids and battlegrounds, aren't recommended when your concentration is lacking. The best way to enjoy WoW when you're in this state of mind is to level a character. The simple routine of picking up some quests, killing so many of a certain creature, collecting so many of a certain item and returning to the quest giver for rewards can be very therapeutic.

If you prefer to stick to your main level 85 character, there's plenty of solo-activity to enjoy in the end-game too. Opening up the achievements panel can reveal a variety of goals to inspire you. Some of these, such as seeking out critters or exploring zones, aren't going to be causing you any migraines. This is also the time to take care of any of the more mundane achievements. For example, you can set your character down at the Dalaran fountain and let your mind wander into daydream as you fish up all the coins.

Any RPG With an End-Game

Just as in World of Warcraft, RPGs tend to include an end-game where certain mundane tasks might be standing in the way of further achievements or trophies. The main tasks usually involve grinding for experience or farming for items and gear that will eventually allow you to take on the game's most difficult optional bosses. Once again, you can drift off as you slog through a few hundred enemies and come out of it feeling satisfied with the rewards gained.

Feel free to comment with any games you enjoy in your gaming downtime!