Using online games as a way to reduce stress.

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Hey guys, I know it’s been a bit yet again since I’ve written anything. Aside from Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, I haven’t been all that active. 2020 was hard and 2021 hasn’t really let up much on that either. Still, I’ve been doing what I can to cope with the stress of everything, as well as trying to manage how hard it is to get certain things done with labor shortages affecting all kinds of places in the country. In that time I’ve also returned to one of my stress coping mechanisms I used when I was younger and online; free or really cheap to get games. Games that are just quick and easy, fun to play for a time and easy to drop if needed. I’ve recently started playing Puyo Puyo Tetris a bit heavily against the kids and my boyfriend, but playing competitively can be really stressful, so I was really happy to find a Tetris like game online. It’s Tetra blocks at a site called plays.org, they have lots of games that remind me of games I played when I was younger, and games I played when I was not so young.

My mom played Tetris a lot when I was younger, I’m talking back on the original Nintendo level of younger. I think it was her favorite game for awhile, and she continues to like games where you have to match things to clear lines. The older I got the more I started playing games like that too, simple enough but also a bit challenging. The game gets faster on each level, and it took me a few levels to realize that some pieces have stars and if you match them up and get enough you get extra points! That made me pretty excited, though I found that I didn’t always get pieces I wished I did. I also miss having the hold piece function that I got used to during matches in Puyo Puyo Tetris, though I know that’s a thing that isn’t common in Tetris like games. In the end, it’s a fun and easy game that reminds me of my childhood, plus playing this way means there’s no competition other than against myself. It’s also easy enough to set down and walk-away from, not like games where I want to get sucked into the story for days on end but I don’t have the time or energy to do that.

I’ve played a lot of games for various reasons over the years. I remember hours sitting around tending to fussy babies and off and on playing one game or another either online or on my computer. Connecting with new people around the world on games too. My oldest daughter went through a bought of colic that ended up lasting for about a month and one of the only things that would soothe her were certain songs. One of which was just the music that played on the Mahjong game that came as pre-loaded software on my computer. I’d never played Mahjong before then, I had no idea what I was doing at all. I was young, exhausted, with a baby who was uncomfortable and just wouldn’t sleep for long at all. Unless I was sitting up and holding her with very certain conditions met. Still, I learned how to at least play Mahjong on the computer because of that experience, so while it was rough I did gain something from it.

At other times I could play Bingo online, on a site that let you pay for free with the hopes of winning some measure of prize (I never did sadly haha!), for a long time because it was something I could easily walk away from and the hopes of winning real money on a free game was really enticing to a broke mom of two (I only had two kids back then.)

Then there came Facebook games, farming simulators and all kinds of things like that. My online friends and I would spend so much time in restaurant or farming games doing things and sending each other gifts. In a way I really miss those days; playing simple and free games and getting to connect with people. I also miss playing games I could just play for a bit myself. I love the cooking type ones where you have to try and get everything for customers and the levels get harder with bigger orders, more customers and more items. I don’t know why I enjoy that type of thing, maybe because unlike working in food service (did that!), I could just stop for awhile until I felt like I could try again and get better at it. Plus I could get better at it, and get tips from the customers and it felt like I achieved something. Even if it was just in a game, it was enjoyable getting 3 stars or whatever the top achievement was and seeing if I could do better and better. Did you ever play games like that?

I used to check for places I used to play games online and was sad to see websites disappear. Games I played years ago, I’ve been online for 25 years after all, sometimes just seemed to disappear or get forgotten in time. I also remember the countless hours I would spend on games either on my phone or my tablet, wherever that thing disappeared to, and actually started playing some similar games again.

I enjoy using my computer for things like that though, as the larger screens are less strain on my eyes, and I can keep my phone battery life higher and have it at the ready if someone needs to call. Getting a call in the middle of a game on the phone can completely wreck a level… >.> That doesn’t happen on my computer! Hah!

I’ve been having a lot of fun with the free games on the same website I found Tetra Blocks on, and they add new games regularly and even have things that are familiar to my kids from when they were younger. Remember my oldest four are 15 – 20, so finding things they remember too is a bonus. I’ve also noticed they have games from populer shows, like Adventure Time, Teen Titans Go and Scooby Doo. There’s even dress up games on the site, and I remember when my 15 year old was absolutely in love with dress up games! She would spend so much time on them, and even tried to dress up characters to look like people in the family!

What kinds of games do you play on the computer or the phone? Are there any more simple games you remember for when you were younger that you still wish you could play? I’d love to know what kind of games you’d all recommend for relieving stress or just having a moment of downtime when you get the chance, let me know in the comments okay?