Long term games

I love playing games, especially strategy games. By now, I’ve spent over 1000 hours playing Dominion. And without regret — it’s a mentally stimulating, physically relaxing, and non-destructive way to take the edge off.

Last night, I mentioned to a friend how wonderful it would be if I could approach learning to code with the same enthusiasm as playing my favorite game. He’s a counselor, so without skipping a beat he replied, “it’s that instant gratification.”

He was right... Why work on a feature for three or six hours, or spend several months of concerted practice to understand a new technology, when I can enjoy rushes of dopamine every 15 minutes?

Real winning: learning to play longer games with bigger rewards.