Do you ever think about your childhood lasts? The last time you knocked for your friends to ride out on your bikes, the last boyband picture you put up on your bedroom wall, the last time you sat and played with your Barbie or in my case, Sindy kitchen.
When you’re young all you want to do is grow up, until one day, without realising, you find yourself suggesting setting up a Doodle calendar in your day ones Whatsapp group because despite not seeing each other for weeks, you still can’t align on dates.
Your Smash Hits wallpaper has been replaced with the stark white of your rented flat and your downtime is replaced with feeling guilty about that pile of washing up you should be doing, instead of watching Welsh Cory’s What I Eat in a Day TikToks.
For some reason (call it societal expectation), we all woke up one day and never played again. We swapped our Sylvanian Families for screen time and our childhood games for chores.
Yes, you can have hobbies as an adult, but they aren’t the same because they are never just for the joy of it. The end game of any adult hobby is always to better yourself.
But what if I don’t want my 5 to 9 to focus on self-improvement? What if I just want to have fun?
Hitting the snooze button on a Saturday might not be the best idea.
For me, reintroducing play into my life began in lockdown when my sister bought me a Nintendo Switch.
For a while I did nothing, instead focusing on making Instagram videos to build a social following and learning to knit, because I felt they were hobbies I would have something to show for.
That was until I discovered The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. With the guilt of wasted time taken off my hands, I spent hours and hours playing that game. Running around collecting weapons, cooking meals and killing Bokoblins to my heart’s content.
I’ve played video games before and have always been a ‘Nintendo girlie’, but this was the first time in my adult life where I had ‘gamed’ and not just dipped in and out. I followed the admittedly ridiculous storyline (You’re Link, a human-like elf with no memory who must save a Princess called Zelda from a big bad thing called Calamity Ganon) and diligently completed every task asked of me.
It was my first hobby that left with me ‘nothing’ to show for it. There was no skill I could add to my CV or set up a side hustle with, but I felt so personally rewarded.
It took me so many attempts to defeat those 5 bosses (of course Calamity Ganon doesn’t just have one form) and every time that black ‘Game over’ screen flashed up, I’d hit continue and start again, learning from my previous mistakes.
When I finally completed it, I felt so proud of myself. But the shame of gaming as an adult, especially as a woman, still makes me feel almost embarrassed committing that feeling to words.
Although, not ashamed enough to flex on you that I have since completed it twice and am now working my way through the new and equally addictive, Zelda Tears of the Kingdom.
I may not know much. But these are the things I know to be true.
Covid may be a distant memory, but my love for gaming has remained. As someone who doesn’t live with anyone, I find transporting myself into a game is something to look forward to when I might otherwise feel alone.
It’s not just solo gaming though. I have known my close group of friends for years. At this point there is pretty much nothing we don’t know about one another.
The ability to sit in silence and be completely comfortable is something I would never change, but like any relationship, things can stagnate, and I didn’t set up a Doodle just for us all to sit on our phones. Not to mention £300 energy bills making social plans slightly more challenging.
We started off by playing Mario Kart with my 6-year-old nephew, but then soon found ourselves playing it when Callum wasn’t around. Hurling insults as we red shelled each other’s own personalised characters and laughing as we each got more and more animated.
If we got bored of driving, we’d take a shift in the kitchen for an Overcooked session. This chaotic cooking simulation game is my personal favourite to play together as it relies on teamwork. Although my friends don’t necessarily agree, due to the Gordon Ramsey attitude that takes over me as soon as we start.
It’s not just video games either. You’re just as likely to find us playing Monopoly Deal at Soho Beach House as you are staring at a screen in my front room. Just this past weekend we spent 5 hours playing the card game version of Monopoly at my parent’s caravan (it’s not all Soho House memberships you know). Then there were the different versions of Uno – Mario Kart and Barbie, obviously. Not to mention a new game I just discovered: Taco, Cat, Goat, Cheese, Pizza. Yes, it’s as weird but also as fun as the name suggests.
Having something to play together unlocks this feeling of utter escapism I haven’t felt since my childhood. No one picks up their phone in the middle of a Mario Kart grand prix or turns the topic to their latest energy bill when they’re charging rent on their Park Lane Monopoly Deal rentals.
Not only has gaming helped fill those silent moments that happen all too often when you live alone, but also the ones that come when friendships have their sluggish moments.
