How I Play Games
I came up with a way to think about this, a few years ago: if I call it a "collection," that sounds much better than a "hoard." It also turns out that, if you're a gamer and you stop trading or giving away your old video game systems and games, you eventually have an alarming number of games to play.Couple that with the fact that I've gotten better at repairing broken video game consoles -- which can often be had for free, because otherwise they're going in the trash -- and I already have enough games to last me a frightening length of time.
I should probably finish some of these.
The devices I've been playing video and computer games on recently are:
- A New Nintendo 3DS XL
- Nintendo's best-ever portable system. Its first-party library is expansive, it's backwards-compatible with Nintendo DS cartridges as well (and Game Boy Advance ROMs, with some finagling), and Nintendo included emulators for nearly every 8-bit and 16-bit system you can imagine. All this while still being small enough to fit in a large pocket or any backpack or purse.
- A Nintendo Wii U
- One of the least successful Nintendo home consoles ever. If you're not familiar, it was the flagship that came beteen the Wii and the Switch. A lot of people don't even know that there was a Nintendo console between the Wii and the Switch. Which is a shame, because it has a great library, including backward compatibility with the Wii and the Gamecube (again with some finagling; Nintendo is weird sometimes) and can nearly match the Switch in graphics and game complexity. It can be bought inexpensively second-hand, including the games, which isn't common for an out-of-production Nintendo machine.
- A computer running Steam
- I've had Steam installed on my computers since Half-Life 2 required it in order to manage downloads and updates, in 2004. Back then I found it annoying, but in 2025 I'm a fan. My Steam library alone is far too large. Steam is a far, far cheaper way to buy games than any console I know of, it gets nearly every new game, and I can always move my library to any new computer I use. Nowadays, I use it almost exclusively on computers running Linux, instead of Windows, and everything works great.
What I've Been Playing
I try to play a game every day. Ssome days that means Wordle, other days I have time for something more involved. Recently, I've been playing:
- 2025.05.29 Voxelgram
- A 3D nonogram game. I find these amazingly addictive, so it's a good thing there have only ever been three of them (that I know of): this, Picross 3D for the Nintendo DS, and Picross 3D Round 2 for the Nintendo 3DS.
- 2025.06.06 The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds - FINISHED!
- It's a top-down Zelda adventure in the old style, but with 3D graphics. This may get me roasted, but I think it's the best top-down Zelda game ever (with Link's Awakening being the other top contender). Seriously, it's great, and you should seek it out if you're a Zelda fan and haven't had the chance to try it. UPDATE AFTER FINISHING THE GAME: A Link Between Worlds, or possibly The Minish Cap (for the Game Boy Advance), would be the best "first Zelda game" a person plays.
- Wordle DS
- I fell out of playing Wordle back in February 2025, when I had a bout of influenza and was so exhausted and sick that I couldn't manage to play even Wordle. It broke my running success streak, and I don't feel any desire to get back into it yet.
Wordle for the Nintendo DSi. I play on my New Nintendo 3DS XL. It's synced with the official game, so you can still compete or collaborate with others if you like. - WarioWare Gold - FINISHED!
- 2025.02.05 - Beaten! Well, the main game, at least, there are still things left to unlock. But the entire story mode is done, and I can take a break. An excellent, ridiculous title.
The 2018 entry in the WarioWare series, for the Nintendo 3DS. Exceptionally silly and a great time. I'm nearly done with the challenges, but I still have tons to unlock.