Medical Breakthrough

I think I’ve discovered a new illness. It’s common amongst gamers of all types, but not, as yet, medically recognised…

Game Deprivation Disorder (GDD) is brought on when a gamer goes too far between fixes. My group meet bi-weekly but we skipped a game last week because of holidays and other commitments. It happens sometimes and its part of life, we have jobs and families and sometimes life just gets in the way of games. But I’ve started to realise just how important gaming is to my well being and how detrimental the effects are when I miss a game. After a few weeks without a game I start to get 'twitchy' and irritable. I find it hard to focus on my work and I get easily distracted.

The entomology of the word deprivation rests in the early 14th Century and is derived from the Latin word Deprivare, meaning to “entirely release from”. The modern definition of the word has taken this further and now means several things; a lack of the usual comforts or necessaries of life; deficiency or famine; dispossession and loss; denial or withdrawal. That pretty much sums up how I feel when I miss a game night.

We are getting perilously close to the kids summer holidays. This is the time when our group seems to find it hardest to achieve a quorum and games get cancelled. Ironically only two of us have kids, but I guess its also the fact that this is the time of year when most people take their annual vacation. We always seem to end up cancelling several games over the summer (and over the Christmas holidays as well). I can already feel my role-playing tick twitching in anticipation of cancelled games. This is the time of year when I start digging out computer games to play, but its not the same as the social atmosphere of a game night.