How much World of Warcraft is too much? ?

Question

Obviously, it depends on how much free time you have and what other obligation you are neglecting.

I bring this question as the WoW player in my household. My wife hates this game and insists I am addicted. The ironic thing is that I watch no TV and she clearly spends more time in front of the TV than I do in my game. The difference is she can always pause TV or record her favorite show while I am occasionally committed to a group of people and cannot always stop on a dime. Well, I can stop, but choose not to.

She likes to think that I am choosing them over her, which is not the case. I simply have a prior commitment to others (yes, just because they aren't in the same room, they are real people too). I would be quickly dismissed if she were on a phone call with her friends or family and I wanted her to do something especially when the something is as petty as most of her requests.

Just to clarify, I play 10-15 hours a week. Only one night a week is a "Raid" night which means no interruptions. I try to convince her that it is no different than if I went to hang out with my friends at a bar or something except far less detrimental to my health and finances.

I often wonder if she is angry that I am playing the game or that she doesn't have a hobby to entertain her. I try to get her to play with me but she won't give it a chance. She is literally afraid of the game like it is some poison. I should add we are both well educated, successful professionals with no children yet. We have been married for just over 2 years.

Answer 1

1 second

Answer 2

10-15 hours a week means that you play roughly 1.5-2 hours a day, which i don't think is too much at all. since you are succesful when it comes to your job and don't have any kids, i believe this is more than OK. you could even play up to 1 hour per day more.

you can try explaining to your wife that WoW is a way of entertaining yourself as TV is for her. she should understand you if you say things right. nevertheless, don't put the video game before your wife and show her she is more important to you than anything else.

good luck!

Answer 3

It depends upon what is going on in your life. A husband and father has a lot to do ... honey-do lists, kids to take here and there. Kids have homework to do and chores. Any time left over could be applied to gaming. The thing is tho there is an anti-gaming culture that is forming that involves way more than simply how much time is devoted to gaming. If you spent the same amount of time playing sports for instance no one will say a word. You can shoot up 20 hours a week watching soap operas and reality TV without much of a word from anyone but spend three hours in Karazhan and you are besieged with all this addiction c**p. Some of it is a complete lack of understanding of MMO gaming... part of it is from people who have failed at it or were banned and are bitter... hence they bad mouth people who are successful at it. So, perhaps the place to start is trying to educate the others around you as to just what it actually takes to put a raid together and why it is such a huge loss the 24 other people when a raid member has to drop group just as you get to Illidan because of narrow-mind family members who place no value on the gaming experience. Good look.

Answer 4

You play on average 2 hours a day? That doesn't seem like an addiction there, especially if you spend time with your wife and have other hobbies on the side. One thing you may want to do to calm her down is randomly skip a raid night (I know, hard to do when there is a progression schedule) and take her out for the night

Alternately, you can sit down, and schedule when to play. In response to that, tell her she can only watch TV during that same time frame.

Answer 5

Hm the regular question : How to balance wow with family. Yet, the answer is quite simple. You should prioritize it. First comes family, which is your wife. I'm sure you know that too. I guess she is afraid of it because she doesn't want to get dragged in and stop watching TV too. 10-15 hrs a week isn't much at all but you got to consider the time you are working too. If time you are working + WoW time adds up to too much it would be wrong for her because you should also spend enough time with her. She also has to understand that once you start playing you cant just leave it like her because it makes you look bad in game and it makes the time you invested in the Raid kinda useless since you didn't get to see the loot.

This is one of the examples were 2 people have to compromise .

Just explain everything to her. I'm sure she will understand. Some like to hang out with friends, some like to play ice hockey, other like to play WoW as a hobby.

I always try to play at a time were its suitable. I don't know if that is possible for you but if it is then youwouldn'tt be here I guess.

Too simply answer your question : Balance your family with your play time. Like if you work more you got to play less. Sped time with your wife but relax at a Raid once in a while :). She gotta give you the raid time at least!

Have a Nice day ;)

Answer 6

I am in the opposite situation, lol.  I am the hard core gamer, and my boyfriend (who I live with) does not and will not play WoW.  One night a week, he is out with the boys, so that is my dedicated WoW night.  So that night, I play around 5 hours.

The other times I play is when he is watching something on TV that doesn't interest me.  (Ice Road Truckers, Axe Men ... those masculine Discovery Channel shows, haha.)  And I am playing because he is engaged in other activities.  When he's done, we get together again.

You said you play 10-15 hours a week, but how is that broken down?  Playing two nights a week for 5 hours a night is fine because the other five nights are time you spend with her ... but playing a couple hours every night implies to her that you have to play EVERY day, that you are "addicted".

Suggest to your wife that on your raid night, she goes out with her girlfriends or shops or something that is enjoyable to her that you would not typically do with her.  If she doesn't have any friends, suggest she pick up a hobby that she's always wanted to try (you should have some idea what this is, since you're married, but think of things like learning Spanish, learning sewing, painting, guitar lessons, whatever).

Again, if you play two hours a day, 7 days a week, it looks "worse" than if you play two or three nights a week.  So set up a calendar.  Raid nights are Fridays, so that is her night to go solo, and you can play for x number of hours two other days a week.  On the other days, she is yours.  You can set up those other days around her schedule, like if she watches a certain TV show.  Just make sure that on other nights, the two of you are going to bed at the same time (there are some studies that psychologically, couples feel more connected if they go to bed at the same time).

Just a few ideas for you that I implement myself.  Hopefully that'll help you.

Answer 7

Try cutting your WoW time to 7 hours a week, and the raid night is a good idea, but on the weekend you should spend more time together like going out to dinner, and talk about what you did during the week.

Answer 8

If it is only one day where you are totally committed to it then I don't think you addicted at all. But if it is more than one day and you still don't do anything with your wife because you have something to do in game than you are addicted. But since you don't you should be good and I totally hear you on some of this stuff....