I think about Tetris strategies in my head all day long while doing daily activities like conversation...?

Question

Whenever I play strategy games like Tetris, Reversi, or Advance Wars, I end up thinking about strategies in my mind all day long after that.

While I'm doing daily activities like having a conversation or listening to music, I constantly play the game in my head.

This has always happened, but lately I picked up Reversi because it's on my cell phone, and it started happening again, and I was wondering if this happens to anyone else?

Using Reversi as an example, I'll have a mental image of the entire board (or at least a quarter of the board) with all the game pieces laid out randomly. Then my mind will start solving different ways to win, and the different outcomes of each move.

This gets really annoying sometimes, because if I get stuck on a hard move, then I don't want to stop thinking about it because it's a challenge I feel I must confront. But then if there's no good way to win, I feel anguish. Well anguish is too strong of a word, but it's like a nagging feeling.

Maybe like when you can't remember a word, but you know you know it, and it's almost there but you just can't think of it. That's a feeling I think maybe more people can relate to. It's like that, except I get stuck on it, and it gets really, really annoying.

This has happened in the past with other games, usually strategy ones, but a long time ago it would happen with almost anything.

This is pretty embarrassing, but when I used to play Goldeneye 007 on the Nintendo 64 when it first came out many years ago, I used to play it a lot. And one day I was at the grocery store, and I turned a corner at the end of an aisle, and noticed a security camera in the corner of my eye, so I instinctively raised my hand, as if i were holding an invisible pistol, and tried to shoot out the camera, much like you do in the video game. It was really weird and embarrassing and I hope no one saw that :|

I don't have it that bad anymore and I think it only happens with strategy type games now.

Is this linked to any known mental conditions like Asperger's Syndrome, or is this pretty normal? Has anyone else have had anything like this?

Answer 1

i wne through that with tetris. it was weird, i would dream of it, i would play it in my head all day, it was seriously insane. but i stopped playing it and i got over it. i wouldnt worry.

Answer 2

This happens to me when I am going through a manic episodes. I have bipolar type 1 disorder. So I think I was going through a manic episode with psychosis.

ESPECIALLY with the stategy/tactics games for the DS and PSP.

I actually stopped playing video games altogether for that reason, I would have psychosis like states where I thought about the game all day and sometimes felt I was in the game and everything i was doing was the game. Even my dreams were about the game.

It happens to me with other stuff too, like reading the Infinite Crisis comics from 2006. Same experience, there were so many super heroes in that series and so much going on, I felt like i was in the action and started going crazy. I stopped reading comics too.

Just take a break from strategy games and see what happens.

Answer 3

My first PC had some 3-d version of Tetris and I played it so much that I played it in my sleep and anytime my mind had time to wander. I don't think there's anything wrong with you except maybe that you play too many strategy games. You could take a couple of days off and see if the symptoms go away a bit. I bet they will.  

Answer 4

omg i do the same thing...