Changing without realizing it

 I feel like one’s sense of being a gamer is something that changes, sometimes so subtly that we only notice it when we look back. I don’t think of it as a constant upward climb but an ebb and flow. Trying to find a sense of balance as the rest of our lives change.

I’ve always been aware of this but you get reminders now and then.

I recently pulled out Elevenses for One.  About three years ago, when I started seriously looking into both print-and-play games and solitaire games, it was a fairly important to me. Elevenses for One felt like a ‘real’ game to me. Despite all the changes my gaming habits had gone through, it reminded me I was still a gamer.

Now, having explored a lot more solitaire games and print-and-play games, going back to it, I was surprised at how light Elevenses for One felt to me. I mean, I always knew it was a super light game. And I still think of it as a gold standard PnP game and one I always recommend and one I have used as a gift.

I know that I have been playing tiny little PnP solitaire games that I can fit in the minutes. That’s been a big part of my hobby as of late. That’s what has really kept me in the hobby at times. 

I just had’t realized the range and depth that I had been finding even in that tiny world. While it might work only be a minute fraction, I would say that games like Orchard or Food Chain Island are meaningfully deeper than Elevenses for One. 

I didn’t think I had been growing at all but I guess I have been.

(I should dig Micro Rome back out and see how it feels now)