BY: ARTHUR DAVIS

Remember when you lived at home and your mom constantly bugged you about putting the game down and doing something else? Well, we hate to break it to you, but she might’ve had a point. Gaming fatigue exists, and it can really suck for your enjoyment and performance.

By doing what your mom always wanted and taking a break at least every hour and a half, you can offset this issue, making sure that you’re always at the top of your game .

Luckily, just because you aren’t actively playing doesn’t mean you can’t still do stuff to enhance your gaming skill. In fact, there are plenty of hobbies that can actually help you become a way better gamer, and we’re going to look at the best of them.

1) Puzzles

In true Ready Player One-style, every game is an elaborate puzzle, so it figures that dedicating your free time to physical puzzles is going to help you transform the way you think about those bigger gaming challenges.

You’ll definitely be able to do some good work on your analytical skills with puzzles that are 1000+ pieces, not to mention that you’re gonna feel way more chilled out after this than you would after trying to tackle Destiny’s Skolas!

2) Pub Games

Pub games like darts and snooker might not seem like the most obvious gamer go-to, but they bring all the benefits of a complete gaming package with stress relief to boot. Reading up on snooker techniques or investigating this ultimate dart board guide could certainly see gamers starting to enjoy :

• Improved hand-eye coordination

• Concentration boosts

• Enhanced teamwork skills

• Analytical thinking

• And a whole lot more …

These are skills that translate directly to gaming, and are especially guaranteed to prove beneficial to team games that, for some typically solo gamers, are always a little difficult to navigate.

3) Reading

Despite always being pitted against each other, reading and video games are two surprisingly similar hobbies that provide pretty similar benefits, including enhanced empathy and developed literacy skills. By taking the time to read between sessions, that means gamers can continue to harness the skills their games are creating, without continually exposing themselves to that risk of burnout. Even better, the passive nature of reading can be a great way to step back and consider problems from the outside, enabling a mindset that should be better able to step back and logically puzzle out even the hardest video games (yes, Dark Souls, we’re definitely talking about you!) Even better, with games like Uncharted, Ico, and Final Fantasy all now appearing as novelizations, you don’t even need to leave your favorite characters behind !

Taking a break is often easier said than done when you’re in the grip of a great game, but you’re guaranteed to feel the benefits by finally heeding your mom’s advice and getting into these alternative hobbies.