The Idle Hands of the Addictive Personality

There are probably a limited number of times a person can play Yahtzee without getting utterly tired of it. Fortunately this hasn't happened to me quite yet. A few years ago, my Yahtzee playing started as a thing we did of an evening while stoned . Then it became a compulsive solitaire game for me, while sitting in my flat wondering whether a certain Oaf would turn up, and what the consequences of arrival/non-arrival might be. There's something very comforting about rolling the dice... it keeps your hands occupied, and cuts down on your potential for chain-smoking, while still creating a calming effect. I suppose it's a bit like worry beads. And indeed, my Yahtzeeing has always been at its most excessive during periods of above-average anxiety.

But manual Yahtzee has its drawbacks. It's noisy for a start, with five dice clattering about; it's a right pain in the arse when one of them bounces too far and rolls under the coffee table; and if you play it as much as I do, you end up going through rainforests of paper for your scorecards. So, as you can imagine, I was mightily chuffed when I found a free downloadable PC version. It runs silently, you can't lose the dice, and no paper gets harmed in the course of one's playing. Grand. But... (there's always a but!)... I play too much. I'm completely addicted. I can't browse the net without interrupting myself for a quick game. I'm not even really enjoying it much now, but I just can't help myself. Until I reach that elusive seventh Yahtzee and my high score beats the other half's, I cannot rest. (This is the danger of competitive sports, she snorts derisively).

A cure is definitely required, so....... I've bought The Sims. [Ehhh, what!!! Cue an entire blog readership shaking their heads in despair]. There'll be tears before bedtime, I know.