How Women Can Cope with Dating a Gaming Addict

My boyfriend of over 3 years is a World of Warcraft addict. For over three years, I’ve had the pleasure of his company-and the nuisance of his addiction. I never realized the full extent to his gamer ways until we lived together. Here are some tips for women who are feeling neglected to cope when their boyfriends are gaming addicts.

1). Set a specified date night. If your boyfriend is a gaming addict, getting him to agree to one whole day or evening of no games may be quite the challenge. If he’s a good boyfriend he will do it, because the other days of the week he is not spending time with you, he is spending time on the game. Set a specified day of the week where he agrees no games and you two go to dinner, see a movie, or just hang around the house. If he is going to spend 90% of his time on a game, he needs to devote all of his attention to you one day a week at a minimum. Really, he should be doing more than one day a week, especially if you are in a serious relationship.

2). Understand this is what they like to do. I have long given up trying to understand the appeal of playing fantasy games for sometimes 12-hour periods. I have found though, that the best thing to do is accept that they have found a hobby that they love. It is unlikely to change. Making fun of them or yelling about it is not going to do any good. In fact, if you argue with them, they are likely to just whirl around and get right back on the game, which won’t bother them any. Trust me, I know.

3). Give them their space. While guys are on their video games, they might as well be on another planet. They won’t hear a word you say, so expecting an accurate answer on any question is pointless. When they are playing their games, don’t get mad if they aren’t giving you 100% attention (though it should never be so bad you feel like you can’t carry on a conversation).

4). Compromise. If they insist on playing games for hours every day, let them know what works for you. If you feel like a neglected housewife, be blunt about it. No woman should ever come second to games. If one date night isn’t enough for you a week, ask for two hours per evening before they play games after work to watch television or have him help out on chores.

5). TRY the game. This is a long shot, and by no means am I saying become a gaming whiz if you don’t want to. In my experience, I tried the game in question, World of Warcraft, and played it until I reached level 20. Once I realized the game wasn’t doing much for me, I stopped. It was fun to play together while it lasted, though, and my boyfriend appreciated me trying something he is so passionate about.