RSI-Relief

I have a confession to make: I love games. Nothing wrong with that, of course, except that the types of games I like tend to be tough on my hands.

First-person shooters, for instance. Love ‘em. I still blame Doom, one of the first big shooters, for my initial hand troubles. I’d play for hours on end, using keyboard controls exclusively, with my wrist resting on the edge of the table. Really bad ergonomics, I realize now. But wow, that was fun.

Now I play, when I play at all, mostly casual games. I try to lean towards games that are more strategic and less click-tastic, but sometimes I can’t help myself.

My latest indulgence is a game called Plants vs. Zombies. It’s strategic, yeah, but it requires an insane amount of point-and-click action as well. Needless to say, it’s incredibly addictive.

I try to pace myself, limit my time with the game, but it keeps dragging me back.

Good games will do that.

Meanwhile, my hands are starting to suffer. It’s not at a critical stage yet, but I can see the danger signs and hear the warning bells going off.

So this is not really a recommendation (unless you don’t have hand problems, then it’s a BIG recommendation), but more of a warning.

Do as I say, not as I do, that sort of thing…

If you have RSI, stay way from Plants vs. Zombies.