Dating for Scrabble Junkies

Dating for a Scrabble Player

People obsessed with gaming are the butt of all kinds of jokes.

Be up front about the depth of your game obsession when you’re chatting to a potential date.

We’re called “gamers” or “geeks” or any number of other nasty epithets.

Though I’m not a video game fanatic living in his mom’s basement, I do have a serious addiction to Scrabble. Yes, a seriously addicted scrabble player :)

I play at least one sit-down game of Scrabble every day, and I keep my hands busy at work playing Lexulous, Words with Friends, and Scrabble for my iPad.

It can be hard to ask a girl out on a date when you’re already in a serious relationship with a game.

It doesn’t matter if that game is Vampire: The Masquerade or Monopoly–women seem to think of games as being for kids, and even if they indulge in a round of Cranium or Apples to Apples at a party every now and then, we board game fanatics look childish and silly, even when we’re dashingly handsome like yours truly.

Here’s a quick guide to dating for those of you obsessed with Scrabble or any other board game:

Scrabble Player and Looking for Dates?

Every game has its group of fanatics.

The Internet has made this even easier than before.

Forums, message boards, blogs–they are all potential places to meet your future game-obsessed girlfriend or boyfriend.

While we’re on the subject, consider looking for a board game club or group in your city. If you live in a big enough urban area, there’s bound to be a group that meets every now and then to play games.

When I was living in Dallas, for example, I found a group of card players who tried a new or classic card game every week, like a book club for card gamers.

It didn’t take long to find a couple of people in the group who also loved board games, and I had a new pool of women who actually liked my interest in games.

Be Honest About Your Gaming with Potential Dates

If you don’t want to focus on other game players for future dates, you should at least be upfront about the depth of your game obsession when you’re chatting to a potential date.

I always try to mention that I’m an addicted Scrabble player on first dates, admit that I play every day and many times during the course of the day online, and hope my date chalks it up to a personal quirk.

Remember that everyone has quirks.

The person you’re on a date with probably has a weird thing or two in their life that they’ll share when they hear about your weird gaming fixation.

After sharing my addiction as a junkie Scrabble player with a first date, I found out she was an obsessive craft maker and had even made a dress out of a Scrabble board and tiles just a few months before. Now that’s a true scrabble player, don’t you think?

That was a relief, and though we aren’t dating anymore, we remain friends to this day.

Walk Away from the Game

There comes a time in every game lover’s life where they must choose between a gaming obsession and having a real life.

I haven’t hit rock bottom with my Scrabble addiction yet–after all, I only play a sit-down game once a day–but I have other scrabble player friends who had to give up their Magic: The Gathering habit for the right girl, and one Pokemon video game obsessed female gamer who came to the realization one day that no man would ever marry her as long as she stayed hooked on Pokeballs.

But you don’t have to give up your game–just walk away, every now and then.

A happy life is made up of moderation.

You don’t drink to a blackout every time you imbibe alcohol, do you? Stay close to your game, but realize that having a life means walking away from the dice from time to time.

I’m engaged now to a wonderful woman whose obsession with British literature rivals even my daily Scrabble cravings. We set aside a little time every day for our own thing, and share each other’s joys and sorrows when it’s appropriate.

You don’t have to give your game up, just compromise a little.

Even a Scrabble player can go on dates :)

What are your thoughts on gaming and dating?