i said something else because i was thinking of puzzles in the literal sense, but i guess crossword puzzles are still puzzles. i like the daily & omnibus books from the nyt.
i also do jigsaw puzzles online - i use jigsawexplorer.com. i like the mystery puzzles for a bit more of a challenge. but for any puzzle you can change the number of pieces and background color, and whether the pieces can be rotated, so you can essentially raise or lower the difficulty. you can also make your own puzzle. it’s very relaxing. no ads while you’re doing a puzzle, no account necessary, everything is free.
@phendrick you’re welcome! i only discovered it recently when a streamer i like was playing it as a game one night randomly. (he turned it into a race with a friend to see who could complete the puzzle first.) i was kind of amazed something so simple and enjoyable existed.
@jerk_nugget@phendrick@kittykat9180 Oddly enough, I just happened to start doing daily crosswords and find-a-words online just today. I’ll check out the jigsaw puzzles. I’d do Sudoku online but I make little cheat notes on the paper so that wouldn’t work.
@Kyeh oooh somehow i didn’t know this was a thing. i do the daily mini online and the occasional one from the archives but i don’t want to pay for more online. esp as part of the reason i do crosswords on paper is to give my eyes a break from a screen. i’ve enjoyed all the other printed nyt crosswords so far so maybe i’ll get this this year.
@jerk_nugget Here’s the best price currently https://www.amazon.com/Times-Daily-Crosswords-Page-Calendar/dp/1523511303 with free shipping. You can find previous years online too, and of course it doesn’t matter if they’re old - although you might have done some some of the puzzles already. It’s a small calendar, but I like that because I do them in bed.
@Kyeh thank you! i added it to my list. (will wait until after xmas just in case my mom or partner may have gotten it on a whim since they know i like nyt crosswords.) the small size is just right, i also do them in bed (or in the car.)
@jerk_nugget Maybe drop some heavy hints - one year I waited (2019, I think) and they sold out everywhere! And then they appeared on Ebay for ridiculously high prices.
A book is always a good choice, but I am one of those people who is still clinging to magazines as a reading choice. I still prefer reading physical print as opposed to a screen, and the stopping points in a magazine are both more abundant and can be more satisfying than a book. ( I don’t know if “satisfying” is the right word, I mean an article is is complete, and not just the bridge to the next chapter)
@DrWorm What are your favorites? I used to be a big Harper’s fan, but it’s really dropped in quality since Lapham left and i finally dropped my subscription. I’ve been reading the new yorker and wired. Used to read Esquire religiously, not sure if the quality has held up.
@danpritts You are more high-brow than me. “Mental Floss” was my favorite before it ceased publication. I will sporadically pick up a “Time”, “National Geographic”, “Science”, or “Popular Science”, but the only two to which I subscribe are “Baseball Digest” and “Baseball America”. I’m not above perusing my wife’s “Entertainment Weekly” or son’s “Mad” if I see it lying around. (tbh, I will usually go through an entire “Mad” in one sitting)
@danpritts@DrWorm Hah, New Yorker and Wired are the two I get in paper form too, but I’ve had and liked Atlantic and Rolling Stone. Vanity Fair seems very good, but there’s only so much time in the day - and room in my house! I used to love Harper’s too, sad that it went downhill.
@danpritts@DrWorm@Kyeh
IKWYM. I am the luddite that still gets a newspaper (remember those?) thrown in his driveway at 0330 every day… Of course it’s only about 16 pages total most days but still…
@chienfou@danpritts@DrWorm Same here, and it’s half car and real estate ads, but I hate to quit because I’m afraid it will go away altogether. It got bought by a fucking hedgefund company some years ago and it’s gotten thinner and worse and pricier every year since then.
@chienfou C’est ca.
But if you have any fond memories of the campus paper, the Colorado Daily, you’d be saddened to see it now; it’s now put out by that same hedgefund company and it’s pure crap. It used to be very good.
Board games are good if that is an option, but that requires not just other people, but specifically other people who want to play. There are board games out there that support single player, but I can’t say that I have ever engaged in one. Anybody out there have experience with this? I am legitimately curious.
@DrWorm Me too. As a kid I would sometimes amuse myself by playing against myself with Monopoly and The Game of Life. Since they are partly dependent on luck, it can be fun. Of course that was not enough to keep my older brother from mocking me for it. If he had played with me, it would not have been necessary.
I have never heard of a single-player board game. Can you name some, please?
@DrWorm I love my board games and have played a couple solo (mostly Arkham Horror and Pandemic). Since they are ‘co-op players vs game’ style they play well all by yourself but sometimes it just makes you miss the friends you would have played it with if they were still around. Mechanically it works well but it isn’t nearly as fun as playing with other people.
@DrWorm@RiotDemon@ThunderChicken@FoxSpectre
There was an article in The Washington Post a few months ago that recommended board games, including some for single player. I bought Terraforming Mars – it sounded like fun. However, I have only skimmed the instructions. It sounds really complicated and I don’t have the attention span right now.
Going outside. Like - out through the door and into sunlight and non-roofed open space. Walking around, tripping over things, being stung by insects and scratched by berry brambles, barked at by dogs, and stalked by raccoons looking for handouts. Am I the only one looking at the outdoors “in person” rather than through a window screen/TV screen/computer monitor?
@rockblossom You must be one of the lucky ones who lives in a warmer climate. Going outside is my M.O. during the warmer months, but nowadays the sun comes out for about ten minutes a day and it’s a frigid tundra.
Soldering something together. I have a Versapak battery replacement project on my list. The old charging dock needs a Li-ion regulator added to match the new battery (cell, actually). 21700 cells fit nicely inside the old Versapak cylinders.
Card games. CAH or Joking Hazard.
… or Lockdown, if it ships.
@PocketBrain Card games you say? How about Too Many Poops?
i said something else because i was thinking of puzzles in the literal sense, but i guess crossword puzzles are still puzzles. i like the daily & omnibus books from the nyt.
i also do jigsaw puzzles online - i use jigsawexplorer.com. i like the mystery puzzles for a bit more of a challenge. but for any puzzle you can change the number of pieces and background color, and whether the pieces can be rotated, so you can essentially raise or lower the difficulty. you can also make your own puzzle. it’s very relaxing. no ads while you’re doing a puzzle, no account necessary, everything is free.
@jerk_nugget, thanks
@jerk_nugget TY for the link; hadn’t seen that site b4.
@phendrick you’re welcome! i only discovered it recently when a streamer i like was playing it as a game one night randomly. (he turned it into a race with a friend to see who could complete the puzzle first.) i was kind of amazed something so simple and enjoyable existed.
@jerk_nugget @phendrick @kittykat9180 Oddly enough, I just happened to start doing daily crosswords and find-a-words online just today. I’ll check out the jigsaw puzzles. I’d do Sudoku online but I make little cheat notes on the paper so that wouldn’t work.
@jerk_nugget @kittykat9180 @phendrick @ThunderChicken
I’m addicted to the NYT daily crossword puzzle on paper. I get this every year.
@jerk_nugget @kittykat9180 @phendrick @ThunderChicken One annoying thing about this calendar though is that they leave off the titles, which often give you a clue to the puzzle’s theme.
@Kyeh oooh somehow i didn’t know this was a thing. i do the daily mini online and the occasional one from the archives but i don’t want to pay for more online. esp as part of the reason i do crosswords on paper is to give my eyes a break from a screen. i’ve enjoyed all the other printed nyt crosswords so far so maybe i’ll get this this year.
@jerk_nugget Here’s the best price currently
https://www.amazon.com/Times-Daily-Crosswords-Page-Calendar/dp/1523511303 with free shipping. You can find previous years online too, and of course it doesn’t matter if they’re old - although you might have done some some of the puzzles already. It’s a small calendar, but I like that because I do them in bed.
@Kyeh thank you! i added it to my list. (will wait until after xmas just in case my mom or partner may have gotten it on a whim since they know i like nyt crosswords.) the small size is just right, i also do them in bed
(or in the car.)
@jerk_nugget Maybe drop some heavy hints - one year I waited (2019, I think) and they sold out everywhere! And then they appeared on Ebay for ridiculously high prices.
https://shirt.woot.com/offers/books-and-cats-no-electricity-required
A book is always a good choice, but I am one of those people who is still clinging to magazines as a reading choice. I still prefer reading physical print as opposed to a screen, and the stopping points in a magazine are both more abundant and can be more satisfying than a book. ( I don’t know if “satisfying” is the right word, I mean an article is is complete, and not just the bridge to the next chapter)
@DrWorm What are your favorites? I used to be a big Harper’s fan, but it’s really dropped in quality since Lapham left and i finally dropped my subscription. I’ve been reading the new yorker and wired. Used to read Esquire religiously, not sure if the quality has held up.
@danpritts You are more high-brow than me. “Mental Floss” was my favorite before it ceased publication. I will sporadically pick up a “Time”, “National Geographic”, “Science”, or “Popular Science”, but the only two to which I subscribe are “Baseball Digest” and “Baseball America”. I’m not above perusing my wife’s “Entertainment Weekly” or son’s “Mad” if I see it lying around. (tbh, I will usually go through an entire “Mad” in one sitting)
@danpritts @DrWorm Hah, New Yorker and Wired are the two I get in paper form too, but I’ve had and liked Atlantic and Rolling Stone. Vanity Fair seems very good, but there’s only so much time in the day - and room in my house! I used to love Harper’s too, sad that it went downhill.
@danpritts @DrWorm @Kyeh
IKWYM. I am the luddite that still gets a newspaper (remember those?) thrown in his driveway at 0330 every day… Of course it’s only about 16 pages total most days but still…
@chienfou @danpritts @DrWorm Same here, and it’s half car and real estate ads, but I hate to quit because I’m afraid it will go away altogether. It got bought by a fucking hedgefund company some years ago and it’s gotten thinner and worse and pricier every year since then.
@Kyeh
Daily Camera? N’est-ce pas?
@Kyeh
the local paper website is crap, mostly clickbait, no hard news. That’s the primary reason I keep the hardcopy…
@chienfou C’est ca.
But if you have any fond memories of the campus paper, the Colorado Daily, you’d be saddened to see it now; it’s now put out by that same hedgefund company and it’s pure crap. It used to be very good.
@chienfou
Yes, also true here! AND you have to pay for the digital version!
@DrWorm @Kyeh Yeah, I had Rolling Stone for quite a while too, should’ve thought of that.
I love Jann Wenner, not beholden to anyone other than the record labels, and they don’t give a shit about his political reporting.
Paper crafts. Hands down.
Napping
@heartny this was gonna be mine
@heartny @spitfire6006006
4 hours later because… you were napping maybe???
Books although some aren’t screen free because I use a Kindle half the time.
Jigsaw puzzles I do while watching TV or a movie.
Did you really ask this question to this crowd?
Lemme go ask my wife.
AH! I cheated! My books are on my Kindle which has an E-ink touch screen!
Houdini-style escapes. Hanging upside-down in a tank of water while confined in a straight-jacket really makes the time fly by.
@PocketBrain
/image praying for the end of time
Board games are good if that is an option, but that requires not just other people, but specifically other people who want to play. There are board games out there that support single player, but I can’t say that I have ever engaged in one. Anybody out there have experience with this? I am legitimately curious.
@DrWorm Me too. As a kid I would sometimes amuse myself by playing against myself with Monopoly and The Game of Life. Since they are partly dependent on luck, it can be fun. Of course that was not enough to keep my older brother from mocking me for it. If he had played with me, it would not have been necessary.
I have never heard of a single-player board game. Can you name some, please?
@DrWorm @ThunderChicken
https://nymag.com/strategist/article/best-one-player-board-games.html
I’m interested in the escape room one.
@DrWorm I love my board games and have played a couple solo (mostly Arkham Horror and Pandemic). Since they are ‘co-op players vs game’ style they play well all by yourself but sometimes it just makes you miss the friends you would have played it with if they were still around. Mechanically it works well but it isn’t nearly as fun as playing with other people.
@DrWorm @RiotDemon @ThunderChicken @FoxSpectre
There was an article in The Washington Post a few months ago that recommended board games, including some for single player. I bought Terraforming Mars – it sounded like fun. However, I have only skimmed the instructions. It sounds really complicated and I don’t have the attention span right now.
Going outside. Like - out through the door and into sunlight and non-roofed open space. Walking around, tripping over things, being stung by insects and scratched by berry brambles, barked at by dogs, and stalked by raccoons looking for handouts. Am I the only one looking at the outdoors “in person” rather than through a window screen/TV screen/computer monitor?
@rockblossom You must be one of the lucky ones who lives in a warmer climate. Going outside is my M.O. during the warmer months, but nowadays the sun comes out for about ten minutes a day and it’s a frigid tundra.
Soldering something together. I have a Versapak battery replacement project on my list. The old charging dock needs a Li-ion regulator added to match the new battery (cell, actually). 21700 cells fit nicely inside the old Versapak cylinders.
Sleeping my life away or playing dominoes
Horizontal mambo with the missus