Using Games to balance your brain

Some guy on the internet had an interesting insight: some of us use games to keep our brain load balanced. When life is full of mental challenges, those of us who like games play games with simple rules as a distraction. When the complexity of life goes down, we play much more complicated games.

I can say this is true of me lately. For most of the past year, my life was full. I played simple games on the computer, seeking escape from the hard work of life. But I've had a break in the past few months, and I dusted off my copy of FreeCiv and have been fascinated by the complexity. I think in another month the pendulum will swing back the other way.

Fascinating.