5 of the Most Addictive Games of All Time

Minecraft

Minecraft is known by many as an addictive sandbox game with simple pixel graphics and possibly the most relaxing music in any video game.  Created by ‘Notch’ and published by Mojang on just about every platform imaginable, Minecraft is one of the most popular and impactful games of all time, and it’s easy to see why.

Its most addicting elements are probably its innate creative freedom that it allows, and its mining/building mechanics. It also helps that you don’t just have to build things aimlessly.  In Survival mode, you have to do just that – survive.  Craft weapons to fight zombies, spiders and skeletons; mine for gold, coal and those super rare diamonds. You can discover villages, secrets, and – if you’re brave enough – the Nether.  Unless you’re prepared to play for hours on end, you won’t achieve all of this in one sitting.  So sit back and let that addiction build as you dig, craft and explore an infinite world full of mystery and creativity.

World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft has been gaming crack for over a decade now. At this point, despite leveling sales, WoW has caused enough sleepless nights, breakups, and actual deaths to be considered addictive at the least.

MMO’s always run the risk of being huge time sinks thanks to their massive worlds, long leveling grinds and intense end-game content. World of Warcraft bundles it all with Blizzard’s secret sauce, making for easy chronic gaming.

The Sims

It all began in the year 2000.  Maxis had been bought by Electronic Arts and SimCity had been a great success.  This is when The Sims was born.  As a totally creative sandbox game, players could have free reign over their Sims – they would choose what they looked like, where they lived, what job they had and their relationships.  Our addiction to the game fed seven expansion packs including the introduction of vacations, magic spells and some seriously hot dates.

Four years later and we got hooked all over again through the release of The Sims 2 – the same game we knew and loved but with so many enhancements.  The 3D world was a welcome addition and the varied life stages made us grow more attached to our Sims.

Another version in 2009 kept us entertained until now, where we are now even more engrossed in The Sims 4, where our Sims can think, feel and aspire.  The Sims has had incredible staying power over the years; and for its fans, it remains one of the most addictive games of all time.

Fallout 4

Whilst previous Fallout titles have been addictive and lengthy, as well as other Bethesda titles such as Skyrim, Fallout 4 is the one that we have been totally unable to put down recently. There’s just so much to do and so little time to do it all. There are still parts of that gigantic map that we haven’t found yet, there are missions that we haven’t discovered yet and people we haven’t yet met.

The addiction sets in when a mission is completed, we see the XP tick over and we’re launched right into the next one.  Let’s be honest, it would be rude not to finish it when it’s already started. Right? Hell, it’s so addictive that someone is even trying to take Bethesda to court over it!

Tetris

With over 100 million paid purchases, Tetris stole our hearts in 1984 and never let go. It has remained in the public eye over the years with various spin-off games such as Tetris Plus that features a story-style mode, and Kids Tetris that featured various locations such as a Haunted House.

We all know how it works by now: you maneuver blocks of four into a complete line at the bottom of a tall screen.  Try not to let it build up to the top and get as high a score as possible until you run out of space and the game is over. Its simplicity is what make it so addictive.  The desperation to get the high score teamed up with the therapeutic colors, music and puzzle-solving make it a great game to play whatever your mood.

What are some other addictive games that had their hooks in you? Let us know in the comments!

This post was originally written by Claire Pulpher.