We are now past the halfway point through the year. So here, almost three weeks into the second half, I thought I might trot out the usual post about how 2025 has gone for me so far on the gaming front.

Time to get out the ManicTime spreadsheet and see where I spent my gaming time so far. Here are all the titles with any time tracked:

1. LOTRO – 30.87%
2. Pokemon Go – 22.22%
3. Enshrouded – 20.53%
4. EVE Online – 15.38%
5. Balatro – 5.72%
6. Civilization 2 – 1.92%
7. Total Annihilation – 1.49%
8. Stars Reach – 0.97%
9. No Man’s Sky – 0.26%
10. WoW Classic – 0.22%
11. Zmud/TorilMUD – 0.20%
12. Combat Mission:BB – 0.14%
13. World of Warcraft – 0.09%

That is somewhat fewer titles than I had played at the same time last year, when the count was 21.  2024 was a bit of an outlier though.  Back in 2023 the number was 13 and in 2021 it was just 9, so 13 is pretty normal for me I suppose.

The percentages are also different, largely due to the fact that back in January I started tracking my screen time in iOS to include the two games I play on devices, Pokemon Go and Balatro.  (So the number would have been 11 using past metrics.) Pokemon Go especially changes the percentages because it is a title I play a bit every day and often play for some time on weekends with my wife, it being the only video game we play together.  (And almost the only video game she plays at all.  When bored she might break out solitaire or video poker on her phone, but mostly not.)

So Pokemon Go essentially added hours to my total time played without interrupting my PC gaming time.  So total hours played have been up every month, but almost exactly by the amount of time I spent on mobile.  Go figure.

As in past years, it is really only the top five that warrant discussion as they add up to nearly 95% of my gaming time.

1. LOTRO – 30.87%
2. Pokemon Go – 22.22%
3. Enshrouded – 20.53%
4. EVE Online – 15.38%
5. Balatro – 5.72%

Lord of the Rings Online stands out at the top as I went all in on it with the advent of the 64-bit servers and set my sights on getting to Mordor.  And I got there just at the end of June.

Then there is Pokemon Go, maybe a bit higher on the list than it should be as I was out of town for at least two weeks in the first half of the year, during which PC gaming wasn’t an option.  But Pokemon Go, always right there on my phone, that never stops!  Gotta… if not catch ’em all, at least get to level cap.

Just behind that is Enshrouded, where our group has been playing since Cataclsym Classic wore out for us… back in November of 2024.

I am a bit surprised that EVE Online is only in fourth spot, given the amount of time I spent logged in for move ops.  But as a game it always suffers from the fact that I probably spend 20-40% of my time logged into the game tabbed out in another window.  Fleet doctrine info, DOTLAN, r/eve, memes, or YouTube if we’re just waiting on a titan or for a timer to count down, my time in New Eden is always under counted.

Seriously, I will have two accounts logged in and doing something, but will be tabbed out reading something else.  What other MMORPG offers that level of detachment?

Then there is Balatro, which I play exclusively on the iPad these days.  That got most of its play time in while I was traveling.

After that things drop off pretty quickly, entries representing occasional transitory bouts of interest in one thing or another.  The launch of Civilization VII got me to crank up Civ II.  A update to No Man’s Sky got me to check in on that.

So it goes.

The question, at the halfway point of the year, is what will occupy me from the peak of summer into the depths of winter?

I don’t see Pokemon Go being done soon, unless its new owners do something particularly egregious.  My wife and I are in it until level cap.

Likewise, EVE Online will abide, no matter how much time I spend tabbed out of it.

LOTRO feels like it has had its moment for now.  I got to Mordor and the story that carried me… the story that has always carried me through the game… wraps up.  I am not against running off to explore visions of what was delved out of the appendix of the third book.  Just not today.

Enshrouded feels like it has some more time to run for us.  We still have to get to the last biome and, if we hang out long enough, maybe Keen will add a new one for us to explore.  That would keep the party going.

However, Mists of Pandaria Classic is coming, and the group came back together in 2019 specifically for WoW Classic.  We might not jump there on day one… which is Monday night/Tuesday morning next… but we’ll probably end up there.  I’ve been playing some already, so it will be trending up this month.

I have also been spending some time with RimWorld again, with the launch of the Odyssey expansion.  However, I have also been running into some of the same things that makes me drop the game as well.  We shall see.

Other than that, we shall see what the second half of the year brings.