Written by Alex Maidment (nSanity Beach)

I know what you’re thinking: Every season is the season of gaming. Even more so in 2020 with the global Covid-19 pandemic taking the world by storm.

It’s the perfect hobby. If it’s too hot outside – gaming. If it’s too cold outside – gaming. If it’s too rainy outside – gaming. If it’s perfect outside but you can’t be bothered to go out – gaming.

But here’s the thing; Autumn and Winter are the ideal seasons for gaming. At least for us here in the UK where the weather might fluctuate dramatically day-to-day, the one thing you can count on is that the nights draw in early and the appeal of going out decreases day-by-day, at least until the Christmas activities begin later in the year (sorry for mentioning that word so early!).

For me, it’s almost certainly something that stems from childhood. Although I’ve long been an avid gamer who happily spends evenings and weekends gaming, spring and summer as a child were always the times I was encouraged to go out and see friends, play football at the park or on weekends take family walking trips. But as soon as Autumn came around and the nights got cold and dark, the evenings were mine again and I could sit in front of my PC monitor or a TV playing games, usually with friends.

Autumn brings about a nostalgic feeling of trying to beat levels on Crash Bandicoot, playing Goldeneye with a few friends and a PlayStation Multitap (remember those?), struggling to get through the Library on Halo and rushing home from school to play Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare online with a group of friends I had just spent all day with at school.

This Autumn/Winter gaming season has actually carried through to adulthood for me – still to this day do I get excited by the prospect of a new line-up of games at this time of year and this year, a new console. With less to do in the evenings, gaming becomes a more natural fit and each evening can be spent guilt-free playing games.

Throw in a hot chocolate/beer/glass of whiskey depending on the mood and a nice cosy Halo hoodie and it’s the perfect evening gaming with friends! Here’s to another 4-5 months of cold, dark nights where gaming can consume our time!