Balatro

I’ve spent far more hours than I am comfortable with playing Balatro this week. I generally don’t play games but the buzz around this one drew me in. Apparently it is a “roguelike deck-building game”, a phrase whose meaning I had only vague conceptions of before I picked up the game. I think I would describe it as like a poker themed fruit machine. It’s just struck me how strange that name is. For those outside the UK, a fruit machine is a gambling box that lives in pubs. They have flashing lights, and spinning reels and bleepy music and you feed in money and occasinally it spews some percentage of that back out for a lucky winner. I think they call them “slots” in other parts of the world. I never really played those machines, I found them quite baffling, but every pub had one or two folk who professed knowledge of when exaclty to hold or nudge and whether to go for lemons or plums. The rules to Balatro are at least more easily graspable, and there is undoubtedly a skill element in choosing which cards to play when and which strategies to employ to maximise scores in the game. But I don’t really think the strategic elements are what makes it so addictive. Its just tapping into that same “one more spin and I might hit the jackpot” sensation that fruit machines provoke. And the dopamine hit when you do, and the multiplers and bonuses are racking up and the score is spinning up faster and faster is huge. When the inevitable happens and you fall short of the necessary score and are forced to start again from the beginning, its very hard to not dive back in, convinved that this time you will find that marginal edge or avoid the bad luck that befell you last time. I’m not really sure I can say that I enjoy playing the game. The psychological manipulation just feels so blatant. After a session in the game I almost feel ashamed that I was unable to resist and do something more productive with my time. But then the tempation creeps back, just one more run. Maybe I can tick off another deck. Just a few minutes in between more wholesome pursuits.

London Office

I went down to London for the day on Thurday, for drinks with a friend who was leaving our company. It was only second time in 4 years that I have been to the office. I mostly love working from home, the convenience is one thing, but I do love the utter peace and quiet that envelops my working day. I know there are pros and cons to full-time WFH, but to me the idea that you are less productive at home is preposterous. Offices are filled with distractions and digressions. I guess it depends on the individual and the job though, but I feel vastly more productive at home. Having said that, I did enjoy the experience, and hope to make it a little more of a regular trip. I might get less coding done down there, but it is pleasent seeing people and going for a beer after work and feeling the buzz of a working city. It’s a different sensation than travelling round as a tourist, you feel more part of everything and connected to people. I enjoyed the train ride down too. Flexible working hours allowed me to get a cheaper and quieter train, though I still got to enjoy watching the sunrise over the countryside. The black silhouttes of the hills and trees on the horizon stark against the orange / yellow glow of the morning light. On the way back my train was delayed and I missed my connection, which was the last train back to where I live. Happily though the train company pay for a taxi in such cases, so I was bundled into the back of a minicab with a lovely chap in the same predicament and was home only a few minutes later than I was expecting.

Cycling Diary

• Rides this week: 2 (65 mins, 30k, 400m elevation)

Not exactly the ramping up from last week that I had hoped. I did push myself a little on the Oh Hill No route in Watopia (that is Zwift indoor cycling speak to the uninitiated) but due to the aforementioned London trip and other engagements, struggled to find time to get on the bike. I’m away next weekend too, but I really need to make time to get on the bike if I want to get my fitness levels back to where they were before christmas.