Do you feel addicted to, or obsessed with, Football Manager?

Do you feel addicted to, or obsessed with, Football Manager?

Does staying up till 1am playing the game, then setting my alarm an hour earlier than I need to in order to play before work count as an obsession?

I think so Pompey1978!

I think so Pompey1978!

Hmmm I rather thought so.

For what it's worth, I ticked the 'Yes, I am addicted and it impacts upon my life' option.

The game has the power to impact upon my mood, make me grumpy and frustrated etc. Not always negatively but sometimes I think the negatives outweigh the positives!

It also occupies way too much of my thoughts during the day. I think I probably play too often and it definitely has an impact upon my work. Pretty bad when you think about it like that. :o

When I'm not playing it or thinking about it, I can often be found on here talking about it with like-minded souls and fellow addicts!

I'm interested to hear from those who classify themselves as addicted/obsessed but claim they have it under control. What do you do to control your addiction? Do you restrict your amount of playing time and things like that? I've tried that but when I am really into a save, I always get that 'one last match' feeling.

What Ho! "C", Bertie here. I am of late finding that I will play for two or three days for an hour or two. Then I find that I need to get away from the game. When I return after, sometimes a week, I've lost my thread within the game and sometimes end up starting a new save.What would a 'trick cyclist' make of that?

I have been playing this game religiously since 1993 and wouldn't even want to know how many hours of my life have been invested into this game it would be scary.

I have been signed off work for a fortnight due to a severe back injury and as I am unable to move far I have been putting in some serious shifts on this game the hours have been from 5am to midnight.

# I'm quite obsessed and I have to play every day

o I'm quite obsessed but I don't have to play everyday

# I'm not addicted - it's a computer game and I can take it or leave it

What Ho! "C", Bertie here. I am of late finding that I will play for two or three days for an hour or two. Then I find that I need to get away from the game. When I return after, sometimes a week, I've lost my thread within the game and sometimes end up starting a new save.What would a 'trick cyclist' make of that?

What ho indeed!

Well, I'd say it's perhaps that you know when you've had enough of a good thing. Or, alternatively, if you'll permit a cigarettes metaphor, I'm the 20-a-day guy and you're one of those 'social' smokers who only lights up on weekends.

On a serious note, why do you feel the need to get away from the game after a few days Oescus?

I find playing an FM save is a bit like reading a book. If you leave it too long, you lose your place and start to get your plot-lines and characters muddled up!

I have been playing this game religiously since 1993 and wouldn't even want to know how many hours of my life have been invested into this game it would be scary.

I have been signed off work for a fortnight due to a severe back injury and as I am unable to move far I have been putting in some serious shifts on this game the hours have been from 5am to midnight.

5am to midnight! Now that is addiction!

I picked I am addicted but I've got it under control.

I really do, as my girlfriend has to use to computer for uni work, so I just go on the xbox.

And the motherboard on my old computer fried so I had no FM for a month. I wasn't as bad as I thought I'd be to be fair.

Funnily enough, my current addiction rating on my FM save is 'I'm not addicted... I just can't stop playing'!

I picked I am addicted but I've got it under control.

I really do, as my girlfriend has to use to computer for uni work, so I just go on the xbox.

Do you play football games on the Xbox though? You might just be transferring your FM addiction to another football game.

5am to midnight! Now that is addiction!

I know if this game was a drug I would be a raging crack head, ha ha

I know if this game was a drug I would be a raging crack head, ha ha

They do patches and inhalers for cigarette addiction. Maybe what we all need is an FM patch. Should be one out after the transfer window shuts.

Oh dear, did I really do that? :o

Do you play football games on the Xbox though? You might just be transferring your FM addiction to another football game.

Yeah FIFA.

Although I play COD sometimes, just to diversify

They do patches and inhalers for cigarette addiction. Maybe what we all need is an FM patch. Should be one out after the transfer window shuts.

Oh dear, did I really do that? :o

(Y) Awful awful joke, but yes it made me nose laugh.

Well last night I had the Ajax, Inter and Arsenal match on 3 different screens and I was playing football manager at the same time - with the Sky Sports center going on another.

A mild addiction to football in general.

I find playing an FM save is a bit like reading a book. If you leave it too long, you lose your place and start to get your plot-lines and characters muddled up!

Definitely agree with that. It's also like reading a book because you always want to know what's going to happen next.

They do patches and inhalers for cigarette addiction. Maybe what we all need is an FM patch. Should be one out after the transfer window shuts.

Oh dear, did I really do that? :o

Found a few amusing links on addiction to the game, the first link is to do with a documentary

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/oct/26/championship-manager-football

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SPORT/football/03/12/football.manager.addiction/index.html

Found a few amusing links on addiction to the game, the first link is to do with a documentary

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/oct/26/championship-manager-football

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SPORT/football/03/12/football.manager.addiction/index.html

After reading these, I now feel more addicted than I was. I completely sympathise with all of them. Oh ohh.

Well last night I had the Ajax, Inter and Arsenal match on 3 different screens and I was playing football manager at the same time - with the Sky Sports center going on another.

A mild addiction to football in general.

You call that mild?

Found a few amusing links on addiction to the game, the first link is to do with a documentary

That first one is hilarious!

This bit of the Guardian article cracked me up:

My flatmate told me that I had to sort it out. I knew what I had to sort out, I had a very tricky League Cup tie against Ipswich coming up

I laughed out loud. So true!

I picked addicted but it's under control. I find myself thinking about it a fair amount during the day and occasionally have trouble getting to sleep becasue i'm thinking about tactics but i play it on a weeknight for about 2-3 hrs a night, and wouldn't stay up late or get up early to play it.

I am extremely addicted to the game and play it as much as I can wherever I can. However, I don't play it when I'm with my fianceé or when I have days off with her.

I am extremely addicted to the game and play it as much as I can wherever I can. However, I don't play it when I'm with my fianceé or when I have days off with her.

Presumably (hopefully!) because you are even more addicted to your fianceé, right?

Presumably (hopefully!) because you are even more addicted to your fianceé, right?

Plus she'd murder me if I tried...

I am addicted but I've got it under control. When I have to study, I study. And after that, I play FM again

That first one is hilarious!

I need to see the documentary in full it's so funny. I want to know if the bloke on the phone is actually talking to somebody or whether he's pretending to be talking to an agent or something about the potential signing he's trying to make. I hope it's the later as that just makes it all the more comical

I am really addicted but I have it under control. I play FM a lot, but that's because I have a lot of free time at the moment. When I have something more important, I just save the game and get on with other things.

You call that mild?

You should see the weekends! It gets crazy...

I sometimes leave my laptop underneath my pillow, so when I wake up, I can instantly put my dreams into action on FM.

Hopefully the 2.4GHz Wifi doesn't cause me to get brain cancer or something.

It's actually an interesting set of questions.

I said: I'm not addicted - it's a computer game and I can take it or leave it.

Though I note that I have bought every iteration of the game since it's early inception and it occassionally affects my moods. So I suppose mildly addicted then as I lose interest another version comes along and boom, there goes my free time.

Scary stuff

I sometimes leave my laptop underneath my pillow, so when I wake up, I can instantly put my dreams into action on FM.

Hopefully the 2.4GHz Wifi doesn't cause me to get brain cancer or something.

Addicted, me, no.....wait until i read this in the office at work just now and burst out laughing....

I sometimes leave my laptop underneath my pillow, so when I wake up, I can instantly put my dreams into action on FM.

Hopefully the 2.4GHz Wifi doesn't cause me to get brain cancer or something.

I know you were joking but let's get things straight here lol

I think you'll find it goes at 54 megabits per second (not 2.4 gigahertz per second - that's the processor speed you're thinking of)

I can honestly say that it's just a radio signal, there's no more danger of getting cancer from it than there is getting cancer from wearing a radio strapped to your head, or using a mobile phone.

You're totally safe. But I wouldn't recommend sleeping on the laptop. Get a bedside desk and put it there.

I often wake up saturday morning and flip open the laptop and my game is waiting for me there.

My addiction really is at transfer window. I have to play through the entire window before I go anywhere, sleep or outside to reality land.

But I can't stop playing the game for love or money until that transfer window is gone.

I wouldn't say addicted but it sure is going that way. I've just finished a truly exciting 3 seasons at tottenham, and could be found up untill 5am on occasion still trying to wrestle the Title from Arsenal's steely grip. I say to myself, ok, when the season is over take a break like any real manager would, but no, it's 'Well i just have to complete that signing because i saw that Valencia were interested etc(even though FM does NOT carry on when i've logged off)'.

During the day, when i am not playing it, i usually have to stop myself from thinking about it- About whether this signing is neccesarry,. should i sell so and so, what if my new signing doesn't fit it the team, i must give that young lad some more playing time etc etc etc, or else i imagine i am talking to the press about things.

Truly, i have become a sad man since this game came out, but i love the game, and this is my way of feeling a part of it. However, i have not played it today, and probably wont as i can't be arsed, so that counts for something. I think SI has few things to iron out in the game before i would become a full on addict.

God knows what i'll be like when the final patch comes out and i can start my journeyman career though

This is a stupid question, and I thought I'd post it here as it doesn't warrant its own thread. I know it's totally all related but I thought some fellow addicts might be able to help.

I just changed my Football Manager to "windowed" setting. I don't like it, and I want to change it back. However, the "Preferences" option is blocked by my toolbar. If I access Preferences from the in-game menu, the "Confirm Settings" option is blocked. Any know how to fix this. I can't make my toolbar smaller like I did on Vista. Or maybe I just don't know how.

Other than that, it doesn't really affect my mood. I don't get upset when i lose and i don't jump around like Martin O'Neill when we score a goal. Just a quiet 'Yessssss' will suffice.

Hard to get addicted to a game I haven't played in over a month.

Is that patch out yet?

i was meant to click the second one but clicked the top

I was completely addicted about 10 years ago, spent a whole year at work-FM-sleep-work-FM-sleep....... never seen a friend or went out.

Now I'm 40 years old and I enjoy the game: the whole thing is under control - at least until the january patch is out

I think I used to be addicted in 07 and 08 I couldn't stay away but I don't what it is but I don't enjoy the game as much now which is a good thing for my study's

i bought a new computer 3 years in a row just so i could enjoy FM as quick as possible, thankfully this years one doesnt require much more computer than last years.

This game has taken up years of my life and i wouldnt want a single day back!! hahaha

At the moment I play it most days, usually at the same time as playing my PS3 or watching TV. Wouldn't say I was addicted though. It's like smoking and drinking, I do them because I enjoy them, not because I am addicted.

When i was younger i was definetly completly addicted to it.

Now i just go through phases tbh, there are times where i will play a lot for a week or two then get somewhat bored(usually between seasons) and then don't play it for like a month or two, like right now though i have an interesting save going on don't really feel like playing it..

Oh my god, having just read this, i think i am what you'd call an addict;

"I ignored the women in my life, the shower has become a strange world not very often visited and the toilet is a hideous inconvenience.''

What ho indeed!

Well, I'd say it's perhaps that you know when you've had enough of a good thing. Or, alternatively, if you'll permit a cigarettes metaphor, I'm the 20-a-day guy and you're one of those 'social' smokers who only lights up on weekends.

On a serious note, why do you feel the need to get away from the game after a few days Oescus?

I find playing an FM save is a bit like reading a book. If you leave it too long, you lose your place and start to get your plot-lines and characters muddled up!

What Ho!, "C". I find that after a few days that I tend to rush things, like taking full note of scouting team reports or checking that the corner routines have not gone AWOL. I have found that even though I save my tactics/formation and set piece routines that they still go AWOL. Also, if it is an easy match I sometimes go on holiday and miss it out.

I can stop any time I want, but I don't want

Oh my god, having just read this, i think i am what you'd call an addict;

"I ignored the women in my life, the shower has become a strange world not very often visited and the toilet is a hideous inconvenience.''

I believe you can conveniently play FM in the bath and toilet with the PSP version.