Football Manager and life...

[BnadnerB]

Hello all,

How do you find time to play FM?

I’ve been considering the use of my time over the past couple of weeks with FIFA and FM19 out or on the horizon, I remember the days as a 14-18 year old when I could dedicate whole Summers to my love of FM, and even when college/uni got in the way I could still get 4/5 hours a day in easily!

Now I work a standard 40 hour week, living at home with a wife and child, I find my play time dwindling, but also when I do get the odd week where I can get 20+ hours in, I feel guilty for spending that much time on the game!

I’m guessing this resonates with a lot of people, but I’m also wondering how any adult with a full time job and an actual LIFE can get in so many hours on this game!? I would love to be able to do so but its just not realistic.

Are you happy to just get a few hours in a week and chip away slowly at a Full Fat FM career? Or do you look to FM Touch to provide more progression for your time?

Very interested to hear how many of you navigate life (those who have responsibilities) and FM!

 

[mightypvfc]

I'm in the same boat as you, working many hours a week with a wife and kids. I miss my student days when I could load up on pot noodles and have a proper 10-hour session. Back in the day, this game used to eat up all my time but now I'm lucky if I can get through 10+ hours a week. 

[Novem9]

I dont have a constant. In past I could spent on this game for 30+ hours, even at work. For now I guess it between 0-20 hours per week.

Btw I want to tell story about one user which played in FM a lot of time, after this go to take coach license and now working by tactical analyst in professional club  

[steff13]

4-5 hours every day after work + approx. 7-8 hours/day on weekends. so, usually, more then 30 hours/week

[Lord Rowell]

Nowadays less than 10 hours but it does vary week to week. Sometimes I won't play at all, other times sparingly, then at other times more intensively e.g. if I've got some down time in combination with having got immersed in a particular save.

[rich10]

Even before the baby arrived I'd already converted to FM Touch due to time restrictions and the fact it's far easier to play whilst travelling on a tablet (or now Switch) than a laptop.

But now...I'm not sure I'll even have time for FM Touch    unless I surrender to 30min-1hr sessions, and spend the rest of my time planning transfers, scheming new tactics.

Long gone are my ChampMan 2/Italia Glory Days.

[Chesters86]

Probably about ten, dread to think what it was like back in the CM 01/02 days!

[sporadicsmiles]

For me it can vary wildly. I do not always have evenings to play these days, but when I do I am happy to play 3 or 4 hours (unless I play something else, of course). Same goes for a weekend. If I am free with nothing to do (and want to stay home and relax) I can easily get 15 hours or more in the two days. So on a week where I have time and motivation, I can play 30 + hours.

Other times, it can be less than 10. Gone are the days of playing constantly all the time, to feed the addiction.

[KF1990]

I would say during the working week i'd be lucky to get 3 or 4 hours in. I will usually have some time at the weekend to play so would say on general up to 10 hours a week. I like to play the full fat version, feel like even though it's slow progression it still keeps me excited to return back to the save each time. I'll sometimes be thinking about the game whilst at work, this can sometimes keep me excited about wanting to use a tactic I just thought of or buy a player that has come to my mind but it can sometimes mean im sat in work just wishing I could be back home playing the game.

[phnompenhandy]

I couldn't fill in your survey because there's no option for a binge-player like me. When I'm between jobs or have a long holiday, I'll put in up to 12 hours day for a sustained period of time. When I get a proper full-time job I have to delete my entire career and all FM files from my computer to make sure I'm not tempted to touch it.

[Smurf]

Sporadically for me. I can get a couple of hours every odd evening - lucky to play at all during the weekend. 

I used to play 12-16 hours both Sat and Sun and play every evening from about 6pm to 1am. 

 

[ThatGuyYouKnow01]

Since I have no real save right now, I'd say around 5 hours a week, mainly in my mini Norway lower leagues save.

Was playing 15-18 hours a week when I had my journeyman save. Best season recovery (12th/22 mid way through the season to promoted as second on the final day in Poland 2nd division after 9 wins in 11) but it got corrupted, really ruined my mood to play for at least a week or two back in early september. I had just gotten promoted to the Poland 1st division against all odds after buying a guy who I'm certain would've been a save legend 

[chocolatecoatedballs]

You always need a bit of me time, wether it's drinks with the boys, poker night, surfing or football manager. Just allocate some time for yourself and stick to it, allow the missus to do the same, you need to find a work - play balance.

[westy8chimp]

Usually an hour a night after wife and baby gone to bed on weekdays. Then adhoc hour here n there at wkend. If there is ufc ill play from say 10pm till 5/7am

Wife away with work this week and im wfh... So binging on FM and ray donovan. Played a whole season today... 

[DementedHammer]

I usually only manage a couple of hours a week, which usually works out at one game a week as I watch the entire match. That said, I also spend a significant amount of time thinking about my team and tactics whilst I'm doing other things, even though I'm not actively playing the game at the time. 

Back, in my 20s I played a few hours a day and I'd often play through the night on the weekends. I live in New Zealand, and it used to be somewhat of a ritual to stay up all night playing FM whilst simultaneously watching the live Premier League matches. 

 

[XaW]

For me it always depends. I work full time, but I often try to find some hours each day to play. In that regard FM is great, since I can up and leave at any time should I have to. Other games are not that forgiving for leaving for 5 minutes here and there.

[kingjericho]

When I have time, I can do from 9-16h which is pretty good. Right now I don't have any free time so the average drops 

[RorysRocketThrow]

It's quite frustrating. Work and home commitments mean play time is less at a time where you really have to invest time to get a lot out of the game.

Years ago you could get away with it but now I feel you have to invest that extra 20 minutes per session, or every other session looking into training, scouting, tactics etc which eats up a lot of my 1 hour sessions every other day.

FM Touch just doesn't do it for me.

[Dagenham_Dave]

Bairn goes to bed around 8, missus goes to bed around 9.30-10pm, I go to bed at either 1 or 2am. 

You do the maths. 

[shirajzl]

I play FMT not because of time constraints, but because of other reasons (game mechanics like media and player interaction).

FM, full or Touch, has always been a game which you can play while being fully aware of your surroundings, which means I can play for 30 minutes, go out to do an errand, come back, play for 20 minutes, then feed my kid, then play for 40 mins...etc. You get my point. That's mainly workdays. Friday and Saturday nights are usually when I play good 4-5 hour sessions with a bottle of Jagermeister on the side.

[Carninho]

I have a laptop which sits on the arm of my sofa, so I play pretty much every evening. the Mrs doesn't mind as she is happy watching the TV next to me.

My daughter will borrow the laptop to play SIMS over the weekend sometimes after she broke her own laptop  but that's when I can switch to the xbox or doing any of my many jobs round the house that I put off.

 

My happiest days were when I could take my laptop to work and play there too.

My current setup doesn't really allow that, but I did install an early Champ Man on an old XP laptop I found in a bag. I leave it in the server room and chill out in there for an hour every now and again.

 

The sad thing is that FM helps me get the sleep easier. Maybe I've been hardcoded this way, but I need to think about my team to drift off to sleep. I got knocked out cold a couple of weeks ago and I remember thinking about FM when I was losing consciousness lol

[BnadnerB]

7 hours ago, RorysRocketThrow said:

It's quite frustrating. Work and home commitments mean play time is less at a time where you really have to invest time to get a lot out of the game.

Years ago you could get away with it but now I feel you have to invest that extra 20 minutes per session, or every other session looking into training, scouting, tactics etc which eats up a lot of my 1 hour sessions every other day.

FM Touch just doesn't do it for me.

This hits the nail on the head, I just can’t understand how you can put in 20+ hours a week and have a life haha! The idea of FMT is fantastic but it’s just not as gripping, the ‘magic sponge’ options are just a severe turn off for serious players IMO. 

 

So it’s either do maybe 5 seasons max per save and probably get two saves in a year with full fat FM or take the plunge and get some serious game time in FMT!

[Dagenham_Dave]

1 hour ago, BnadnerB said:

the ‘magic sponge’ options are just a severe turn off for serious players IMO. 

 

You do know you're not forced to use them, yeah? I've played Classic mode since FM13 and never once even contemplated any of the 'unlockables' 

[BnadnerB]

1 hour ago, Dagenham_Dave said:

You do know you're not forced to use them, yeah? I've played Classic mode since FM13 and never once even contemplated any of the 'unlockables' 

Yeah I get that but it undermines the experience for me. Its not just that, the game is missing just a couple of bits which would make it a no brainer, unfortunately it seems that FM Touch hasn’t got enough but Full Fat FM is too full on!

[SD]

I'd rather play full FM or not play at all.

I myself play really slowly, doing press conferences and team talks, taking my time to study opponents and religiously giving feedback on performance each match, for every player. 

It took me a whole month to finish first season when I got back into FM this summer. Key here is expectations. If I do play FM, I'm okay with the thought that I'd probably be doing maybe two long term saves a year. I like to think of it as quality over quantity.

Plus, I'm the kind of person who's into a single game at a time. Before FM it was Dota for about a year. Then before that it was Paradox games, EU4 and Stellaris. Before that it was an EVE Online stint.

I see the 20-30 hours a week as my entertainment time. Some people hit the pubs after work. Others Netflix or TV. I play video games.

Plus, like another posters said, FM is the kind of game you can play in between doing house chores, socializing with your partner or pets, doing groceries and resuming when you come back. This helps a ton squeezing playtime here and there, compared to when I was into Dota and I needed to be absolutely sure I had the next 1.5 hours free.

[podunkboy]

Hello...my name is PDB...and I am a FM addict. 

For the last 9 years, I have had an unhealthy relationship with FM. I lobbied to move the family computer from the basement to the living room, so I could "sneak in" a few days of game-time while passing through the living room, and several weeks of game-time while watching our TV programming on the DVR at night. Soon after, I asked my wife for laptop, so I could "watch" our shows over the top of the laptop screen. Sometimes, in the morning when the wife and I are having our breakfast coffee, I'll tell her I'm on facebook while I'm really hot-keying back and forth to FM. Last night, while playing Dungeons and Dragons over at my daughter's boyfriend's house, while we were fighting a battle, I was also managing Barcelona. 

It's not getting any better, although so far I have resisted FM Mobile on my phone while I'm at work. so far...

[Nobby_McDonald]

Job, wonderful wife and a delightful daughter. I don't get much FM time these days and it takes me ages to get through seasons.

[oblongata21]

I work shift work, 48 to 60 hours a week, but thats only in 4 or 5 days.

But luckily for me, i am able to play this at work as I work alone, and we have a lot of down time during quiet periods.

[kmcmillan19]

Less than 10 hrs nowadays. I can usually get about 1-2 hrs a night after the kids go to bed if I'm not busy. Used to play a ton when I first found FM back in college. Responsibilities suck...

[parsdaft1982]

I work at sea, so I'm on a rota of 2 weeks on/off with 4 blocks of 4 weeks off. I also have a wife and kids. I ply FM as much as I can, my Mrs is happy enough to let me play as long as I don't ignore her or the kids. I play every day, even when I'm away, but I get less time to play at work than I do at home, obviously. My steam show over 800 hours on FM 18, but I think it is a hell of a lot more than that. I have to put steam into offline mode when I'm away and It doesn't count up my hours like it does in online mode. 

Anyway, I seem to have the perfect set up both home and away 

[Deisler26]

30+ hours a week. I play most when my partner is working (we both do nights). When she's asleep during the day, I play and then when she goes to work and the kids are in bed, I play

[GerdMuller]

Just be happy you have a LIFE now , a good job, a family...its way more important than FM. and if you get some time in between where you still enjoy it its great, dont fell guilty, you should have time in your life to enjoy things you like still. And its better than boozing and may relax your family and friends more than knowing you do skydiving or something dangerous in your free time.

Tbh i have a girlfriend and know the feeling of guilt, but its ok i spend way less time with FM than she does with her girlfriends and with her horse. On the other hand i studied to have a poor job now wer ei work over 50 hours a week at nearly minimum sale. I have a lot of lonely late shifts though were i can get quality FM hours in. Trust me id prefer to have a better job and cut back on playing time ;-)

[JR866Gunner]

I remember back when I lived at home and had a part time job. I'd spend so much time playing FM. working in retail it meant I'd work weekends which in turn meant I had weekdays off. I'd quite happily spend an entire day playing FM! 

I'm married now with two little ones and do find it tricky to just play. Daytime is out of bounds, I have to wait for all to go to bed so I can play. Somewhere between 7:30pm and 8pm I can safely start playing, I got a PS4 in June though so that takes a bit of time and cuts into FM play....

Gone are the days where I'd start up the pc and 9:30am and play through till 4am with little in the way of a break! I ploughed so much time into that it was scary! Whilst I could stay up till 2am playing, I daren't as I will no doubt be awoken by my children! It's typical timing ! I might be alone but I'm now unable to sleep longer than 6 hours. My body caps at that time, any late nights I end up having leaves me suffering as a zombie the next day. 

[Nobby_McDonald]

I sleep less these days. It's what having kids does to you. Even my lie ins don't go past 8am any more.

[JR866Gunner]

12 hours ago, Nobby_McDonald said:

I sleep less these days. It's what having kids does to you. Even my lie ins don't go past 8am any more.

Ha I feel you! 7am is regarded a a lie in, in our house!

[Nobby_McDonald]

My daughter gets up at 06:45 in the week to go nursery school. While she lies in a bit at weekend, her body clock normally gets her up between 07:00 and 07:30. My body clock also gets me up too these days. A month or so back when our daughter had a sleepover at the in laws I still got up before 08:00.

[JR866Gunner]

18 hours ago, Nobby_McDonald said:

My daughter gets up at 06:45 in the week to go nursery school. While she lies in a bit at weekend, her body clock normally gets her up between 07:00 and 07:30. My body clock also gets me up too these days. A month or so back when our daughter had a sleepover at the in laws I still got up before 08:00.

Never will we ever sleep in till 10am!!

[Big Geordie]

I play 25-30hrs a week. FM is the only game that I play, which helps. Got my PC setup in the living room, where I can watch TV and play at the same time. Our lass doesn't mind. I see my daughter at weekends and still manage to get some time in, when she's having a Fortnite session on the XBox.

I'm totally hooked on FM and have been now for 25 years.

[sedge11]

I generally get in around 20-25 hours a week, usually can play about 3 hours a night, sometimes a little longer on weekends when football is on.

I’ve got a misses and we have a 3 year old boy. He goes to bed at 8 at night so I go on it from then every night, while the misses watches her programs like bake off.

I know what people are saying about sleeping in, body is just used to getting up early because of our boy, but luckily lately he has been sleeping till about 8, which as I get up at 6:15 during the week for work, is the best lay in I’m going to get ha, any little extra is nice to have.

[Nobby_McDonald]

I love being a dad and wouldn't swap for anything.

[JR866Gunner]

On 15/10/2018 at 21:34, Nobby_McDonald said:

I love being a dad and wouldn't swap for anything.

B est job in the world!

[RandomGuy.]

On 15/10/2018 at 21:34, Nobby_McDonald said:

I love being a dad and wouldn't swap for anything.

 

8 minutes ago, JR866Gunner said:

B est job in the world!

Clearly neither of you have managed a club of club grown youngsters to a title against the odds.

[mhaffy]

I have been playing FM since early Domark days and even since retiring (>4 years ago), still find it hard to devote regular long periods to FM - unfortunately. Like others, family come 1st and although my daughter (in 30's) left home a while ago, helping 4 elderly parents/in laws in late 80's takes a lot of time.....Looking forward to beta and full game and will fit in as much time as possible. Seem to have less time for FM since I retired, which seems strange....

 

[toffee71]

Have been playing Fm type games since (showing my age) speccy 48k days can't remember what that was called (was in basic) and all through the cm/fm series, but looking at my steam account since fm2012 it fluctuates a lot this year is my top year so far for hours and currently hammering out bout 8/10 hours a day, due to being off work and preparing for 19

[Blackthorn]

On 03/10/2018 at 10:41, RorysRocketThrow said:

It's quite frustrating. Work and home commitments mean play time is less at a time where you really have to invest time to get a lot out of the game.

Years ago you could get away with it but now I feel you have to invest that extra 20 minutes per session, or every other session looking into training, scouting, tactics etc which eats up a lot of my 1 hour sessions every other day.

FM Touch just doesn't do it for me.

I play FM Touch and it is frustrating at times, can't select tutors, set reserve team formation, player values sky rocket after a few seasons due to small database. I prefer not having the press conferences.

Planning on getting a pc but going back to older version not sure which.

[Amarante]

Im 23. Started a film and game studio with my best friend. Single at the moment and no kids. I play FM In periods. Well Between 13-17 i was playing constantly. 18 not so much, 18 weeks would past and i didn't get to touch it. Trying to run a company and compete in this market is very tough sometimes. 

I do get break periods where i will spend all day playing FM. I guess one of the nice things about my career is that it revolves around playing games.

[t-zolla]

I started playing in lunch breaks at work so that's about 50 minutes a day, then turned Tuesday nights into FM nights at home so get in total about 9 hours a week, will sneak in a Sunday game if possible but probably an hour or two.

When the game gets released the wife knows I will have a couple of weeks of constant playing so leaves me be, and normally plans a weekend away with family or friends. but 1-year-old daughter and wife obviously come first for me so time is very limited nowadays 

[Nobby_McDonald]

On 17/10/2018 at 10:40, JR866Gunner said:

B est job in the world!

It's not a job. It's a pleasure.

[Nobby_McDonald]

On 17/10/2018 at 10:50, RandomGuy. said:

 

Clearly neither of you have managed a club of club grown youngsters to a title against the odds.

I've only ever won the title in a Zealot Online Clan game way back on 01/02. I've played every version bar FM17 since the original Championship Manager, though granted I'm only in September 2017 on FM18.

[JR866Gunner]

13 hours ago, Nobby_McDonald said:

It's not a job. It's a pleasure.

Well said sir!