Man Spends 2,200 Hours Defeating Bejeweled 2

An anonymous reader writes "A California steel contractor spent 2,200 total hours over the last three years racking up a high score in Bejeweled 2. He exceeded the 2^31-1 maximum score programmed for the score display, proving that there is, in fact, an end to the game. I suppose congratulations or condolences are in order."

Comments

Why this is sad

[iamhassi]

In the article the author raises an interesting point:
"I just made fun of Little Gray's sex life for raiding 405 WoW dungeons, but am I any better? Are any of you? Maybe we are, maybe we're not....It might not be considered a "real" accomplishment to beat Bejeweled 2. It's not like Mike Leyde is a New York fireman or a scientist making lifesaving medical breakthroughs. At the end of the day though, he's achieved more through playing Bejeweled 2 than we have through pouring derision upon him and his ilk via the Internet."

Here's the rub: you (me, everyone) made fun of him for what, a few minutes? But he played a game for 2,205 hours to be "the best". He wasn't saving lives, he wasn't improving mankind, he wasn't doing this to make money (like a Starcraft player might), he simply sat on a chair and played for 2,205 hours, and he did that in just 3 years, which averages out to be 2 hours a day every day. That's a lot of wasted time within a short time frame, and he doesn't even have a train village to show for it like a model train builder might. I'm sure there's WoW players who might average out to be the same, but no one's telling anyone about it, and there's a lot of social interaction in WoW as anyone who watches The Guild knows.

Although maybe I shouldn't talk: how many hours does the average American watch TV a day? Although they wouldn't lock someone up for watching TV for 2 hrs a day, but if they did something crazy like, throw rocks at a tree for 2 hours, everyday, for 3 yrs, someone might notice. I think this guy needs professional help.

Re:Why this is sad

[iamhassi]

"With Bejeweled you're using your brain for problem solving."

the problem of... solving world hunger? Curing cancer? What exactly is the problem Bejeweled solves again?

..... oh, that's right, putting four colors in a row.

Re:What are the odds

[TheMeuge]

Union labor FTW

Re:There's always someone with less of a life

[masterwit]

Look, its World Of Warcraft... I think most of us could beat that game blindfolded.

I've never been a gamer, too old for it I guess.

[sfarber53]

Still, I'd like to know why any one would spend so much of their time playing a game? Like so many of our leisure activities, gaming produces nothing beyond some sort of satisfaction for the player, but 2,200 hours (91.66 days), seems a bit excessive. Personally I think this sort of thing borders (just being polite), on obsession or addiction. Get some help, man!