How much do you plan ahead when choosing which video game to play?

In modern times, there are so many possible ways to spend your free time that it can be overwhelming. Sometimes it feels like I spend too much time organizing my wish lists and game queues, not to mention slotting hobby time into the calendar. Then it occurred to me: maybe most folks don’t plan this much, or at all, when considering their next game.

The origin of my recent overplanning episode is the impending November 4 launch of World of Warcraft: Forever, which is at least one date that’s circled on more than just my own Amazing Animals of Azeroth calendar. I really want to make sure my slate is clean and I can dedicate a good chunk of my gaming time to messing about on this frozen-in-time slice of Classic.

With prep for my current Dungeons & Dragons campaign wrapped up, I found myself with just about ten days before Forever: not nearly enough time to tackle a title on my “To Play – Long” list. It seemed an opportune time to ramp up getting back into Hearthstone, and last week’s launch of the Reign of the Black Empire expansion aligned perfectly. I’ve been having quite a bit of fun messing around with a Dragon Warrior deck and seeing the new card set in action, but I plan on waiting until the next expansion and core rotation before committing to more than a few games here and there.

By the end of the week, I found myself browsing my “To Play – Short” list. On the top of the queue was TCG Card Shop Simulator, and the gameplay loop proved to be just as much fun as I was hoping for. I also finally played Firewatch, which was a lovely change of pace from the types of games I have played during the rest of 2026.

In addition to planning around upcoming releases, I’m also conscious of the holiday season. With all of the extra celebrations and responsibilities typically happening as winter kicks off, I’m glad that we’ll be in a bit of a retail WoW lull and I can enjoy Forever and maybe knock of a few more short games before patch 12.2 drops in 2027.

Does much of this crazed calendar management sounds familiar? Do you slot games into your calendar weeks in advance, or do you finish one game and fire up whatever suits your fancy in the moment?