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This was a question posted at Friendfeed last Thursday. It was a simple question I had with a co-worker and we both need answers from different people with different opinions and perspective. Here’s the result:

I ?d playing Starcraft and Warcraft + Playstation. – Me

Expensive but by no means a waste of money – Joe Dawson

Moderation – directeur via NoiseRiver

Heck no. If something is fun and/or entertaining, it’s never a waste of time. – Alex "Lasagna" Scoble

Nope – Lindsey Smith

Only if you do it wrong. – Bored

for a Philosopher’s take — think of the value of drinking parties (Plato) – Michael Maranda

Depends on what type of games you’re talking about. I think there’s a lot more value in complex tabletop games and games like chess than in dumb Flash games online or whatever. – Rochelle

I have pretty much abandoned gaming in favor of social media. I was a several-hours-a-day PC gamer for 10+ years. I like to think that SM has more possibility of a return on my time investment than WoW did. – Daniel J. Pritchett

Nope, because I rock at Star Wars Battlefront II. – Steven "The One" Perez

I sure hope not. I was really sucked into Sims 2 for a couple years. Now I play a few times a week. Mostly to design houses. But, I’m still a sucker for ‘casual games’ like Diner Dash, etc (bigfishgames.com). I get lost in trying to beat the damn things. – Yolanda

Games recharge my brain and leave me refreshed to think about other things, a lot like a good walk. – Jennifer Dittrich

one exgamer says no – Dobromir Hadzhiev

No. Games can improve mental and physical dexterity, mental acuteness, memory, etc. There have been studies done. And *applauds* Alex’s answer. – JMakesAwesomeSauce

Honestly, I’d rather read a book. – RachelW

Depends on your priorities, but for me, I enjoy games. – Rodfather

no. Because some times you just need to escape the doom and gloom – Duncan Riley

Not if it’s Sorry or Life. – Thomas Hawk

Games are a release from the horrible world outside. They can bring joy and relaxation and bring down your stress life. They are a great interactive entertainment media. How is that a waste of time? Waste away I’d say. – Kol Tregaskes

"The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted." – Bertrand Russell — Sometimes it’s wasting time, just like movies and reading, sometimes it’s useful. It does have benefits for hand-eye coordination, problem solving skills, teamwork, tactics, reflex improvement, vocabulary, cash management, etc. – xero

I don’t know… is maintaining sanity a waste of time? – Michael W. May via twhirl

Only if you think it is. – Mona N.

Absolutely not a waste of time. – Clay Newton

Scrabble stimulates neurotransmitters. – Shelly Weiss

Really, I don’t think that matters so much. What’s important for our health is to intentionally indulge in completely frivolous "waste of time" activities on a regular basis. Playing games, feeding ducks in the park, blowing bubbles, coloring with crayons. If it feeds your spirit, do it, no matter who says it’s a waste of time! – Heather Sillypants Mina

Everything is a waste of time, then you get put in the recycle bin. Use your time the way you want to. – Sam Levine

No more a waste of time then being on FriendFeed. I can gain social interaction using both and at the same time be happy that I took something away from each. (No matter how trivial, it’s still a small sense of accomplishment and fun.) – David Cook

Thanks for participating guys. Appreciate it! – You (edit | delete)

I’ll come back and answer once I finish Missile Command – Glen C

It has been argued that humans are "homo ludens" more than they are sapient. That said, I personally find that they can easily become a time tax, and tend to avoid them, preferring to spend that time on more solidly creative activity. – david beckwith

So, having read all the above opinions, what’s your take?