Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

It is exactly the same for competitive gaming, and for everything else that's competitive I think. At some point, I was competing at a national level (France) on Warcraft III, I realized that if I were to be in top8 or above, I had to play 50 hours / week. That's a full-time job, and the level of specialization and skill specificity you need is really high. I chose to work on my studies instead. Now I sometimes play StarCraft II (not really got time recently), but not above "for fun" nor more than 5 hours / week, or I quickly get frustrated that I'm no longer at a top master / grand master level.

Games are fun, they teach you a lot of things, they can be recreative if you're not all-in. If you don't want to make it your career though, keep focused on the main thing you want to do with your life.




It's minor, but competitive gamers generally do at least acquire mechanics that can be used for other games. I'm not sure if chess is like that.


I found my ability to perform well at certain board games (even those previously unknown to me) to improve after spending some effort studying chess. I attribute this to the improved ability to analyse abstract positions, to construct an increased number of possible moves and opponents' responses in my head in a short amount of time. Though confirmation bias etc.


As far as that is true, it's because all RTS or FPS games are essentially the same. I say this as a once avid chess player and gamer.




Consider applying for YC's Fall 2025 batch! Applications are open till Aug 4

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: