"I'm a casual gamer."

Every so often a hardcore gamer is faced with a choice: to continue a lifestyle of hardcore gaming or sacrifice gaming all together. More often than not, this choice is a subconscious decision that happens without that gamer's full realization. The decision takes root sometime around college, when gamers put aside their control pads for intense schoolwork, partying and social rediscovery.

Over the next five to ten years that gamer will try desperately to cling to the vestiges of hardcore gaming. He or she will always pick up the latest console system or handheld device. The hot game of the year will always be on preorder. However, if you ask that gamer how he or she enjoyed Modern Warfare 2, that person will likely say, "I have it, I just haven't had the time to play it." Sports gamers who were previously unbeatable, suddenly seem to lose every game. Die hard Street Fighter champs will begin to cower at the slightest wave of E. Honda's Hundred Hand Slap. When you enter those gamers' houses you will discover a system covered with dust and several games still in plastic. If you confront them about their lack of gaming ambition, they will lash out at you with mocking self-hate. "I had a long week at the office." "I had to work this weekend." "I don't have time like you to play video games." Yet, they continue to buy every game, unwilling to fully give up their inner gamer. Then it happens. After years of denial, a hardcore gamer will utter the phrase, "I am a casual gamer."

I've seen it happen time and time again: lawyers, investment bankers, doctors and engineers shunning hardcore gaming and rediscovering their love of games in the world of casual gaming. Most adult gamers don't have the patience or time to commit to purchasing a console and playing the hardcore games that they love. Instead of playing games for fun, they play because they feel guilty about growing up and losing a part of themselves that they are not ready to let go. Enter the magical world of iPhone, a video game system that doesn't feel like a video game system. Now, adults can play games without feeling guilty. Instead of talking about the latest FPS or Sports game to hit the market, they will launch an intense conversation about the latest game they're playing on the iPhone.

I can't say that this switch of allegiances surprises me. In high school, I had my first taste of casual mobile gaming. I had the latest RPG, but was so overworked from classes that I didn't have a chance to play. Then, one day on the train while frantically trying to finish off my AP calculus homework, I spotted a few students using their TI-82 Graphing Calculators and laughing. What was this? Calculus wasn't something you laughed at. I asked them what they were doing and they all showed me something different. Each student had a different game on his TI-82. One was playing Snake. Another was playing Pac-Man. While, yet another, was on Tetris. They quickly grabbed my TI-82, linked their calculators to mind and inducted me into the world of casual gaming. Now, instead of paying attention to Calculus lectures, I could focus on my Tetris strategies. Despite work, I had found a way to game once again.

The great thing about gaming on the TI-82 was that I always felt like I had my work with me. So, I never felt guilty. As long as I had the TI-82 I always could potentially do work. Also, my teachers, parents and study group would think that I was being studious as long as my grades were maintained. Professionals like engineers and investment bankers must be surgically attached to their email at all times. Thankfully, if their method of communication is the iPhone, they can walk around with a gaming system without ever feeling like they are ditching work. Instead of talking about work at social gatherings, they can talk about cool iPhone games. Instead of being embarrassed during thirty-minute games of Madden or Deathmatch, they can play a quick few rounds of Texas Hold 'em to demonstrate their gaming prowess.

I have never said the words, "I am a casual gamer." However, the words have crossed my mind. It's a crossroads that life and work can often force you to take. But unlike most crossroads, the alternative here isn't a bad one at all.