I can recall vivid memories of crossing unknown lands beyond rational comprehension. I've scaled towers that stretched into the heavens and found the hidden depths within them. I've met strange, otherworldly creatures and discussed deep and meaningful topics with them and helped make decisions that would shape an entire universe.

I've even been killed over and over again, a million different ways, and every time I've come back to life. All these memories seem very valid for me, and I have to admit that one of the reasons for that validity is that I was playing video games high.

The Reasons for Combining Weed and Video Games

Many of those memories have become treasured epic events from my past because I was so focused, concerned, and so immersed in the experience of playing video games. So what does being high do for the video game experience, and what ways if any, does it detract from it? Here is how weed and gaming got together.

Immersion/ Suspension of Disbelief
Your mind is primed for a child-like invitation of new and novel experiences when you dive into a game, especially a new game. Video games require us to be open to ideas that would typically be strange to us. Cannabis helps to increase this openness by filling us with a sense of wonder for our surroundings.

This exploratory euphoria motivates us to take in everything we see with interest and consideration. That is especially helpful in video games where our attention is directed at an environment that is typically entirely new for us. The combination of being open to a unique experience and being provided a simulated world that is both strange and fascinating is a total win for cannabis and gaming.

Enhance Concentration and Focus

Many games require a spotlight like focus on a particular target or goal. Sometimes you have to follow a small object around a screen while a million other similar targets are swirling about competing for your attention. Other times you have to be able to zone out and repeat a string of repetitive or alternating button patterns.

For many being stoned can increase one's ability to focus on a single aspect of a game and do it over and over again until either perfection or a goal is achieved. Think of practicing combos in a fighting game or the correct button sequences for a super move to activate. If replication is required for success then weed can help make that process seem less boring.

Creative Thinking and Problem Solving

Will that glowing rock explode when I shoot it? If I eat this mushroom will I get bigger? These questions rarely come up in real life, but we spend all of a video game session solving problems and exploring solutions to otherwise randomly unrelated situations.

Cannabis helps our brains draw more relationships between ideas and that cranks up our creative problem-solving abilities. We are more likely to discover a novel use for an item or a clever combination of inventory ingredients to craft something new when we're stoned. However, this can work in just the opposite way for some more common sense tasks. The lifted mind tends to not think in absolutes, so a simple solution can sometimes be hard to find.

Short Term Memory Recall

This is where everything can fall apart. If you have ever lost track of your thoughts in the middle of a conversation while stoned then you know it can be even more challenging in a videogame to completely lose track of what you are supposed to be doing.

In exploration centered games like adventure or roleplaying games running around blazed can get you lost and entirely off course quickly. Luckily there is a quick remedy for this. Keep an eye on your navigation icons, quest alerts, and save often and you'll suffer the wrath of a wandering attention span less often.
Reaction/ Awareness
The degree to which you've partaken matters a lot to the lightning-quick reflex time it takes to execute some maneuvers in games. Competitive games, especially match driven online games can be brutally quick on the draw and require a vigilant awareness and attention.

If you've done more than your fair share of toking, then you may be in for a wild ride of lagging behind the pack and taking more hits than you should be. Make sure not to get too faded when teamplay is on the line, and everyone will still have fun.

Giving Video Games and Extra Life With Cannabis

Perhaps the best part about cannabis and video games as a combination is the renewed feeling of nostalgia you can get when looking back at old games of the past. Sure you played all the way through that 16-bit platformer when you were a kid, but have you ever done it, on weed?