The infamous nap trap. We know it all too well–that feeling of being tied down to your house while your little one(s) succumb to the delightful throes of sleep. If you’re lucky, maybe they’ll even stay asleep in their own crib! Or, if you’re like me–you end up stuck with a baby or babies who passed out mid-nursing, and the morning has just been so atrociously stressful the last thing you want to do is risk waking them up by moving.
So what to do? A couple weeks ago, I mentioned in my post, 10 Ways to (maybe) Get Ten Minutes of Sanity with Infants at Home, that one of the things I do to stay sane when stuck in such precarious scenarios is play a video game!
But it can’t just be any video game. It has to be something I can put down: no MMORPG’s or Dark Souls-esque games for the nap-trapped mama (as I found out the hard way mid-raid in FFXIV–your little one can and will wake up at the most inconvenient time and you will die and/or kill the rest of the party). Those’ll just have to wait until Amélie and Lucien get a bit older and sleep more soundly in the evenings–at least I keep telling myself that day will come… *stares wistfully into the abyss*
Anyway! So what does that leave me? Chill platformers, turn-based JRPG’s, simulators, and the like have been my go-to’s. Bonus points if I can play it on the Switch or even an older handheld system. So, without further ado–here are my top five video games for the nap-trapped nerdy mom!
1. Fire Emblem: Three Houses
I am a HUGE Fire Emblem fan…and as you all get to know me a bit more, you’ll learn that turn-based JRPG’s are my favorite video game genre (I know, not super popular here in the States, but there it is)–and I adore the additional strategy FE games offer.
I particularly like this pick because Fire Emblem can actually be challenging, and requires you to plan strategically–it actually manages to engage your mind even though you’re stuck sitting in the same position for who-knows-how-long praying to all that is good that your little spawn won’t wake up.
It also offers multiple unique playthrough opportunities depending on which house you choose at the beginning of the game. The new mechanic of running around the grounds (which look suspiciously like Hogwarts, but that’s another story for another blog post) and side-questing also is forgiving to a gamer mom who at any moment might have to drop everything for any given amount of time.
2. Stardew Valley
You can’t get much chiller than Stardew Valley, the loveable indie farming sim that took us by storm. Everything from the music to the comforting repetition of watering plants, feeding adorable farm animals, and spending entire in-game days fishing at the pier (complete with lulling ocean sounds) will almost immediately calm you down even after nursing unruly twins.
The game begins with your character exchanging their monotonous life stuck in an office job they hate for a challenging but rewarding life on a farm inherited by their grandfather. You can easily spend hours upon hours improving your farm, the town, and unlocking the surprisingly bittersweet and emotional friendship/relationship cutscenes with everyone in the valley. And bonus: there’s now a Switch version! (I have it on both PC and the Switch: PC for fun mods, Switch for convenience).
3. Dragon Quest XI
This game is like food for the soul–I know, it sounds like an exaggeration, but it’s so true. It’s what helped me pass the time when I had to stop working at the beginning of my second trimester due to complications with subchorionic hemorrhaging–and now that it’s on the Switch (with even more relationship options, including the glorious Sylvando), it’s a must-have for any classic RPG fan.
I know turn-based games tend to be more popular in Japan, and I’m honestly a bit sad to see franchises like Final Fantasy turn away from their turn-based roots in favor of a more action-style RPG. But not Dragon Quest! This series has been around for a bit longer than FF, and it’s stuck to its roots. So whenever I pick up Dragon Quest XI, it’s like revisiting a warm, fuzzy part of my mind. The game isn’t exceptionally difficult and is easy to put down and come back to later (a must for this list), but every time you choose to revisit the land of Erdrea it’ll feel like meeting up with an old friend.
4. Yoshi’s Island
Now THIS game is seriously just nostalgia defined for me. It doesn’t matter what stage of my life I’m in–whenever I’m feeling down, tired, mentally exhausted…I will always go back to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island. Really, I could’ve chosen any Mario-related game here, but this one is nearest and dearest to my heart…and who doesn’t love the adorable storybook aesthetic of Yoshi’s games?
This also happens to be a great first video game for whenever you introduce your little nerds to video games–in the meantime, make sure to keep the sound low enough that baby Mario doesn’t startle your baby awake with his crying!
As for handhold-ibility (yes, I just made that up), I used to play it on the GBA–but now it’s available on the Switch.
5. Final Fantasy IX: PS4 Version
This is the only non-portable game on this list (Note: It has since been released on the Switch, but I don’t have that particular version, so I can’t personally speak to the quality of the port). But! Just nurse right next to your PS4, make sure the controller is fully charged, and enjoy the re-vamped wonderfulness that is FF9 (or go out on a limb and try out the Switch version).
The game’s fanbase generally agrees it deserves more than a simple HD update–but especially if you’ve never played FF9, it’s worth checking out simply for the fantastic core game. I know tons of people who skipped out on this entry because of its more cartoonish art style, one that a lot of kids and teens scoffed at back in the day after the edgier steampunk-ish look of FF7 and FF8. But pleaseeee don’t let the art deter you! The game is charming, thought-provoking, and bittersweet–and the cast of characters is phenomenal (my favorite next to FF6).
So yes, despite the controversy within the fandom over how SE handled the port–as someone with access to the original PS1 version, I still prefer the newer version. Why? Because life is busy as a twin mom, and the fast-forward feature it brings is a GAME CHANGER for people like me who are short on time. Plus, like any nice old-school JRPG, it’s turn-based and you can pause (cough, Dark Souls, cough), even mid fight when your ATB bar is filling up.
Alright, I’ll call it there before this turns into an all out Final Fantasy IX review. What do you do when you’re nap-trapped? It’s been a huge issue for me (especially psychologically)–I’ve never liked being cooped up in the house for days on end, and this is starting to get out of hand. I’m just grateful I have some entertainment while I’m stuck trying to ward off stir-craziness!