[sgarman]

I don't think you can be so black and white about it. Too much of anything is probably bad for you. If you replaced counter-strike with chess or golf or model trains would you feel the same? I think the answer is the same for all of these categories and I'm wondering if you feel differently why.

Obviously some games really are insidious; I don't think it's fair for that to dictate an entire genre of activities.

[blfr]

No, I don't feel the same way about chess, golf, or model trains for the same reason I don't feel the same way about "classic" weed and pong: they haven't been honed on an industrial scale to make them extremely appealing.

Obviously, all activities evolve and change over time but these are more like your grandma's pie recipe versus industrially optimized Lays with a hundred million dollar ad campaign to make sure you'll appreciate all the hard work put in by the chemists. One you can do in moderation, and it's self-moderating, the other you're better off just avoiding.