Today I am at the literal seashore. Me, the real me, and not the avatar me in the image above (though she is at the seashore, too). She’s at the Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp seashore, and I’m at the sandy, windy, and sunny southern California seashore.

Both are nice.

One is a lot less work to get to.

Whenever I go out of town, and it doesn’t matter the duration of the trip, I always feel compelled to bring both my handheld devices, in this case, my 3DS and my PS Vita. Often the Vita sees little activity (even though I have a bounty of games on it I’d like to get to), but the 3DS sees at least some, if not quite a bit.

This time, it’s my phone.

Oof.

I’m not usually into playing games on my phone. I’m not super into phones. I don’t like talking on the phone. I don’t mind texting with my phone. But I’m typically not into playing games on it. The screen is just too small for me to really enjoy it.

Until Pocket Camp.

I’ve logged so many hours into Pocket Camp in the short time since its release, that I’ve had to charge it sometimes three times a day. That’s unheard of for me. Sure, it’s a watered-down version of a full-fledged Animal Crossing title, but I love it. I mean I really love it. I’m already at level 27 and every time I visit someone else’s camp or see what they are wearing I get all googly-eyed and think, I MUST HAVE IT. The “it” changes, but I must always find a way to obtain said it.

Today, I saw two other players wearing a white shirt with a rainbow on it and Isabelle’s smiling face! I was legitimately jealous of that shirt, so instead of just logging in for a short period to do my morning activities, I puttered around trying to see what I could find out.

(Answer: a whole lot of nothing. Go me.)

Every time I find myself out of town, I really do have lofty intentions of getting to all those handheld games I’ve been putting off. This trip is no different. Only this time, instead of all the outdoor real life activities I’d like to be doing (like going down to the beach!), I’m stuck with my face in my phone, collecting Leaf Tickets and harvesting fruit and catching fish and bugs. Don’t get me wrong, I love those things, but I’m also torn since I don’t often find myself out of town. At least not this year. This year I spent more time than ever inside, and not due to preference.

Over the rest of my time here, I hope to strike a balance between gaming and outdoor excursions. I can already tell I will likely not touch my Vita. I’m okay with that. I can already tell I will be lucky to get to my 3DS. I see so many hours of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp in my future. Shoot, as I’m typing this, I just want to be playing it.

When you go out of town, do you play games on any handheld devices or on your phone? If so, which devices? Or do you find your gaming dwindles due to alternate activities?