There are a lot of great minor characters but I especially liked Barcus and Rolan and being able to impact their stories. I would have liked to see where things were going with He Who Was but never ran in to him again. Did I miss it or was there just the one encounter?

I'm still caught up in Baldur's Gate 3 and on my third playthrough. I don't understand how it can still be fun but am enjoying it.

After reaching act III with a sorcerer, I got overwhelmed and restarted with a spore druid dark urge. I still have a handful quests left in act III and it feels a bit weird being that close to the finale with an underwhelming epilogue to look forward to. But it truly is an awesome game and I'll probably start another dark urge as soon as I'm done and not try to save everyone and their mother.

Schrödinger's rotten basket: The magic thingamajig you didn't know you needed could be in the next container but you won't know for sure unless you look and find the rotten carrot.

The first area is really big. I think I'm about to move on to the next area after 40 hours or so but I also thought that 6 hours ago but keep stumbling into new areas.

Siralim Ultimate maybe? The Steam description: "Siralim Ultimate is a monster catching, dungeon crawling RPG with a ridiculous amount of depth. Summon over 1200 different creatures and travel through randomly generated dungeons to acquire resources, new creatures, and loot."

At some points, you need to rethink your setup and incorporate the new stuff you've found along the way to be able to mindlessly grind on but I've played for 160 hours so far and having a blast trying different strategies. Evoker is my favorite class so far - casting so many spells before the battle even begins that the enemy never gets their turn.

I finally got a greenhouse resulting in loads of padron peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers over the past months. It really made a huge difference in yield. Also, three squash plants is way too much unless you're the Duggars.

Less spectacularly, the sunflowers still haven't flowered and my clematis died of unknown causes.

Half-elf draconic sorcerer with charlatan background. I'm attempting to trick and persuade my way through Faerun and when that doesn't work, a fireball usually does.

Aw... the shark-stage - so cute when sleeping!

If Crusader Kings is ever combined with Mount & Blade, I'll never see daylight again.

Just started playing Grim Dawn again while waiting for Baldur's Gate 3.

I would recommend this as well if you have the option. With my previous dog, the regular vet recommended another vet who was semi-retired to only doing final house calls. She was really nice and empathic and made it all easier to get through.

Whether getting a new puppy is a good idea or not very much depends on what your shih tzu is like - would he be able to keep up with a new puppy and enjoy it or is peace and quiet more his thing?

Had to look Arnold Palmer up - looks nice! I'd never have thought of combining the two.

I have ongoing hobbies like training my dog and doing garden-stuff during summer but other than that, I switch between gaming, reading, writing, drawing and making pixel art. I've had the same hobbies for years and must have spent several 1000 hours doing all of them by now but suspect I'd have burned out on everything if I didn't switch around. I like making things but I'm not trying to make any of it into a side-hustle - I have plenty work at work - so there is no pressure to keep doing a particular hobby when it begins to feel stale.

A lot of great games have already been mentioned but one of my favorite early gaming experiences was Kaptajn Kaper, a Danish game released in the 80s. You're a pirate captain sailing around Denmark after the battle of Copenhagen in 1807 looking for English ships to plunder. Most people around my age with an interest in computers remember it fondly and apparently, the source code was donated to the Royal Library for preservation as a part of Danish cultural heritage, which is pretty cool.

I totally agree with your list. I loved the Quest for Glory series, at least until the fifth game, which has the crappy 3D graphics from the late 90s.