Indoor entertainment during the "End"
Posted by No-Storage8729@reddit | preppers | View on Reddit | 85 comments
When times are tough, and going on walks outdoors just really isn't possible, what are some activities people can do to stay entertained? I have a small list, but I am looking for more suggestions because keeping high morale is important for long-term survival.
I currently have listed: - board games - card games (uno, basic cards, etc) - D&D - Books - Basic art supplies (like traditional drawing, clay, etc) - possibly instruments depending on the type of apocalypse and location - fitness gear (weights for staying fit during periods like winter when going outdoors isn't forgiving)
If anyone has any other suggestions, I would love to hear them!
autumnraine89@reddit
This is going to be an unpopular opinion, but I am not prepping for any entertainment. We seem to get pretty frequent power outages of about 2 1/2 days each, and while we try to learn from each outage as far as how to make the next one less inconvenient, we still have very very little time for entertainment because there is always work to be done.
water needs to be hauled in regularly from the stream (only 20 yards from the house) for toilets
food always needs preparing or shuffling around to prevent spoilage
sponge baths out of a pot need preparing so everyone stays semi-clean
animals (we have chickens) need to be checked on and kept fed, watered, and happy temperature -wise (cool in a heat wave, out of the wind and cold during a super freeze)
We seem to just entertain ourselves with the process of managing without electricity - my husband grills a lot of our food, I haul water, our son helps where he can, and we in general just pay more attention to each other, anticipating needs and when we need a physical break, we sit back and quietly appreciate we live in a place we can go a few days without electricity and be fine.
That said, we do have books, and board games, and decks of cards. But in our experience, we only have time for a game or two of Go Fish before we're all ready to go to bed.
enolaholmes23@reddit
I was just thinking that cooking is its own entertainment when you're unplugged. I'm currently trying to learn how to make fudge. Just sitting there for an hour watching the sugar boil and waiting for the temperature to get to the right point can be fascinating when your mind is in the right place. I got so excited on my third try when I was able to see the point when the sugar changed consistency by watching how the bubbles in the boil changed. It was like I was getting more in tune with the process and not just going through the motions. All the simple tasks of life seem less boring when they are all you're doing and not just a background to scrolling your phone.
MissLockwood@reddit
did you find a recipe you like?
enolaholmes23@reddit
I'm still working on it. I got distracted and tried chocolate cake for a couple tries because I was tired of fudge. But I'll get there eventually.
dittybopper_05H@reddit
Umm, aren't you guys going to be busy doing actually *WORK*? I mean, few people realize, including apparently a lot of preppers, just how much work is going to go into actually surviving. Even simple things like hunting/gathering food, then preparing it, then cooking it, and cleaning up everything afterwards is going to take *FAR* longer than it does today.
Not to mention things like gathering firewood or other resources, building/fixing/maintaining shelters and tools, time you spend traveling if you're "bugging out" to another location, etc.
I mean, you're talking about the "End". The implication is the complete collapse of technology and society.
I don't know about you, but if that happens (and I don't believe it will), I figure I'm going to be busy enough that leisure time is going to be pretty much nonexistent. Or there will be so little of it that it won't be hard to fill it up talking to others, planning next moves, dividing responsibilities in the group, etc.
premar16@reddit
People have been playing games and entertaining themselves and others since the beginning of time. Even when times were rough so I imagine it would be the same during a Shtf situation. People need breaks and at night it may not be safe to be out at all times so you need something to do.
dittybopper_05H@reddit
Sure. All of those people grew up in the environment in which they lived, so they knew what they were doing, and did it as efficiently as they knew how.
Have you grown up in that lifestyle?
Will you be as efficient as they were in getting things done? Do you practice primitive skills? Do you practice them enough that you're actually good at them?
I'm gonna guess the answer to all my questions is "No".
I include myself in that too. The difference is I understand that I'm not going to be good at it, at least not at first, and that's it's going to take me much longer to do tasks than our forefathers took. Which is going to eat into that leisure time.
premar16@reddit
Actually I grew up on a 200-acre farm near amish country.I grew up gardening,raising livestock,and more. I was raised by multi-generational farmers. Will I be as efficient as my ancestors probably not but that doesn't mean I cannot do the work. Even while my family did all this work we still found time to find joy and relaxation at the end of the day. People still have the ability to adapt,evolve,,and learn new things. So your guess would be wrong.
dittybopper_05H@reddit
And you're one of the very few people who have that background. I grew up in the country also, but while some of my friends lived on farms, I certainly didn't, and neither did most of my peers.
I just checked. Just 1.2% of the working population works on a farm.
And most of them would be lost without mechanization.
Can you build a plough? Or do you know where an old-fashioned on is? Will you have horses or oxen to pull it? Will you have the seed?
This whole episode of the James Burke TV series "Connections" is worth it, but if you can't sit down for 50 minutes to watch the whole thing, go ahead and fast forward to the 24 minute mark:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XetplHcM7aQ
No-Storage8729@reddit (OP)
Naturally depending on when things happen, there will be the initial preparation phase. I feel like it will take a while to burn through initial stored up supplies, and then after that using what has been created. If that work is done by multiple people OR done in a super effective way then people will still have some down time. Especially in winter, the ability to go outside and do things will be VERY limiting. I personally think a lot of people, like myself, would need to try and bunker down in the harsh winter months, which would mean more down time. Obviously once it is warmer out there will be a lot of work to do, so having that time wouldn't be as likely.
dittybopper_05H@reddit
Well, there will still be plenty of inside work to do. It's not like the time won't be there, either, it's just that you'll either be tired and want to rest anyway, or you'll have things you need to do. Patching clothing, gathering and splitting firewood (warms you twice!), hunting/fishing/trapping, preparing foods and or preserving foods (salting/drying/smoking/canning/etc).
Plus, you'll have shorter daylight hours (probably). That's more time you need to use artificial light. Up at my latitude, during the dead of winter there are just 9 hours of daylight, and if you're going to get 8 hours of sleep, that's 24 - (9 + 8) = 7 hours of artificial light you're going to need.
I've gotten in the habit of using an 18th Candle lantern in the mornings instead of electric lights, so I can shower, use my electric coffee grinder, my Mr. Coffee, and my electric stove to cook my eggs in a teflon non-stick frying pan just like our ancestors did (.--- --- -.- .)
You can manage with far less light than modern man is typically used to, but that light is going to have a cost nonetheless, whether it's solar, flame, or whatever.
No-Storage8729@reddit (OP)
When it comes to gathering, that will have to be ENTIRELY prepped before winter. With the height of the snow it will be impossible to leave the building let alone go out and chop wood to burn. Food preservation will also need to be done pre-snowfall and then rationed for winter. I plan on having everything that we need for the entirety of winter stocked up on because leaving won't be a realistic option. Yes repairs can take a long time, but it is a do as needed task. Realistically, if clothing is made out of actual good material it shouldn't need to be repaired as often, and if it isn't damaged then it shouldn't need massive repairs. Some tasks are larger than others and may need more time and work, but realistically it would be pretty easy to shift most of that work off until it warms up outside.
dittybopper_05H@reddit
No, it really won't. History is replete with examples of people who had to forage during the winter because for whatever reason, they didn't have enough.
Maybe they didn't gather enough, through misjudgment or poor weather. Maybe they weren't good enough at storing or preserving. Maybe rats/insects got into it and spoiled it.
I mean, I lived up in the Adirondacks when I was a kid, and they are named that because the Algonquins that lived up in the mountains sometimes had to resort to eating cambium from trees*, and the Iroquois named them "eaters of bark" because of it (that's what "adirondack" means).
So why did they have to do that? Because the best laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley. You need to figure that even at a minimum, you're still going to do things like processing meat and gathering/cutting firewood, along with all the maintenance things you couldn't do in the summer and early fall because you were too busy preparing for the winter.
*By the way, that's actually a pretty good resource if you're desperate.
pizzapizzafrenchfry@reddit
Buy one of those retro handhelds that come with like 1000 games. I have an anbernic rg 353v and am working through Spyro Riptoes Rage
Downtown-Top363@reddit
How about darts? A good way to improve and maintain depth perception and fine motor skills that may be required for hunting or combat.
No-Storage8729@reddit (OP)
That's not too bad of an idea either! Plus it is relatively quiet.
Chouchii@reddit
Bibles. Seek Christ or it's all pointless.
chaotics_one@reddit
MTG (Magic the Gathering) has essentially endless permutations and variability, games can be short or long, pretty much any number of people can play including in teams, has very complex gameplay but is easy to learn the basics.
Adol214@reddit
Look at the cube format.
chaotics_one@reddit
Nice! I've never played that way but it looks great and adds a lot of new dimensions. Look forward to trying it.
Sayl00@reddit
Game Boys take AA batteries which last about 20 hours and are built to last. While there are more modern and better systems, planned obsolescence and energy consumption make them harder to maintain. You can also find them modded with backlit IPS screens for some slightly lower battery life, a classic worm light would work as well.
MrsEnvinyatar@reddit
Meditation.
Jammer521@reddit
During daylight hours you would be to busy with everyday chores to really have much down time, I assume after dinner you would have a few hours every night to unwind, that would be time for a movie, book, or family game time a few nights a week, winter would be the time of year you could relax more
No-Storage8729@reddit (OP)
Exactly, I was most thinking on winter when I made the post. Since I live in Canada, the winter months can be too harsh to go outdoors, especially without having the city to salt or prepare everything for travel. Without having all that snow cleared out it is very likely that we would be snowed in for months. There would be no option for traveling outside without freezing to death especially with snowfall reaching the height to cover cars entirely.
johndoe3471111@reddit
We are all programmed now to be chained to our devices. The proof of that is that we are all reading this. Phones, tablets, and kindles are easily recharged with a very simple and cheap solar setup. This will give you access to huge libraries of books, movies, music, and games. Given that internet services are going to be out in most of our SHTF scenarios, it will take a bit of work now to build up those libraries, but it really isn't hard or time consuming once you know how to download music and videos form YouTube. I have over 1000 books and 11000 songs. Books can be found on torrents, or there are numerous sources to download them for free out there. Lately, I have been downloading audio books so the whole family can enjoy them at the same time. I like to put all of that on an SD card so I can make a few copies and switch them between devices in case one goes down.
crazyredtomato@reddit
Repairs, preparations and making stuff.
I think people overlook the time you need to do stuff without the help of modern applications or shop where you can buy a new one.
With bad weather you repair that broken thingy, you prep some extra food or finally take the time to process it and preserve it, to clean up the place or the shed properly for once, because when the weather is nice you need you time outdoor.
Time_Savings3365@reddit
jigsaw puzzles and legos
vercertorix@reddit
Lego. Build them, break them down, build something else, and if you go crazy, lots of smiling faces to talk to.
GlitteryTangelos@reddit
Me singing to the smiling faces: " Everything is awesome..."
BarleyBoyFarms@reddit
Crafting, and musical instruments even singing
pwn_plays_games@reddit
I have a computer with 150 pc games I have never played or finished. I have a raspberry pi with 100’s of games I didn’t beat as a kid. I have all of D&D digitally. I have a book of card games. I have a kindle with the 100 greatest novels of all time. Another Raspberry Pi with like 1000 books/educational content for skills. I have a Plex server with 40TB of content.
I will die before I get bored.
TheCarcissist@reddit
Indoor gardening, maybe an attached greenhouse or something.
Honestly, if the "end" really does come about, I think most people don't realize how little time they are going to have, not to mention your going to be rising and going to bed with the sun. You're probably going to need to manage resources so you won't be able to burn candles or lights unless absolutely necessary.
No-Storage8729@reddit (OP)
Gardening is always a good idea as well, but I was mostly thinking about winter. In Canada, the winters here can be too harsh to do much venturing in, so we would have to heavily rely on whatever resources we have stocked up on from the warmer months.
arthurkehl@reddit
Dice,puzzles, painting.
GigabitISDN@reddit
We have a boatload of DVDs and Blu-Rays (including 4K), plus two players. Nintendo Switch and a whole slew of old-school (read: offline) game consoles, plus the means to connect them to our modern TV. Also tons of books, board games, blank notepads, and some offline media to peruse via the NAS.
A lot of people don't consider powered options, but the reality is that there are plenty of scenarios -- illness, financial disruption, internet outage, Netflix / Apple / Hulu / Disney / etc outage, regional natural disaster, etc -- that can get you stuck in your home, with or without internet. Physical media is dirt cheap right now and players are likely going to be completely discontinued within the next few years. This is the time to load up.
TheCarcissist@reddit
I.e a global pandemic they keeps people stuck in their house for 2 years...
I 100% agree. I'm actually in the process of building a NAS storage system not just for my personal files (trying to de-google) but for music, movies and shows. I'd never torrent anything (the audacity), but I can understand people do that to build up their library's.
GigabitISDN@reddit
Check out TrueNAS. I'm running mine on a Terramaster F4-423, but it's very flexible and will be happy on most 10-year-old PCs.
Additional_Daikon_39@reddit
Thank you. This is a good topic to think about beforehand. If it's the EOTWAWKI, I am not sure if I will have enough nostalgia to watch a show that depicts people acting. Maybe once in a while. I am thinking that I would be more interested in educational or wildlife stuff. I do sing in an Acapella chorus so my family and I would enjoy making music.
No-Storage8729@reddit (OP)
Honestly using solar bricks to recharge handhelds would work, but I don't know how much power a tv setup would require. I honestly don't watch a ton of tv right now, so I don't think I would miss it very much.
GigabitISDN@reddit
Don’t assume the power is going to be out. There are lots of scenarios between today and WW3 where having some offline entertainment would be a huge plus.
symplton@reddit
The black box of the full Sopranos series can be had for a decent price at the neighborhood thrift store. It's nightly broadcast on a garage door has actually held the peace in the neighborhood before. Good luck, y'all.
Vapresso_GEN@reddit
Single player tabletop game, gardening, small handcraft stuff, craft repair material
Siegfried-Rockster@reddit
The End? You are already in a Dystopia.
No-Storage8729@reddit (OP)
I mean post-internet honestly.
Siegfried-Rockster@reddit
The infrastructure of the internet is the dystopia. Literally Skynet.
No-Storage8729@reddit (OP)
Which is true, but sometimes power sources can be limited, so I was mostly looking for power free options.
Siegfried-Rockster@reddit
You forgot to include pets in your list; sometimes, a pet can provide more entertainment than humans do, making for better companionship.
No-Storage8729@reddit (OP)
I personally can't handle the emotional strain of pet ownership. I have had to deal with so much grief and loss, that if anything happened to a pet my emotional state would be a wreck. 💀
Siegfried-Rockster@reddit
Then get a big tiger plush toy and use it as a pillow or something.
No-Storage8729@reddit (OP)
I have a little stuffed dik dik plush, so I will just use her as a friend 🦌
AlphaDisconnect@reddit
Bonsai tree
RedYamOnthego@reddit
There's a wonderful book about parlor games. They can be a lot of fun. Dancing & music are also good. Have a yoga book on hand for fun, fitness and therapeutic purposes.
GovernmentHovercraft@reddit
Learn yarn work stuff or buy books on it. Crochet & knitting are good time killers, are cathartic, and you can make practical things.
It takes about an hour to learn basic stitches on both.
RedYamOnthego@reddit
And then eventually you get into spinning, and then you try and figure out how to get fiber from nettles . . . . Oh, it's a rabbit hole! But spinning cat fur keeps me out of the bars, lol.
sheeprancher594@reddit
And a stash. No knitter or crocheter would be caught without a stash.
GovernmentHovercraft@reddit
That’s right. Go to that clearance section in Michaels or Hobby Lobby and go crazy.
Pristine-Dirt729@reddit
Buy a Hoyle's Rules of Games, or some variation thereof. That particular book has the rules for 250+ card games. That'll really extend the options from simple decks of cards.
No-Storage8729@reddit (OP)
That's not a bad idea. It would make a regular deck of cards be able to do way more.
RedYamOnthego@reddit
And short circuit arguments.
Traditional-Leader54@reddit
And some poker chips.
SomeoneInQld@reddit
this is a great suggestion!
A mate and I learnt Canasta from Hoyles -
Grouchy-Cicada-5481@reddit
I got a box at Marshall's and it has rules for 365 games in one
Led_Zeppole_73@reddit
I jump on the radio at night if I’m bored. Chew the fat with a couple locals, if I’m lucky, someone overseas.
enolaholmes23@reddit
I think instruments is a big one. But you have to learn it now, not just have it in storage. Being able to play a handful of chords allows you to muddle through most popular songs. All you need after that is a book of lead sheets and you have an easy way to do singalongs. I have a ukulele and it's super easy to learn and very portable.
enolaholmes23@reddit
I think instruments is a big one. But you have to learn it now, not just have it in storage. Being able to play a handful of chords allows you to muddle through most popular songs. All you need after that is a book of lead sheets and you have an easy way to do singalongs. I have a ukulele and it's super easy to learn and very portable.
One_Garden2403@reddit
Porn and sex toys. Lots of both.
SpartArticus@reddit
Have plenty of paper and writing utensils for art
Galaxaura@reddit
Storytelling. It's an old time tradition.
They still have competitions.
vercertorix@reddit
Remember the movie Reign of Fire?
“…and the black night stares through the holes in his shiny mask, and he speaks words that burn into our hero’s heart forever. ‘I…am your father’.”
Kids listening to story gasp
“Nooooooo!”
Kids, “Yaaaaaaay!”
Kid in front of row, “Did you make that up Mr. Quinn”
“Of course I did.”
Galaxaura@reddit
I mean, my story ends like Large Marge from Pee Wee's Bjg Adventure....
"and when they finally pulled the driver's body... from TWISTED BURNING WRECK... it looked like this! BOOLLARAHAHSGHHAAAHAHAHAH!"
TarzansNewSpeedo@reddit
Always makes me think of one particular scene from the Simpsons:
We can't bust heads like we used to. But we have our ways. One trick is to tell stories that don't go anywhere. Like the time I caught the ferry to Shelbyville? I needed a new heel for m'shoe. So I decided to go to Morganville, which is what they called Shelbyville in those days. So I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time. Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on 'em. "Gimme five bees for a quarter," you'd say. Now where were we? Oh, yeah. The important thing was that I had an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time. They didn't have any white onions, because of the war. The only thing you could get was those big yellow ones...
No-Storage8729@reddit (OP)
Also a good idea. I tend to tell a lot of stories to help pass time as is, but world building and writing wouldn't hurt either.
Big_Ed214@reddit
Reading used to be a thing. Books are good, now after the Gutenberg project there are many sources for text and pdf based works for free downloads. Wikipedia or Kiwix is also viable. Also consider grades 1-12 educational materials and the “Internet in a box” available online to download and configure on a raspberry pi image. A built in hotspot, reading materials and even a full Wikipedia downloaded and offline. https://internet-in-a-box.org/
No-Storage8729@reddit (OP)
I didn't know about internet in a box, that is a REALLY good idea. Honestly, the idea of learning all the survival information one would need to survive is kind of a daunting process, so having a resource on hand would be super convenient. Thanks for the suggestion! I'll be sure to add it to my list.
Stewart_Duck@reddit
Get a book on calisthenics. Even better if it's one for office/indoor calisthenics. Do a minimum of half an hour a day. That way, if you're stuck inside, you're still getting physical activity. Board games, books, cards, and such for the mind, but don't forget the body. Also, didn't skip leg day.
thunderblade95@reddit
During the Houston hurricane I just read books to keep myself entertained until it was time to sleep. My roommates were bored and didn't want to play the card games that I got us so I just read the entire time
GreenPL8@reddit
LEGO
sheeprancher594@reddit
Yahtzee (can be one or multiple players), craft box (stuff from around the house, paints, glue, etc with an idea book), books, coloring books/crayons/markers, games like charades/pictionary
Adol214@reddit
Dices.
6 x 6 faced dices can be used for many kind of games and take very little space to store and use.
Also dice are water proof and some float. So an ideal game for many situation.
bdouble76@reddit
Don't forget about throwing the baseball and football. Soccer, and basketball also. Download movies onto some memory sticks, buy a cheap chrome book to watch them on.
Cristal_rage@reddit
For some low powered options, Old school portable CD player that runs on batteries. Music is always a morale booster. Older Gameboys that run on batteries or use a solar setup to recharge the newer ones. Lots of game options. Not sure how much power a Switch system takes but that could work too.
Questionz_Only@reddit
In "Dusty's Diary" by Bobby Adair the protagonist laments about his lack of porn in his otherwise thorough preps. (it gets lonely in the bunker by oneself) This is a good book series btw, taking place post apocalypse.
OnTheEdgeOfFreedom@reddit
Upvote for D&D. As a DM of about 45 years standing, writing scenarios and playing them with your friends is a great hobby that requires few materials. If you have paper, pencil and dice you can manage. If you have power and a computer, you can manage. I've been writing adventures for 45 years and I'll never run out of material.
Music would also be good.
Keep in mind, though, that if things are so bad that you can't go outside for extended periods, you'll probably have major concerns that don't leave much time for extended roleplay. You might want shorter distractions like dice games or puzzles.
Traditional-Leader54@reddit
There is a board game called The Campaign for North Africa. It’s known as the longest board game ever made. According to Wikipedia it has “an estimated total playtime of 1,500 hours. The game could not be fully playtested before release and no one is believed to have ever completed a full game.” 😂
On a more realistic note chess is a great time consuming game.
Agent7619@reddit
Shoot me in the back of the head