I have a Christmas playlist playing on my tablet in the next room. So that when I leave my desk, and my focus headphones, I remember it’s Christmas 🎄#adhdhack

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With Windows 10 going away, and my aged but honestly capable PC unable to run Windows 11, I thought I better give gaming on Linux a serious go in 2025.

Oddly, my original foray into Tux Tinkering ™ was inspired by boredom when I lived in Tanzania in 2001. I think it was Mandrake Linux? From 2003, I used Arch Linux and so system configuration became a past-time in itself. I did have a few attempts at gaming over the years. I played a few native games like Tux Racer, Frozen Bubble and Wesnoth but also managed to run stuff like Quake and Half-Life under Wine. (That’s actually the only time I have played, and finished, Half-Life.) But from 2005-ish, most of what I wanted to play was only available on Windows and, with the introduction of Steam (and the Humble Bundle!), it was just getting easier and easier. I was still tinkering with Linux for fun. I even got connections to our virtual desktops at work up-and-running via Citrix (which definitely WASN’T supported by IT).

But by the time our second child arrived in 2015, I had no time for tinkering and very little reason to even use a Linux desktop, with work being so Microsoft-centric. Fun time was extremely limited and stability was paramount and around then I started to look much harder at Workstation distros. I used Ubuntu for a bit but I think I decided to stick with Fedora from around 2019. I mostly used XFCE back in the day, but I did enjoy the “out of the box” experience of Gnome on Fedora. But throughout that time, desktop Linux was only used for the odd thing that was just too much hassle in Windows. Like anything to do with ffmpeg or any sort of bulk file management. I was still running Arch ARM on a Raspberry Pi, so I was still very much a Linux hobbyist, but gaming on Linux never crossed my mind.

Then, last year (I think), I heard from my (now teenage) son’s friend, that SteamOS is now based on Arch. And when my son got a Steam Deck for Christmas 2024, I started paying a lot more attention to how it works. I mean, I have to really. When your boy wants to run Marvel Rivals and he’s not using the right Proton build, you gotta dig into that! And I quickly saw that gaming on Linux as a main platform suddenly looks not only doable but almost straight-forward.

So, although I do have a year of updates on my W10 install, before it really goes away, I started looking at what I might do and I guess I’ll cover that in a new post.

Played Grindstone on Steam (store.steampowered.com)
Grindstone is a puzzle game where epic adventures are just your 9-to-5. It’s your job to mine grindstones from the Creeps that lurk on the mountain in over 250 levels of intricate puzzles and hazards, all in the hopes of saving up enough grindstones to take your family on a much needed vacation.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

So, I got 3 months free on Apple Arcade with my new iPhone and decided to try and find the “hidden gems” in the App Store. It was surprisingly hard but I did find… Grindstone!

I’ve not played a colour matching game since Dr Mario / Dr Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine but I really like it 👍

Also on all-the-platforms!

Watched Companion (2025) by an author from letterboxd.com
During a weekend getaway at a secluded lakeside estate, a group of friends finds themselves entangled in a web of secrets, deception, and advanced technology. As tensions rise and loyalties are tested, they uncover unsettling truths about themselves and the world around them.

It’s not exactly billed as a comedy but I laughed a lot. And, while it doesn’t beat you over the head with social commentary, it’s there if you want it.

★★★½

My review

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My children are currently 10 and 13. In the not distant future, I fully expect to be asked to account for my repeated assertions that I believe in Father Christmas. I hope, when that time comes, my explanations will make sense to them.

I’ll talk a bit about card tricks and WWE; how some things shouldn’t be diminished by not being “the truth”. But, most importantly, I’ll talk about anthropomorphic personification and, therefore, the Christmas spirit, as a reminder of the importance of sharing and kindness, and being together.

And, since they’re rational and logical, I hope that having freed their minds of the mechanics of chimneys and sleigh velocities, they’ll think my version is actually a bit better.

Watched The Fall Guy (2024) by an author from letterboxd.com
Fresh off an almost career-ending accident, stuntman Colt Seavers has to track down a missing movie star, solve a conspiracy and try to win back the love of his life while still doing his day job.

Never better than great or worse than average. Clearly, a great deal of love was sunken into this movie but sadly very little resurfaces on the screen. And I say that as someone who genuinely appreciates stunt work and Ryan Gosling in comedic roles. Bit of a shame, really.

Still, a long overdue Oscar for Best Stunt Design will be given out in 2028. And that, really, ain’t nothin’.

★★★½

My review