In my guild, we schedule a half an hour to do raid invites. Why? Because I’m a full time homemaker and people are barely getting home from work. It simply just takes me that long to get my children settled, my drink and snack (oftentimes dinner) in hand, and my guild all at the right place. We’re not “hardcore” but we aren’t “casual” either. There are down times, there are breaks, and there are sheer, “Oh crap, my kid just poured juice all over my lap” situations. These down times often take five minutes or less, but sometimes, they’re longer then that.

So what do you do during downtime?

My guild plays Texas Hold ‘Em.

No joke. We queue up a game to waste some time during those downtimes. It doesn’t use our gold, and we gain absolutely nothing from it. We’re just having fun, and yes, it is a game within a game.

For Texas Hold ‘Em, (which you can download here and manually install using this guide) you only need yourself and one other person, but it can support up to 8. The game has an icon that attaches to the mini map for easy access whenever you’d like. To join a game started by another player all you need to do is type /holdem playername and you’re set. Since it doesn’t use gold or any real money, it is not gambling and does not violate the Blizzard Terms of Use for World of Warcraft, so play to your heart’s content.

Sometimes, if I’m dead, bored, or in flight, I whip out a different game for my personal enjoyment. Enter Bejeweled.

Bejeweled (download it here) is the addictive gem matching game that has been around for years. Apparently, the guys who developed this game are also avid WoW addicts and decided it would be a great addition to the WoW Universe. They went all out with this one.

Again, the mod has an easy access button that is located on the mini map that can be brought up whenever you’d like, but it also has the nifty feature of popping up automatically whenever you’re in flight or dead. Many times I’ve been sucked into beating my own timed best score, but the addon also lists the high scores of guild mates and those on your friends list, for that added challenge of being the best of the best.

Also included is a mini achievement system, which allows for you to accomplish certain goals, like getting a 10x cascade. Achievement addicts beware, it does not count to your WoW Achievements, but is certainly just as addictive.

So for those of you with some serious downtime on your hands, these mods just might be for you.