That’s What She Said
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Lord, Deliver Me From This Time-Wasting Mobile Game
By Emma Lewis
Updated: Feb. 20, 2024
Originally Published: April 29, 2022
There’s a term for games like The Office: Somehow We Manage—a licensed mobile app featuring characters and storylines you adore—and that term is “idle game.” These games allow players to step away while still making progress; in this case, Jim, Dwight, Angela, and others continue racking up Schrute Bucks, yogurt lids, and coffee cups, depending on the challenge. (I haven’t seen any Stanley Nickels yet, but the Pretzel Day challenge was a fun addition!)
The goal? Sell paper and gather customer leads that magically appear with every sale to increase your earnings. It’s also an “incremental game,” rewarding you for repetitive actions—like clicking a stack of money repeatedly, which adds to the Scranton branch’s total. In gaming terms, this is known as “grinding.”
How do I know so much about this game? Because I play it every day—sometimes idly, sometimes actively, but always annoyingly. I strategize with genuine enthusiasm to improve Jim’s meager results and speed up Creed’s slow earnings. I watch ad after ad for cheesy bingo games and Shake Shack chicken sandwiches just to scrape together a few extra dollars. I often prioritize this over more pressing tasks, obsessively managing a bunch of pixelated characters that are faintly reminiscent of actors from a show I enjoy. (When you phrase it like that, it does seem a bit crazy.) It’s a perfect way to kill time, squandering minutes I’ll never reclaim for no substantial benefit.
Despite being openly critical of capitalism and its flaws, I can’t seem to quit playing. The “idle” earning feels unsettlingly similar to how CEOs profit from the hard work of folks like us. At the end of each level in The Office, the money you’ve worked for disappears—lining someone else’s pockets. Yet, you’re driven to never take a break. Every second and every possible finger movement is a chance to advance to the next challenge and earn even more. Your mission is to accumulate wealth so you can… earn even more wealth, echoing the relentless grind of real life.
As a freelance writer and editor, I feel that same constant pressure: Just accept whatever work comes your way, my mind screams. Sure, most of these gigs are uninteresting, poorly paid, and unnecessary, but… it’s money! I’m grinding in reality just as tirelessly as I am in Michael Scott’s universe. I have to ask myself: Why have I convinced myself that every billable hour is best spent amassing trivial amounts? If my bills are covered and there’s food in the fridge, wouldn’t that time be better spent enjoying life? You know, actually living the life I’ve worked hard for?
Another question: Am I prepared to delete this annoying game? Sigh, no. Mostly because I’m buried in work, and it serves as a fun distraction between assignments. But am I ready to stop taking on those pointless tasks so I don’t need a brain-numbing diversion? Yes. I think I might prefer to spend more time watching The Office instead of living it.
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