Online multiplayer: What's the best time of day to win?

April 26th, 2010

Winning feels good. Great, in fact. And like anything else in life, winning in video games is no different, especially the online multiplayer kind.

The other night while playing online, I was enjoying an unusual winning streak. Unusual because I'm normally not that good at playing games. (There, I said it.) It was around 2 am. The wife and little ones were asleep. And I was... what are the kids saying this days?... oh right, pwning the competition.

A few days later, I was able to replicate my success around the same time against different, but presumably, still inferior opponents. Which got me thinking: "What other times of the day might there be more novice players (aka noobs) playing online? If I can identify their gaming patterns, while avoiding the stiffest competitors, I can maximize my wins, and thereby increase my sense of self gaming worth."

A hack, yes, but an idea worth exploring.

I turned to Google for answers, but came up empty handed. At a cursory glance, I was unable to find any advantageous advice on when to maximize online gaming wins. I dug a little deeper, and still nothing—at least people don't seem to be sharing playtime strategies over the Internet.

And then it dawned on me: most games have their own unique matchmaking service, both globally and regionally, so competitive results will obviously vary. Never mind the third time I tried my trick at a similar hour, I lost more than I would have liked.

But surely there's a general rule of thumb, is there not? Do top Modern Warfare 2 players come out to play at all hours of the day? Is there an ideal time to dominate World of Warcraft? What about [insert your favorite online game here]?

Help me readers. For my inflated sense of ego, you're my only hope.

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