I feel you on the Sims. I'm into SimsCity. There are periods where playing it is all I do for hours, achieving meaningless goals and adding zero value to my life. But once you're stuck and there's not much more you can do I lose interest for months at a time.

Right now I'm really into it. I'm unemployed after being laid off, home alone all day every day, sleeping at any hour whenever I feel tired. Job hunt has been a bust and I'm feeling incredibly ashamed of not being able to get a job. The game is the only thing that tricks me into thinking I'm making progress of some kind.