The Football Manager is certainly one of the most addictive games there is, and with the constant addition of new features, it is an increasingly "time consuming" game.
A game that demands time, and patience from those around you
Nowadays, to achieve success in the short and long term, it isn't enough to buy good players, the kind people ask about on any FM forum or Facebook group: you need to understand the game's various components. Among them are tactics, training, the players' mental side and, not least, the scouting, essential for long term projects.
Until all those components are well "oiled", it takes time, not only in the course of the save, but also many hours exploring the game.
Some people get around this (some call it cheating), straying from the main goal of a sports strategy game, through downloads of all kinds of tasks. All for easy, quick success, without even exploring the match engine and testing their own ideas.
35 divorces cited in a book
The Football Manager series keeps a sizeable legion of fans, being one of the best selling PC games in the world, especially in England, where the fanaticism even complicates the personal lives of many gamers.
According to the book "Football Manager Stole My Life", by Ian McIntosh, which includes data from 2012, the game had already been cited 35 times as a cause of divorce!
And you, have you ever missed an event, or made up an excuse, to stay home and play Football Manager?
https://twitter.com/philipoltermann/status/376325919327395840
