Minigames are a great way for most video games to break up intense storylines or chaotic gameplay with something that gives the player a minute to wind down. There might be several of them scattered throughout the game, or one that players can challenge various NPCs to on their journey.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you feel about it, these minigames can occasionally steal more of your time from the main story than was originally intended. So, whether it's a complex deck-building card game or something as simple as a cute game of Simon Says with some Clefairy, here are the instances where the minigame likely stole just as many hours from you as the story itself.

10 Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

Holotactics

Holotactics is a mini-game that made its debut in Jedi: Survivor, where you essentially battle against opponents in a game of holographic auto-battle chess. You'll face several opponents, each with its own reward, but none of these are required to finish the game.

While there is arguably a lot to do in Jedi: Survivor, there's no doubt that most players who attempted to win this mini-game ended up spending hours on it until they had perfected their strategies and beaten every opponent available to them.

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9 Super Mario 64 DS

Picture Poker

While Luigi may have been cut from Super Mario 64 because there literally wasn't enough room for him, he did eventually make his appearance in the game when it was re-released for the Nintendo DS in 2004. This also just so happened to be a time when including casino-style mini-games in children's games was all the rage, and thus we have Luigi's Casino.

The mini-game known as Picture Poker is exactly what it sounds like: a card game in which you'll draw cards and bet with coins while Luigi deals and functions as your opponent. It's as addictive as you'd expect casino games to be, and even comes complete with the ambiance of slot machines and a lost Toad waiter delivering drinks in the background. Needless to say, most of us spent some time lost here.

8 Dragon Quest 7

Lucky Panel

Lucky Panel is probably one of the simplest mini-games on this list, but in a way that makes it more addictive and frustrating when you lose. It's essentially just a card-flipping matching game in which you try to match cards with the prizes you'd like to win from the game.

Of course, the addictive element comes in when you win, as you're then able to risk all of your current prizes for a chance to win even better prizes in a harder round. Several players may or may not record the game to help them win the prizes they want, but if you've genuinely tried to play this without help, then you know you can get lost playing it for a while.

7 Final Fantasy 14

Manderville Gold Saucer

Now, I know, listing an MMO on here is a bit of a cheat since they are, by nature, full of additional things to do. That said, it also felt wrong not to include it when I'd argue that more than half of my first 100 hours in this game were spent on fishing expeditions or at the Gold Saucer.

You can consider this a bit of a placeholder for all MMOs, as they'll all have their own equivalent of the things being listed here. But if you've ever played FF14, then you've likely spent more time than you initially intended at the Gold Saucer participating in timed events, chocobo racing, the carnival games you can find lying around, and a myriad of other things available here.

6 Final Fantasy 8

Triple Triad

While the previous list entry was more of a catch-all for MMOs, this one is a bit more specific and refers to the mini-game known as Triple Triad. While you can play this in FF14 too, it was originally introduced in FF8, and is where most players will have memories of losing hours to it.

The thing that probably makes Triple Triad the most addictive is that it's not just a game you'll interact with and have everything immediately available to you. If you hope to get better at the game, you'll need better cards, which you must acquire through various means yourself. So if the gameplay itself wasn't good enough, the card collecting and deck-building made this hard to ignore.

5 Persona 5 Royal

Tycoon

Persona 5 Royal has a lot going on at pretty much any given time, and there's constantly a sense of urgency and needing to make the most of your days. You know where all of that goes away, though? The Thieves Den. Inside the Thieves Den, you can take a moment to appreciate your hard work, rewatch cutscenes, and even enjoy a game of Tycoon with friends.

Tycoon is a card game played with three party members of your choice, and while there are no in-game rewards for winning, you can earn P-medals to spend in the Thieves Den. The beauty of Tycoon is that it's a fun, purely recreational activity that offers you a break from the chaos of the story, which is probably why so many of us spent time here, listening to the same voice lines from our party over and over.

4 Pokemon Stadium

Kids Club Minigames

While Pokemon Stadium isn't a traditional Pokemon game, the focus of the game is still centered around Pokemon battles. However, if you venture away from the Stadium to the Kids Club, you'll find nine minigames you've likely never forgotten. Some notable ones include Clefairy Says, Sushi-Go-Round, and Rock Harden.

I'd be willing to bet that this game was turned on more often solely to play these minigames, and this theory is only further supported by the fact that Pokemon Stadium 2 went on to introduce even more iconic minigames like Clear Cut Challenge, Eager Eevee, and Streaming Stampede. If you think Mario Party has you yelling at your friends, wait until you're fighting over gifts in Delibird's Delivery.

3 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Gwent

Like most major RPGs, there's always going to be a minigame, typically a card game, you can enjoy with NPCs to help give you some reprieve from the intensity of the main story, and The Witcher 3 is no different. That said, Gwent is a bit more overwhelming than a traditional card game, but that only makes it more time-consuming.

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Throughout the game, you're able to build out decks for the four factions you can choose from until you have something you're happy with. Now, as was already mentioned with Triple Triad, when you introduce not only a card game but one that involves you building out your own deck, players are likely to abandon the main objective for a bit. This one is so good they even made a tabletop version of it.

2 Yakuza 5

Every Minigame

Like with the listing for FF14, Yakuza 5 is sort of doubling as a list entry for basically every Yakuza game. That said, Yakuza 5 specifically was chosen due to its borderline overwhelming amount of minigames that you've likely poured hours into and perhaps still haven't played all of.

When you have the option to play darts, air hockey, poker, blackjack, Virtua Fighter 2, slots, and a million other things, how can you possibly be expected to focus on anything else? Yakuza 5 has games within games, and it's extremely easy to dedicate an entire play session to just minigames.

1 Sonic Adventure 2

The Chao Garden

via Sega

Unlike most of the entries on this list, the Chao Garden of Sonic Adventure 2 is less of a traditional minigame and more of a virtual pet simulator. While playing through Sonic Adventure 2, you'll have the opportunity to spend time in the Chao Garden and raise Chaos.

It's pretty simplistic, but if you grew up playing Nintendogs or ever had a Tomogatchi, then you know that doing basic care tasks for a creature can become weirdly addictive. For that reason, players either avoid it entirely or spend so much time here that the main game might as well be the side content.

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