Vast New World Of Active Adventure

The compelling virtual worlds in big-budget games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and World of Warcraft can become an addictive substitute for actually going outside. But there’s no need for Reefer Madness panic: the same technology is being used to open up a vast new world of active adventure.

- David Kushner

JOINING GAME IN PROGRESS.

You materialize at a sprawling ranch near a snowcapped mountain covered with freshly powdered pines. Three horses graze nearby behind a purplish wooden fence.

To open the gate, click the lock. A jet-black mare wearing a striped blanket approaches, its hooves sinking into the slush and white puffs blooming from her nostrils.

Click horse.

Name: Lucky

Age: 20 years

Likes: Carrots

Dislikes: Apples

Checking your inventory, you select a carrot. Lucky nibbles it from your hand, increasing her health. Congratulations! You have earned a Good Deed. As Lucky nuzzles your parka, you see two buildings.

Check the overhead map.

The smaller building is marked Stable, the larger one Main Ranch House.

You follow deep sets of bootprints to a two-story log cabin. Several pairs of hiking shoes drip on the porch alongside two rocking chairs. A sign on the door says THE RANCH. You walk inside to find five other gamers. One is a slight, bearded figure in a dark blue hoodie, jeans, and white socks.

Click gamer.

Nickname: CTL

Age: 22

Favorite game: Pokémon Showdown

Quit games: Two weeks ago

You approach with a nod. As you shake his hand, it turns from pixels into flesh.

THE GAME I’m describing isn’t real, but it’s an accurate depiction of things that are happening at a real place. The bearded figure you just met is named Brian, and he’s undergoing therapy at ReStart Life, the country’s first residential treatment center for video-game addicts. Along with several other young adult residents, he’s been progressing through three stages of treatment, which ReStart offers for a hefty fee: more than $50,000 total. There’s a waiting list for admission.