https://www.cnet.com/news/free-entertainment-to-help-you-survive-coronavirus-social-distancing/
Free entertainment to help you survive coronavirus social distancing
Rick BroidaMarch 13, 2020 7:58 AM PD
For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO website.
Welcome to our new “abundance of caution” coronavirus reality, in which social distancing is the new normal and everything is closed or canceled. Already bored? Have no fear, I’ve rounded up a bunch of ways you can entertain yourself, all of them free. (You will, however, need things like a phone or tablet, a TV, an internet connection — and possibly a yoga mat.)
3 free PC games
Tired of small, bite-size phone games? This is the perfect time to reconnect with (or discover) computer games, which can deliver richer, deeper experiences. If nothing else, you’ll love playing on a much bigger screen. Right now, Epic Games is offering a trio of free games worth $48. This is good stuff, too: You can get the highly rated titles A Short Hike, Mutazione and Anodyne 2: Return to Dust for Windows or Mac anytime before March 19. (That’s the cutoff to download them; the games are yours to keep forever.)
Free magazines
Call me old-fashioned, but I still enjoy reading magazines: Cook’s Illustrated, Family Handyman, Men’s Health, Reader’s Digest, Wired and so on. I’m not a paid subscriber to any of them; instead, I use RBDigital, a service offered by my public library, to read all those titles on my phone and tablet. The selection varies, so you may not have access to all the same titles I do, but you should definitely investigate using RBDigital to get free magazines from your library.
Free ebooks and audiobooks
Speaking of libraries, yours can probably hook you up with a selection of free ebooks and audiobooks as well. Right now, for example, I’m using an app called Libby (formerly OverDrive) to read a novel by Richard Russo, and before that I used it to listen to Martin Short’s thoroughly entertaining autobiography I Must Say (read by the author). You may have to wait a bit before the title you want becomes available, so add a bunch to your queue so you always have something ready to go.
Free streaming TV and movies
Just want to veg out in front of the TV? Don’t blame you one bit. While I think Hulu for $6 a month is arguably the single best streaming deal you can get, check out this list of 10 totally free movie and TV streaming services. Over at Pluto, for example, you can find an entire channel of James Bond movies, while Kanopy (yet another library-powered service) is home to notable films like Midsommar and The Great Buster: A Celebration.
Free yoga classes
This might be the perfect time to take up yoga, one of the greatest stress-relievers ever. You can find countless free beginner classes — and plenty for more experienced yogis as well — on YouTube. I recommend starting with Yoga With Adriene, which has literally hundreds of videos for all skill levels (and all categories, like Yoga for Bedtime and Yoga for Wrist Pain).
While you’re at it, you can search YouTube for meditation classes. OK, these aren’t exactly entertaining, but definitely a useful way to pass the time — and keep stress at bay.
Other ideas
What else can we do with all this stay-at-home down-time? Some suggestions: bake bread, organize the junk drawer, start a new hobby, revisit an old hobby, break out the board games. In other words, use this time to unwind, disconnect and hopefully find some calm.
Now tell me your ideas for staying busy and entertained — ideally without spending any (or much) money.
Watch this: Easy ways to stream movies for free 1:13
MORE ON THE CORONAVIRUS
- Coronavirus cancellations and closures
- Coronavirus is a pandemic: What that means for you
- No, you shouldn’t make your own hand sanitizer
- How to prepare for a coronavirus quarantine
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