Setting limits that actually hold

Most people who play games of chance mean to stop at a sensible point. The trouble is that the decision gets made in the middle of play, when attention is narrow and the next round always looks like a good idea. Limits work best when they are set before you start and enforced by something other than willpower.

Decide before, not during

Choose the length of the session and write it down, or set it in the Codex as a reminder. Choose a round limit too. When the reminder appears, treat it as the end, not as a prompt to negotiate. The reminder on Corvathane shows your minutes, rounds and spark totals for that reason: numbers are harder to argue with than a feeling.

Let the tools do the enforcing

The Pause button in the header locks every game on this device for five minutes, an hour, a day or a week. Pauses of an hour or more cannot be lifted early. Outside Corvathane, the same idea works at a larger scale: GAMSTOP excludes you from gambling sites licensed in Great Britain, blocking software such as Gamban covers your devices, and many banks let you switch off gambling payments.

Watch the reasons, not just the time

Playing because you are bored, stressed, lonely or low is worth noticing even if the session is short. If games have become the main way you manage a mood, it is a good moment to talk to someone. GamCare's National Gambling Helpline is free on 0808 8020 133, around the clock.

Make stopping easy

Have something to stop for: a walk, a call, a meal, sleep. An evening with a planned ending is far easier to keep than one that simply runs out.