Unfucking your email. Find all the newsletters from worthless sites and block / unsubscribe. Sightly productive, and brainlessly easy.

Tell TSA your username. They'll find something for you to do for 20 hours.

Not trying to be a contrarian (it just happens!) but boredom will not kill you. In fact, I challenge you to sit and be bored for a good few minutes. It's good for you. I'm terrible at it myself, but that's what being a dopamine crack addict will do, I guess.

If you're out of ideas for things to do, try mindfulness meditation (Waking Up is an app with a bunch of free lessons to get you started) - very little woowoo, just pay cursory attention to something, then when your mind inevitably wanders off, just "notice" and be, well, mindful. It's like an antidote for boredom, in a weird way, and studies have shown that for whatever reason, it's good for you.

Myself, I read books for any "random short term downtime".

If the lounge has a shower, do some exercise get that energy out of your system. Then take a shower.

You got 7 hours to kill, do some laps around the airport. Get the energy out. And when you're ready to rest, play some games on your phone (like a emulator)

And when you get on the flight just veg out

Read a book?

Like, how desperate are you for stimulation that you're making this sound like an emergency?

I'd recommend reading Wikipedia

More content than you could possibly read, short reads typically, you learn stuff, and you can make games out of it

A game I like to play is to come up with 2 completely unrelated things, start on thing 1, and see if you can get to thing 2 on Wikipedia in 6 tabs or less, using Wikipedia links only

Good lord I WISH I could get 20 straight hours where no one bothered me. That's a fucking dream right there.

Invent a language, then teach it to a stranger against their will.

1. Go to the tech store in the airport. Buy a cheap chromebook. Open an account on Opalstack. Build a webpage from scratch. Learn a backend language like php or python. Learn git. Maybe set up your own Lemmy instance.

2. Install Keyboard Designer from the android play store and take a stab at customizing your own keyboard.

3. Leave the airport and go to a museum or swimming pool or poolhall. Be back in time to go through security.

Dude, hustle up to the bar and drink 13 beers like the rest of us, and fall asleep on the plane during boarding, after you've reminded the gate attendant that you're mentally handicapped.

https://movie-web.app/

A free and open source online web app for streaming content. They’re committed to no ads, pop ups, or other weird malicious stuff you’d see on other streaming sites. Binge a series or two!

Wait— this was posted 24 hours ago. Oh well.

I am not very helpful, but don't kill these hours, befriend them!

Slay the Spire is a great game that works well on mobile and has no microtransactions. I’ve played it for 400 hours (on PC) and I’m still not tired of it.

Download unciv. It's a civilization 5 clone with stripped down graphics but gameplay remains the same. You can kill an eternity with civilization games.

Maybe it there's a bookstore close by you can get a book? I've been really enjoying I am robot by Isaac Asimov. It's sci-fi. It basically tells stories from a future where robots are more capable than humans will ever be. And to stop the robots from rioting there are 3 rules.

1. Robots can never hurt people, or let them get hurt by doing nothing. (I'm translating from my first language if there's any mistakes I'm sorry)
2. Unless it interferes with the first rule robots will always obey humans.
3. Unless it interferes with first and the second rule robots will always protect themselves.

Play Civilization

Play Shattered Pixel Dungeon, it's free and open source.

Streetcomplete to contribute to osm?

Man I would love 20hrs to kill by myself. With 7 hours at the airport is leaving the airport an option? Like others have said. Read a book. Get your steps up. Try and do 10,000 steps walking the entire airport. Buy a notepad and draw the people our sights around you

Where is LOTR when you need it?

Learn a memory technique. Start with Major system and go on from there. If you keep going, on the next long flight you'll be happily creating new memory palaces or revisiting the old ones. All in your mind, no electronic devices needed.

They're not only fun but useful as well.

If you haven't already you can usually ger compensation for delayed flight. Check out the compensation page for the airline your using.

There is a Webcomic called Romantically Apocalyptic. It is a visual novel that has been going on for years. The creator just keeps adding. 300 pages.of highly detailed visuals in an eccentric story.

If you end up vibing with the story that'll definitely kill a lot of time.

Name is misleading, as I haven't seen much in the way of romance lol.

Try Vampire Survivors! It's a free mobile game that has no right being as fun as it is. You run around trying to kill monsters and level up your weapons without dying, but you can focus on dodging because all the weapons auto-attack. I'm not sure I'm explaining it super well, but it's worth trying!

I've been hooked on Sudoku on my phone recently. LibreSudoku is a good Android app.

Snag some brochures and try your hand at origami. In the lounge, you can make paper airplanes, and in the air, you can make little figures/objects. I can easily spend an hour folding a paper airplane, taking my time to ensure the folds are even and crisp, and that there is no built up stress that warps the wings.

Take it as a meditation challenge, just be alone and quiet with nothing but your thoughts.

Final fantasy 1-9 are on the App Store. Maybe a game that wasn’t originally in a mobile gimmick format could kill some time for you. 3, 5, 6, 7, and 9 are all very good (you don’t need to play them in any particular order. These are all more classic turn based JRPGs. There is also final fantasy tactics which is more of a grid based combat system similar to fire emblem or chess. All the stories are good and engaging

Download a textbook on a topic you're interested in and read it, see how much you can learn by the time you land

Start writing your memoirs. Or begin writing a semi-erotic fantasy novel. If you're lucky, the two may be the same thing.

If you enjoy adrenaline & frustration, Super Hexagon is one of those thumb-twitchy games that gives you the "just one more" impulse when you die. Unpossible is another.

Depending on the airport/country you are stuck in, you can take a trip to the nearby city. I was once stuck in Singapore Airport for 13 hours and just took a day trip to Singapore. It's a bit risky in your scenario because they might move your flight forward but depending on the circumstances of the delay it might be fine.

Almost all airports have a spa or some kind of wellness offers. Would be a great time to try it out. Maybe you discover something new you like, worst case scenario you wasted 1-2 hours. In general look up entertainment offers at the airport. Most have at least an internet cafe that would allow you to play "proper" games since mobile games aren't yours.

3 hours have passed since you posted this and I read it. Time flies!

Last time I was stuck, I downloaded the Lemuroid emulator and went on to explore retro games. Phantasy Star IV was quite rad.

I’ve bookmarked all the game suggestions in this thread myself, but haven’t tried any of them yet other than Sudoku. I have the Sudoku.com app.

Badland is a good time-killing game. Having headphones and playing with sound adds to the experience. Not sure if I paid for that one or not.

Minesweeper is a classic one that I don’t think requires internet connection.

Slither.io requires internet but is also a decent time killer.

Airline Commander is one that I’ve downloaded but haven’t tried yet. Airplane simulator that looks interesting.

This is just going through my Games folder on my Home Screen and thinking of which ones I’d play in your situation.

Airports are near cities. Go do tourist things in the city.

Brotato, if you are using an android device.

https://play.google.com/...

Is starting a conversation with someone an option?

If you could get a rubix cube or something at the airport, (which seems plausible) could be a lot of time spent on learning how to do it if you download instructions beforehand.

This is the perfect moment to write a short story

Go outside and sit with the smokers.

Smokers talk. Everyone's equal in the smoke pit. You can meet some really interesting people that way.

A few hours of secondhand smoke won't kill you. Otherwise humanity would have gone extinct in the 70s.

Put an alarm and sleep.

Read webtoons!

If you truly didn’t enjoy Stardew Valley, then never mind ignore this. If you felt like it had potential but it just didn’t grab you, I’d suggest giving it another shot. It hooks some people immediately but it is a bit of a slow burn for others. It’s beloved by its cult following for a reason. But again, if you didn’t like it then that’s totally legit.

If you like puzzle games, The Witness is another exceptional PC game that was impressively preserved in its entirety when it came out on mobile. The visuals are stunning (though you may not get the absolute best experience on a small phone screen, but still) and it’s got a well-earned reputation for being one of those fully-suck-you-in-lose-track-of-all-sense-of-time games.

Buy a fat book.

It won't kill the full 20 hours, but 2 great mobile games that I like without the gambling bullshit: Vampire Survivors and Siralim Ultimate. The first one is free, so just try it. The second one is a monster training RPG where you can make sick combos and synergies.

Pretty sure your username is how you kill 20 hours.

Learn Chess!

Lifelong pain at a mediocre level guaranteed!

Super neat game though.

Fuck, I could use 20 hours where there's nothing that could guilt me into feeling I could be spending my time better than gaming. Go find a nice comfy couch somewhere and just veg man, enjoy your freedom from responsibility for 20 hours. Won't happen often.

If you’re an iPhone user and intrigued by mobile games, go subscribe to Apple Arcade for a month. There are a ton of fantastic games without the bs freemium shit. Monument Valley and Alto’s Adventure (and their respective alternative titles) are great starters. I’m also a big fan of Good Sudoku which will teach you techniques to get better at solving them.

I’m sure you can get a lot better recommendations on current Apple Arcade games from social media or hopefully here on lemmy.

Learn chess

Talk to people? Does the airplane have a bar? Even if you don't drink there's probably people there willing to have some conversations.

Do lots of drugs

In case you get stuck again and need more games:

• DevilutionX (free, open source, needs gamedata) lets you play Diablo1 on Android, very good time killer (you might need to fetch the gamedata somewhere)
• Out There: Omega (paid but one time purchase) is a relaxed starship roguelite
• Battle For Wesnoth (free, open source) fantasy style tactical game
• Jagged Alliance 2 Stracciatella (free, open source, needs gamedata) - Jagged Alliance 2 on Android, tactical RPG, great timekiller like classic UFO or the old Fallout games.

Notable mentions: WorldOfGoo, Human Resource Machine

If you can get an emulator on your phone you can play old games. Nealy endless hours of fun to be had. I recommend lemuroid and Legend of Zelda A Link to the Past.

If you're the self-improving kinda person, I'd suggest looking up podcasts related to your line of work, hobbies, mind and health, psychology and that sort of stuff. Last time I went on a transatlantic trip, I stocked up on podcasts and took personal notes as well as notes for my private practice. Kept me engaged for a considerable part of it (total of ~22 hours), although without delays.

Makes you a bit more active even with passive media, and since you're working towards a goal, it also probably leaves you with a productive end result, be it for yourself or ideas for work, hobbies, etc. Couple of ones I like (as reference) are:

How to be a better human; Stuff you should know; Feel better, live more; Speaking of psychology; This jungian life

I probably sound very traditional but… talk to someone? Make some friends? Call someone?

Hey, how did you get on? Hope the 20 hours passed ok and you had a good flight :-)

Duolingo. Then start texting your family in the new language that you learned that you forgot how to speak normally because of the delay time warp.

I rarely play mobile games, but here's one that I quite like when I need to kill time or be active while media is in the background: Auralux 2.

I initially thought that the game wasn't properly weighted for difficulty, but then found that I just needed to adapt my strategy. I can complete most levels in 2-3 minutes, though some might take 4-7 depending on how it breaks (I play on the fastest setting after getting good at it on normal speed).

I pick it up when my partner pauses to get a snack, go to the bathroom, or take an important call. I can set it down as soon as she's ready because there's no real stakes; I'm really just competing with myself to score faster and faster "best" times. I also play it while listening to podcasts if I can't be physically active (or when I'm lazy).

I play on iOS. Not sure if it's on Android.

If I had that long of a layover I'd leave the airport and go check out the city I was in. I had an AWESOME 12 hour layover in London once.

Sleep, eat, sleep, watch/hear/read something, talk to random people (preferably other stranded people), visit the smoking lounge, walk though all the stores, maybe buy a magazine.

And all the people recommending mobile games... I've wasted hours on end playing tower defense games, bridge builder or something like that. Get up inbetween and mix things up. Everything will get boring in that situation.

Baba is You. It is one of the best puzzle games ever made, and available on mobile.

Start a new factorio game on a handheld device. Don't forget to get out of the plane after 20 hours.

Or watch the extended cuts of Lord of the Rings plus The Hobbit. That is 1171 minutes (=20 hours).

On a more serious note: I would schedule multi-hour blocks of work time, off time and sleep. Watching movies and playing games is much more fun after work is finished, and you feel like you accomplished something. It's also a good opportunity to do the tedious things you always wanted to do but never had the time and/or motivation (finances, taxes, studying, sorting files, sorting mails, that kind of stuff). It's not like you had anything better to do or other places to be, and it might actually make you feel better. After three hours of working you will look forward to the movie, before going to sleep.

Anything interesting like a museum in the area around the airport? I had an 8 hour layover once and I just left the airport and went to a nearby Air Force museum of some sort. It was nice to walk around instead of just sitting in the airport, and I got to see a B-24

If you like DOS games, ScummVM has an android app for their emulator and then you could hit up abandonware sites for nostalgia games. Works for some Win95 games as well. Played Woodruff on my phone a few years ago, an ISO file inside ScummVM, and besides the aspect ratio being a bit off it was playable.

I tend to go back to mindless puzzle games on my phone and set weird challenges for myself. I like HexaMania and InBlock by AleksDev. I paid for no ads, iirc 99¢USD, and haven't regretted it. No freeminum b.s. in those two. (There is a HexaMania 2 by the same person, but even with paying for no ads it has a pay to keep playing mechanic that keeps me away from it.)

Flow Free is a great connect the dot series of games that you can get the full game through Google Play Pass. Hundreds of levels per game. And with it being on GPP, you get unlimited hints if you get stuck.

If you want an exploration sandbox game, there are always Minecraft and Terraria to enjoy.

Einstein Riddle by Rottz Games, also in GPP, is a good logic puzzle game.

Just in the Android games thing, a couple of recommendations:

• Golf Blitz - very fun crazy golf game which does have IAPs but they're not at all necessary to progress a long way in the game (in the very upper levels, it gets a bit slow as you need to build XP, but I've been playing it more than a year and never felt tempted to buy my way up the ladder. It'll certainly provide entertainment for a few hours. Does need an online connection though.

• Antiyoy - very simple strategy game that starts easy and gets very tricky. It's fun and no connection needed. Over 170 official levels, plus a whole bunch of user levels of varying quality. No IAPs at all as far as I remember.

For games, my suggestion is that you try a whole bunch of them; get Google Play Pass and, if you have a Netflix subscription, browse through the list of Neflix Games and try anything that looks remotely appealing. None of these are gambling or freemium - they have no way to make money from you except for your continued subscription - and there's something for pretty much every conceivable genre.

If you can give any guidance about the specific sorts of things you like from games (action, story, puzzles, building stuff) I'm sure people can recommend some specific titles.

Do you have a library card? Most libraries allow you access to the Libby or Cloud Library or Hoopla apps, you could read a book or listen to an audiobook.

Get a notepad and pen and learn to draw

Try Monument Valley it's a one time pay puzzle game that moves like an MC Escher sketch.

If you're into metal/hardcore/etc at all, you should watch the documentaries Parkway Drive (Post-hardcore/metalcore band from Australia) has made, extraordinary stuff. This is the first one.

I also recommend chess.

Go exploring. Walk the airport and go to other wings if it's a large airport. You might be able to find a luggage locker so you can walk without carrying anything.

In the same line, there are a lot of games that gamify walking. One. Two. The goal here is to exhaust your body a bit better for the 13 hr flight.

Learn something. A new language, maybe. A skill. Learn braille and go around the airport decoding the braille signs.

Do an airport scavenger hunt. Can you find yarn and maybe practice finger knitting? Maybe a deck of cards and learn some card tricks?

Talk to people. Honestly I'm an introvert so I rarely do this but it can be fun.

I would recommend eating. Try a few places. That always passes the time for me.

Try Dumb Ways to Climb. It's free without ads.

Maybe learn how to play chess?

Sonic 1, 2, and CD have been ported to Android.

Uhh, start drinking?

I wouldn't get wasted, if you're in your 30s that can give your worst headache ever. If the wifi is good enough, maybe start a series? Possibly something with short episodes, a well-selected anime will easily kill something like 10 hours. And if possible, try to get as much sleep as possible

I would say get a hotel room, but it has uh, been 6 hours since you posted this so…

It may sound stupid, but try learning some card tricks or play solitaire with some playing cards?

The best advice of keeping moving has already been suggested, but buy a real book, and maybe a crossword or other such like. Avoid technology.

No advice, but I sympathize. I once sat listening to music while waiting for my flight to board. When there was no activity and fewer passengers in the area than I expected, I discovered that while I had been waiting they changed the gate for my flight. I ended up waiting in Chicago Midway (this was before their big upgrades in the early 00s) for 12 hours. It was hell.

It's a damn shame that you can't go to a pharmacy in the airport, tell this tale, and get some xanex to zonk out and time travel to your destination.

Buy books? 20 hours man, I could burn through at least two.

Mini Reviews is an android app that has robust filtering features for games. You can download offline games so you don't have to worry about spotty connection. Pocket City 2 is pretty fun and a good time sink, only costs $5. You could also play a text based "choose your own adventure" type game. If.youre artistic, I'm sure you could find a paper and pen to doodle on as well. Maybe a take couple of hours to feel the gravity of your own mortality. A little existential dread never hurt anyone

You could watch The Terminal 9 times back to back, and have just enough time left to be disappointed by some overpriced meal at the Wolfgang Puck.

Get a pack of cards and learn some fake shuffles (via YT) then memorize the 673 King Street trick.

ETA a much better performance.

I know you mentioned audiobooks but what about some digital books? Personally, reading makes my eyes tired so I know that, for me, reading something would be a good way to provoke a nap.

As a response to the idea that you may get fatigued by passive media, a book may be a good balance to that. With movies, shows, and audiobooks, you're going to be listening the whole time. It's just constant noise. A book may be more meditative.

Which reminds me, this may be a good time to practice meditation.

There are very good mobile games without subscriptions, virtual coins, loot boxes and shit. Some examples on iOS:

• Sawblades
• Ollies Arcade
• Knotwords
• High Rise

It's not gonna last you 20 hours, but last I checked the official Sonic 1, 2 and CD ports are all free on mobile (and they're really good).

Bloons Tower Defense 6 is a really good game that you could sink time into! It is paid, but I highly recommend it

Puzzle books? I like to play with variety puzzle books, commonly sold near magazines :3 Crosswords (and varieties thereof), word searches (+varieties), crypto puzzles of various sorts, number puzzles of various sorts, the funky neat ones where some of the words share some letters (like, a letter fills a vertical region to be shared by one or more words), uhhh... oh also I like to write the solutions in Thorass :D https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/... Though the numerals are garbage. D'ni numerals are far, far better 👍

Also, I daydream for hours at a time. ... But probably you don't or else you wouldn't be asking for ideas I guess 😅

I highly recommend emulating games on your phone. Some of them aren't great without a controller but its worth a shot.

The Lahey link made me laugh way to hard, I've been sick as fuck the last 2 days and I'm laying on the couch watching trailer Park boys with a decent buzz so it's fitting.

Do you like Roguelikes? Slay the Spire is really good and it's on Mobile.
It's a port from PC, so no microtransactions or garbage like that, one purchase and done.
There's also Mindustry. It's a mix between Tower Defense and Factory game. This one also has no MTX since it is a Open Source game. Free on Android, 2 Bucks on iOS.

If its your thing try kearning a language on Duolingo or something like that

Twist your thumbs

Buy a pack of sticky notes and a pen and let your imagination go. Write weird facts and trivia, or just whatever you want and stick 'em in places where people are gonna look, like on maps, mirrors, napkin holders at the bar...
Then just wait and watch

Vampire survivors and random lore vids.

The most addictive and a complete experience in your pocket kind of game is Crashlands. It's amazing if you're into games where you have to craft things to survive. Definitely recommend giving it a try.

Look around for anything that is baseball shaped and sized and look up a juggling tutorials. Even if you already know the basic pattern, there are tons of tricks that you can start working on right away.

Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://piped.video/...

Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.

I'm open-source, check me out at GitHub.

Airports usually have all kinds of distractions. Gym, arcade, shops to browse, bookstore or at least a magazine rack, pod to nap (easier than on a plane).

As for android games, if you're into tower defense, give infinitode a try :)

Unsure of your preferences with games, but Shattered Pixel Dungeon is free, offline, no ads, and the only purchases are for aesthetics to support the app. It's an 8-bit rogue like, and never the same game twice.

A good audiobook will kill some hours.

Old school runescape mobile

Even though you say you suck at sleeping on the go, maybe the airport you are at has one of those sleep pods.

Minetest + Mineclone2 - Minetest is an engine for block mining games, while Mineclone tries to recreate old school Minecraft as close as possible.

Survivor.io is a surprisingly amazing mobile game that doesn't badger you for money.

Play some chess on chess.com

Learn Factorio.

Oh wait, you said 20, not 2000. Never mind.

Try this fruit game, it's really addictive! Watermelon Game - Merge the Fruits

You could try Plants vs Zombies 2 or it's other mods they are really great

Is there nobody else there with the same issue?

As for games, have you tried Threes or Reigns?

play some games on You're phone

Drugs. Illegal ones preferably. Anything to make you catatonic. Airports are a certain type of hell.

Turn off your phone.