I love Gardenscapes. Like, I really, really love Gardenscapes.
If you haven’t played it on your phone (and be thankful, as it is super-addictive, as you will discover here) Gardenscapes is a match-3 puzzle game where you restore and decorate a neglected garden by completing levels and earning stars. Along the way, you meet quirky characters, unlock new areas and solve challenges to gradually transform the garden into a vibrant, personalized space. Plus it’s free. (Although you can buy assets if you want, which is the hook. Step 4: profit, as it were.)
I commute from north of Toronto and the train can be a bit dull, so I stupidly stopped reading books and downloaded Gardenscapes and now brainrot is also part of my trip to the city.
Training distractions
Then, on some of my longer rides on the trainer, I thought, “hmmm, I could just play this and the time would fly!” I stopped looking at my tablet to see how hard I was going as I was so busy playing the stupid game. (That I love.) I wondered if other athletes had the same problem, so I reached out to coach Peter Glassford of Consummate Athlete.
“It’s a good question and certainly common for all levels of athletes to use distractions to get through training sessions,” he said. He breaks distractions into three types: active, like sending emails or playing games, which demand attention and can affect posture; passive, like watching TV or listening to podcasts; and interactive, like virtual cycling platforms, which distract you but also require you to respond to changing terrain or other riders.
I’m out of lives on Gardenscapes and I’m so bored. What’s a cool phone game to play? pic.twitter.com/6wU4t1vqVg
— South Dallas Foodie (@SouthDallasFood) November 29, 2025
For athletes targeting big events, he sees value in using distractions to get through long sessions, but only as a small part of total training. “Much like any supplement, the video game plus bike time should be a small percentage of the ride,” he says. Indoor sessions can get monotonous if overdone: “If every session needs three screens to survive, it might be time to mix in strength work, cross-training, or even a day off.” (Glassford is also a fan of mixing it up. Go out for your miles, even if it’s cold, or try a FatBike, and then use the trainer for intensity.)
Glassford says that it also depends on your goals. If your session is just about moving and burning calories, distractions like Gardenscapes aren’t a problem. But if you’re training deliberately, preparing for group rides, climbing, or intervals, then focus and feedback are crucial. Playing a game on the trainer can make time fly, sure, but it won’t teach you to read terrain, manage effort, or track power. In other words, you can reach level 1000 in Gardenscapes, or level up in your actual riding, and only one will make you a faster cyclist.