The range of time people devote to “World of WarCraft” can be astounding.

For some, game-playing is casual. Kevin Stone, junior applied mathematics major, said he plays the game for two to four hours a day. However, since the release of the new expansion pack, “The Wrath of the Lich King,” his playing time has increased.

Aline Click, assistant director of eLearning Services, and her daughter are casual players. Although the last time Click played the massive online game was last winter break, she describes it as a fun learning experience for her and her daughter.

“You’re not just playing a machine. You’re playing against other people as well,” Click said, adding that the game emphasizes teamwork and strategy. Click said her daughter once won a game of capture the flag through skills she learned and utilized in “W.o.W.”

With 11 million subscribers, there are bound to be people who take the game too far. Some, like sophomore psychology major Anthony Perkins, are dead set against playing the game.

“I’ve seen it literally ruin relationships with people around me,” Perkins said. “I would never want to do that to myself.”

A semi-professional gamer, Perkins described how he watched one of his fellow friends go from a casual “W.o.W” player turn into a fanatical one. The good grades the gamer earned in school, Perkins said, quickly became failing ones because all he did was play “W.o.W.”

“He dropped off the face of the earth and stopped talking to people completely,” Perkins said.

However, as Perkins admitted, not everyone becomes addicted to the game.

Senior biology major Bryndon Oleson, a once-avid player of the series, said he just fell out of it.

“Were I still playing, this would be a big deal,” Oleson replied, when asked if the new pack would inspire him to play again. “It’s just not enough for me to get back into it.”

Some people cancel their accounts. Others, however, try to turn a profit. Blizzard Entertainment, the parent company of “W.o.W.,” charges players from $12.99 to $14.99 a month. There are several Web sites whose purpose is to facilitate the buying and selling of “W.o.W.” items and accounts, and countless more gamers have made individual listings. For example, a level 70 Night Elf Hunter at accountgear.com is being sold for $1,091.99. A DeKalb man is selling his account of high-level characters on Craig’s List for $200.