Type 4 Fun

06 Oct, 2026

This year, I learnt about the different types of fun as they sit on the Fun Scale. Here they are as described by REI:

Type 1 fun is enjoyable while it’s happening. Also known as, simply, fun.

Type 2 fun is miserable while it’s happening, but fun in retrospect.

Type 3 fun is not fun at all. Not even in retrospect.

The post goes into more detail than that and I highly recommend you go read it in its entirety because it is a really fun (type 1) read.

Since learning about the types of fun, I realised that I sometimes engage in activities that don't quite closely fit into the three listed above: activities typically involving indulgence in some way. These are activities where you're enjoying the moment but you also know you're going to have a deep sense of regret later and that sense of regret will come. If you have no sense of regret, it ends up just being good ol' Type 1 fun.

Here are some examples of Type 4 Fun¹:

1. Eating at an all you can eat restaurant
2. Cheating on someone
3. Having unprotected sex

Funnily enough, I decided to do a search on "type 4 fun" to check if it had already been established before making the bold claim that I'd discovered it and found a post by Yinon Weiss that touches on Type 4 Fun which happens to be the same as what I've just described.

I'll end this post with a question to the reader. What are some other examples of Type 4 Fun you can think of?