this was true of the older style rechargables bout the ones in use now don't haveto be done this way. Playing while charging is fine.I would charge it. I heard once somewhere that to get the longest use out of the battery, you should charge something all the way, (without using it while it's charging,) then use it all the way, then charge it all the way again, and then it will get as much use as possible without having to charge.