diff --git a/include/unixconf.h b/include/unixconf.h
index 2c0d133e2..168be776b 100644
--- a/include/unixconf.h
+++ b/include/unixconf.h
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@
  * If you want the static parts of your playground on a read-only file
  * system, define VAR_PLAYGROUND to be where the variable parts are kept.
  */
-/* #define VAR_PLAYGROUND "/var/lib/games/nethack" */
+#define VAR_PLAYGROUND getenv("NETHACKVARDIR")
 
 /*
  * Define DEF_PAGER as your default pager, e.g. "/bin/cat" or "/usr/ucb/more"