Games

A common definition of the concept “game” is that it is a type of play, structured with rules, and involving goals, chance, and competition. According to the “magic circle” theory, a game should have no impact on reality (Epstein, 2008).

The French sociologist Roger Caillois, a student of Huizinga and author of the 1961 book Man, Play, and Games, argues that we can understand the complexity of structured play forms best by classifying games into four types (p. 12):

• Agôn, or games of logic (e.g., chess)
• Alea, or games of pure chance (e.g., shooting dice or slot machines)
• Mimicry, or Mimesis (e.g., role-playing games)
• Ilinx, or Vertigo (e.g., ring-around-the rosy or spinning about)

There are few games that are purely one form or another; most games—including video games—display some combination of two or more of these elements. He also noted that games are subject to changing cultural and social pressures, and hence that rules for individual games can change over time. We still see this happening in modern video games, with new patches and updates released that continue to alter the way that certain games (e.g., League of Legends, Overwatch, Diablo, etc.) are played even years after their release. The apparent instability of play may come from this process of rule-forming and re-forming.

Most games feature goals, interaction, rules, boundaries, and some sort of a challenge. In addition, games generally involve mental or physical stimulation, and often some combination of both (Kramer, 2000). Many games help develop practical skills, serve as a form of physical exercise, and perform a variety of educational, situational, or psychological roles. While games have existed about as long as human civilization, videogames are a much more recent development in the history of games.