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Games can involve one player acting alone, or two or more players acting cooperatively, but most involve competition among two or more players or between two teams, limited by rules. (Taking an action that falls outside the rules generally constitutes a foul or cheating.) Beyond this, the definition varies widely.

Chris Crawford

In his book Chris Crawford on Game Design, Chris Crawford defines the term game (p. 6) using a series of dichotomies:

1. Creative expression is art if made for its own beauty, and entertainment if made for money. (This is the least rigid of his definitions. Crawford acknowledges that he often chooses a creative path over conventional business wisdom, which is why he rarely produces sequels to his games.)
2. A piece of entertainment is a plaything if it is interactive. Movies and books are cited as examples of non-interactive entertainment.
3. If no goals are associated with a plaything, it is a toy. (Crawford notes that by his definition, (a) a toy can become a game element, if the player makes up rules, and (b) The Sims and SimCity are toys, not games.) If it has goals, a plaything is a challenge.
4. If a challenge has no “active agent against whom you compete,” it is a puzzle; if there is one, it is a conflict. (Crawford admits this is a subjective test. Some games with noticeably algorithmic AI can be played as puzzles; see, for example, Pac-Man#Ghosts.)
5. Finally, if the player can only outperform the opponent, but not attack them to interfere with their performance, the conflict is a competition. (Competitions include racing and figure skating.) However, if attacks are allowed, then the conflict qualifies as a game.

Crawford also notes (ibid.) these other definitions:

• “A form of play with goals and structure.” (Kevin Maroney)
• “A game is a form of art in which participants, termed players, make decisions in order to manage resources through game tokens in the pursuit of a goal.” (Greg Costikyan)
• “An activity with some rules engaged in for an outcome.” (Eric Zimmerman)

Ludwig Wittgenstein

In Philosophical Investigations, philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein argued that the concept "game" could not be contained by any single definition, but that games must be looked at as a series of definitions that share a "family resemblance" to one another. Games were important to Wittgenstein's later thought; he held that language was itself a game, consisting of tokens governed by rough-and-ready rules that arise by convention and are not strict.

Animals and games

Although many animals play while young, only humans are known to have games and to play as adults. Whether any other animals are intelligent enough to game is debatable, though a game has ritualistic elements (such as rules and procedures) that are voluntarily acted upon, rather than as a result of instinct. The existence of rules and criteria that decide the outcome of games imply that games require intelligence of a significant degree of sophistication.

Non-human animal species may engage in games whose rules and sophistication humans cannot yet detect. It would, for example, seem incongruous that large-brained species such as many Cetaceans and the larger hominids did not play games. Our inability to observe and understand such games should not be taken as a confirmation that they do not exist. Courtship displays in some birds, such as the Black Grouse, appear (from an anthropological view) to include games with clear victors and losers.

Anthropology of games

Various children’s games, 1560.

Games, being a characteristic human activity strongly determined by custom and the frequent subjects of folklore, have been the subject of anthropological investigations.

Classes of games

While many different subdivisions have been proposed, anthropologists classify games under three major headings, and have drawn some conclusions as to the social bases that each sort of game requires.

Games of skill

Main article: Game of skill

This category includes Games of skill, such as hopscotch and target shooting, and games of mental skill such as checkers. Games of pure skill are likely the oldest sort of game, and are found in all cultures, regardless of their level of material culture.

Games of strategy

Chess consists of nearly pure strategy.

Main article: Strategy game

Games of strategy, such as checkers, go, and tic-tac-toe, require a higher material basis. They are associated with cultures that possess a written language: not surprising, since most strategy games are based on mathematics and feature the manipulation of symbols. They often require special equipment to be played. They are associated with hierarchical societies that place a high value on obedience.

Games of chance

Main article: Game of chance

Games of chance, such as craps and snakes and ladders, appear at a variety of levels of material culture; what they seem to share generally is a sense of economic insecurity. They are associated with cultures that place a high value on personal responsibility, keeping one's word, and maintaining personal standing in the face of misfortune; in other words, with "cultures of honor".

Mixed games

Monopoly, the best-selling board game ever, is a game of strategy with some chance.

In addition to these basic classifications, there are mixed games; such as football and baseball, involving both skill and strategy, and poker, involving strategy and chance. Baseball Hall of Famer Casey Stengel addressed the illusion of luck dominating skill in his sport when he remarked, "I had many years when I was not so successful as a ballplayer, as it is a game of skill."

Games versus sports

Soccer is a popular sport worldwide.

There is no clear line of demarcation between games and sports. (Indeed, some say sports are a subclass of games.) Generally, sports are athletic in nature, and have an element of physical prowess, but then so do many games. For cultural anthropologists, the distinction between games and sports hinges on community involvement. Sports often require special equipment and playing fields or prepared grounds dedicated to their practice, a fact that often makes necessary the involvement of a community beyond the players themselves. Most sports can have spectators. Communities often align themselves with players of sports, who in a sense represent that community; they often align themselves against their opponents, or have traditional rivalries. The concept of fandom began with sports fans. Games amuse the players; sports amuse a broader public; in advanced material cultures, sports can be played by paid professionals. When games like chess and go or even video games are played professionally, they take on many of the characteristics of a sport.

Stanley Fish, looking for a clear example of the sorts of social constructions, cited the balls and strikes of baseball as example. While the strike zone target is governed by the rules of the game, it epitomizes the category of things that exist only because people have agreed to treat them as real. No pitch is a ball or a strike until it has been labeled as such by an appropriate authority, the plate umpire, whose judgment on this matter cannot be challenged within the current game.

One-player games

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Most puzzles, and some card games, are for one player. As well, most computer and video games have single-player modes.

One-player games are sometimes called solitaire games, but this term may be misinterpreted as referring specifically to peg solitaire, Spider Solitaire or Klondike.

Types of games

For a more comprehensive list, see Game classification

• Alternate reality game
• Ball games
• Board games
• Business games
• Car games
• Card games
  • Collectible card games
• Casino games
• Children's games
• Clapping games
• Computer and video games
  • Computer board games
  • Computer puzzle games
  • Online games
    • Online skill-based games
    • MUDs
    • MMORPGs
• Conversation games
• Counting-out games
• Creative games
• Dice games
• Drinking games
• Educational games
• Economics games
• Game shows
• Games of chance
• Games of dare
• Games of logic
• Games of physical activity
• Games of physical skill
• Games of skill
• Games of strategy
• Games of status
• Global Positioning System-based games
• Group-dynamic games
• Guessing games
• Letter games
• Locative games
• Mathematical games
• Open gaming
• Party games
• Parlour games
• Pencil and paper games
• Penis games
• Play-by-mail games
• Playground games
• Political games
• PowerPoint games
• Pub games
• Puzzles
• Quizzes
• Role-playing games
• Singing games
• Spoken games
• Street games
• String games
• Table-top games
• Tile-based games
• Theater games (Theatre games)
• Traditional games
• Travel games
• Wargames
• Win-win games
• Word games

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Game

• Wikia has a wiki about: Games
• List of game manufacturers
• List of game topics
• List of computer puzzle games
• Ludology
• [1]
• Game club
• Game semantics
• Game theory
• Play
• Puzzle
• Toy
• Artistic computer game modification
• Sports
• Vacation School Lipnice Games

# posted by sipler @ 12:54 AM