1.3 Historical Theories of Play

Historical Theories of Play

The most influential book about play in the 20th century is "Homo Ludens", written in 1938 by the Dutch sociologist Johan Huizinga, arguably the most influential theorist of games and play. His theories have set the stage for the next 100 years of study of play.

Johan Huizinga begins with a simple concept. We may have heard of the term Homo Sapiens as a common, Latin name for humans spanning back to the 18th century. It literally means: "Man the Knower". There is also a concept called Homo Faber – or, "Man the Maker" (Man who is capable of creating things to make their own environment, to affect the world, to shape the world.

But Johan Huizinga is interested in exploring his new idea of Homo Ludens: Man the Player, or man the Playing Person. In his book, he argues that play is just as constitutive of humanity and human culture as knowledge and the ability to create. This is the main subject of his book as well as the title, the work being subtitled: "A study of the play-element in culture."

Here, I'm going to describe five of Huizinga's main points about play:

1. Play is free. (Play is freedom.)
It's not constricted, it's not constrained. Play has rules. But a willingness to follow the rules of the game are what make freedom.

2. Play is outside of ordinary life.
Set aside by the magic circle. The notion that you can really define when you are playing, when you are within that space. Whether it is a literal space like a playing field or a conceptual/mental space, you are outside of ordinary mental life. You can do things and be things that you ordinarily would not be able to do.

3. Play has distinct times and spaces (the Magic Circle idea)
What is the difference between games and play? Well, you can play at anything. You can play the guitar, or you throw water balloons at your friends. That’s not a game yet, however – it’s play. The moment you introduce rules, it becomes a game. To return to the analogy of hopscotch, think about how when you define the space differently, the actions you take within it take on meaning.

4. Play creates order.
The rules of the game determine and dictate how it is played. The worst thing you can be is someone who breaks the rules, who breaks the magic circle, ending the game.

5. Play has no material interest (Unconnected to profit or gain)
This is a challenging or interesting concept because a lot of forms of play are very competitive. Subscribing to the rules of the game require that you try to do your best. But, at the same time there is no material interest – it can't be motivated by winning a prize or whatever benefit you gain from playing. It is a "Kantian" idea of disinterest – aesthetic interest – disinterested appraisal of something. Winning is a key aspect. Solitary games – trying to beat yourself or beat the system – it still requires an adherence to the rules, to order.