3.1. Defining “Game”¶

You may have noticed the word game is surprisingly tough when you start worrying about the details. Many people who research, write about and make games have struggled with how to define game in a way that doesn’t either leave things out that are obviously games (so the definition is too narrow), or accept things that are clearly not games (making the definition too broad).

Here are some definitions from various sources:

• A game has “ends and means”: an objective, an outcome, and a set of rules to get there. (David Parlett)
• A game is an activity involving player decisions, seeking objectives within a “limiting context” [i.e. rules]. (Clark C. Abt)
• A game has six properties: it is “free” (playing is optional and not obligatory), “separate” (fixed in space and time, in advance), has an uncertain outcome, is “unproductive” (in the sense of creating neither goods nor wealth - note that wagering transfers wealth between players but does not create it), is governed by rules, and is “make believe” (accompanied by an awareness that the game is not Real Life, but is some kind of shared separate “reality”). (Roger Callois)
• A game is a “voluntary effort to overcome unnecessary obstacles.” It sounds a bit different, but includes a lot of concepts of former definitions: it is voluntary, it has goals and rules. The bit about “unnecessary obstacles” implies an inefficiency caused by the rules on purpose - for example, if the object of Tic Tac Toe is to get three symbols across, down or diagonally, the easiest way to do that is to simply write three symbols in a row on your first turn while keeping the paper away from your opponent. But you don’t do that, because the rules get in the way - and it is from those rules that the play emerges. (Bernard Suits)
• Games have four properties. They are a “closed, formal system” (this is a fancy way of saying that they have rules; “formal” in this case means that it can be defined, not that it involves wearing a suit and tie); they involve interaction; they involve conflict; and they offer safety - at least compared to what they represent (for example, American Football is certainly not what one would call perfectly safe but as a game it is an abstract representation of warfare, and it is certainly more safe than being a soldier in the middle of combat). (Chris Crawford)
• An interactive structure of endogenous meaning (meaning that is created and only exists within the game) that requires players to struggle toward a goal (Greg Costikyan)
• Games are a “system in which players engage in an artificial conflict, defined by rules, that results in a quantifiable outcome” (“quantifiable” here just means, for example, that there is a concept of “winning” and “losing”). This definition is from the book Rules of Play by Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman.

By examining these definitions, we now have a starting point for discussing games. Some of the elements mentioned that seem to be common to many (if not all) games include:

• Games are an activity
• Games have rules
• Games have conflict
• Games have goals
• Games involve decision making
• Games are artificial, they are safe, and they are outside ordinary life. This is sometimes referred to as the players stepping into the “Magic Circle” or sharing a “lusory attitude”
• Games involve no material gain on the part of the players
• Games are voluntary. If you are held at gunpoint and forced into an activity that would normally be considered a game, some would say that it is no longer a game for you. (Something to think about: if you accept this, then an activity that is voluntary for some players and compulsory for others may or may not be a game depending on whose point of view you are looking at.)
• Games have an uncertain outcome
• Games are a representation or simulation of something real, but they are themselves make believe
• Games are inefficient. The rules impose obstacles that prevent the player from reaching their goal through the most efficient means.
• Games have systems. Usually, it is a closed system, meaning that resources and information do not flow between the game and the outside world.
• Games are a form of art