Rules of Play, Ch 11-12
Homo Ludens, Ch 1

Please address the questions below in your 350-word reading response:

1) List and explain 5 criteria that define play according to Huizinga.

5 criteria that define play according to Huizinga are the fact that play exists outside of ordinary life. It is not a necessary function for survival, and it is not part of a typical daily routine. Play is completely not serious. It is something done for fun, but is not necessarily humorous in nature. It is completely absorbing. Play exists as a sort of escape from ordinary life, and while one is playing, they become part of this fantasy; nothing that is not part of their play matters. Monetary or other gains are not part of play. Play is not something that can be used to generate money or product, the rewards of play are personal and intangible. It takes place within its own boundaries. Whether these are physical, spatial, temporal boundaries, play has certain limits that it exists within. Play might be limited to a room, a field, or other place, or possibly require the imagination of such a place; or limited to a certain space of time, or require one to imagine that a certain expanse of time has (or has not) passed.

2) Why is “play” important to society according to Huizinga. Give 2-3 examples. Do you agree/disagree?

According to Huizinga, play is important to society because it “adorns” and “amplifies life,” acting as a lens in many ways to magnify the important or worthwhile aspects of life. Play brings into the world a temporary, absolute order and perfection, whether this perfection exists in the real world or not. Play also acts to represent and identify. It allows people to experience being someone else temporarily, and imitate events which have already occurred. I agree with Huizinga’s points. Play is a unique experience which allows us to to view the world in a different way and take part in aspects of life we may not otherwise recognize.

3) Explain how the constituative rules and operational rules intersect beyond the formal rules to create a unique game identity. You can compare 2 popular games for your explanation.

Constituative rules are the mathematical and formal parts of a game which actually make it work. Operational rules are the rules given to players of a game so they understand how to play. These two sets of rules make a game work, as well as make it unique. Chutes and Ladders and Candy Land are two similar games which have similar sets of rules, but are both very unique. Chutes and Ladders is played by spinning a spinner and moving a piece on a board a number of spaces according to the number given by the spinner. Special spaces on the board complicate the rules slightly by forcing players to move forward or backward a designated number of spaces. Candy Land is played by moving a piece on a board a given number of spaces based on a spinner, and drawing cards which can modify the number of spaces moved. While the operational rules of both games are almost the same, it is the constituative rules which make each game unique. The Chutes and Ladders identity is created by its constituative rules – the characteristic “chutes and ladders” up and down movement of pieces created by the special spaces on the board. Candy Land is made unique through its cards which direct players to move in different ways than just backward and forward.