Why do we play? (GDJ 1)

"Man Writing" by Oliver Ray

Welcome to a new series of posts, which I dub "Game Design Journal" (GDJ) entries.

One of my 2018 resolutions is to design a board game; to that end, I've been keeping a journal in which I jot ideas as they come to me on this topic.  In addition to game mechanics, themes, and the like, I'm thinking through the overall theory of games; hence today's post.  Expect these to be largely stream-of-consciousness, which is not my preferred style but appropriate for brainstorming.

Let's start at the beginning.  Why do we play games?

We've been playing games since antiquity, as Tristan Donovan discusses in his recent work.  What about games appeals to us?  Why do we play?  Initial obvious answers include "for fun" or "to kill time," but what is it about games that makes them fun or worthy of killing time?  My first thoughts are that we play:
- to escape: games are an 'alternate world' into which we voluntarily step, granting us an escape from the rigors and difficulties of reality
- to achieve: games give us a sense of accomplishment when we overcome the challenges laid down by the rules
- to compete: a type of achievement, competition gives us the opportunity to sharpen our skills
- to interact: games grant us 'safe' environments to interact with others
- to connect: we meet others with similar interests
- to explore: we may play to explore a map or probe possibilities presented to us by the game mechanics
- to learn: games can be a great vehicle for teaching basic- or advanced- concepts, granting  experiential learning difficult to emulate in lecture
- to be free: freed from 'real world' consequences, we are often encouraged to do things in games that would be silly, discouraged or illegal in real life, making games an environment to truly be free
- to practice: similar to learning, games enable practice of concepts necessary for real-world success.  One example is wargames, practiced for centuries to understand and develop strategy and tactics without loss of life
- to pretend: we step outside our 'day jobs' to take on different roles
- to control: games are closed, finite environments offering a degree of control unparalleled in real life

David Mullich has some interesting thoughts here.

Thinking through why we play helps me understand what I want in a game.  It also made me realize why I don't care about losing; I play to interact with others and explore the possibilities (which is why collectible games are so appealing to me).  Winning is nice but ultimately not my aim.  What about you- why do you play?