What is a Game? (GDJ 2)

"Man Writing" by Oliver Ray

Last month, I made the first post in my "Game Design Journal" (GDJ) series, there looking at why we play games.  Foolishly, I forgot to define the term.  Key to common understanding is commonly held definitions.  To that end . . .

What is a game?

What seems a simple question quickly becomes fascinatingly (and maddeningly) difficult.  Quick survey:

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Webster's says an "activity engaged in for diversion or amusement" or "a physical or mental competition conducted according to rules with the participants in direct opposition to each other."

Dictionary.com offers "a competitive activity involving skill, chance, or endurance on the part of two or more persons who play according to a set of rules, usually for their own amusement or for that of spectators."

In Game Design Workshop, Tracy Fullerton argues that "a game is a closed, formal system that engages players in structured conflict and resolves its uncertainty in an unequal outcome."  In the same book, Chris Crawford says "games are rule-based systems in which the goal is for one player to win."  He contrasts that to puzzles, where the "goal is to find a solution."

Richard Garfield, creator of King of Tokyo and Magic: the Gathering, refuses to even define the term, and claims that "there are no precise definitions of complex concepts like 'games'," because no definition can include all possibilities.
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I understand Garfield's point; I can think of games whose characteristics preclude them from the above definitions.  So where do we stand?

I think I can combine the definitions to produce something sufficient for our purposes; to me,

A game is a competitive activity whereby participants engage a closed, formal system to overcome a challenge using skill and/or luck.

Let's unpack some of the terms:

• competitive: players compete either against each other or the game itself [as in cooperative or solitaire games]
• closed: the game is separate from the real world, enabling players to do things in the game that may be discouraged or forbidden in real life
• formal: the game has a set of rules that give structure to the closed system and define the possibilities and limitations, defining/bounding/restricting means to overcome the challenge presented
• overcome a challenge: the game presents a goal of some sort (most points, first to finish, etc.), and (this is key) and has uncertain outcome (at the start)- you don't know who will win before the game starts
• skill and/or luck: all games feature some mix of these elements; GDJ 3 will explore this

My definition is likely imperfect and incomplete, but it's a start.  It's also a handy exercise to help us appreciate just how difficult defining even basic terms can be.

What do you think?