Is game design a form of play?

I personally think that “Game design is a form of “Play”.  The term “Play” is defined as “Play is the free space of movement within a more rigid structure”.  Scholar Roger caliilois has classified “Play” into four different parts. They are:

Type	Definition	Examples
Agon	Competitive play	Chess, rugby, find four
Alea	Games of chance	Roulette,  Bingo, slot machine
Mimicry	Role playing  or Simulation	Dragons and Dungeon, final fantasy,
Ilinx	Playing with physical sensation of vertigo and risk taking.	Flying fox and dancing, rock climbing.

Not only that, Caillois had stated that games can be also defined in this way:

Type	Definition
Paidia	No rules! Wild, free form, uncontrolled fantasy
Ludus	Rule bound, regulated, formalised.

Basically, games can be classified under any of the mentioned sector.  A game does not necessarily need to fall in one specific category. For an example, Cluedo (board game) can be classified under Alea as the players’ uses dice to make their moves. At the same time, it can be considered as Agon as it is a competition between players to solve a mystery.

Heading back to the main question, I personally feel that game design is actually form of free play.  Game design can fall under the category of Ilinx and mimicry.

It falls under IIlnix as the game designer is taking a risk while developing a game.  Game designers might not know whether the gamers will like and play the game. Hence, it will be under Illnix.

Mimicry is included during the creation of a game. They have to be in character in order to find out on how the game is going to be like.  Role playing may help the designer to develop their characters in a way that fits into a game.

If a game designer is limited within a box, then it falls under the Ludas. Within the rule bound, the designer is not given much of choice to create a game. When the game designers are allowed to think out of the box,there will be no rules to make a game plan. Hence, the designer is given a choice to create a game in the given freedom. This is known Paidia.

Overall, I feel that game design can be classified as a play.

Cluedo

The game “Cluedo” deserves the title of “A thousand Year Game”. Cluedo is a mystery or murder themed board game.  It requires about 2 to 6 players to play.  The story line begins with a murder. “Dr. Black was found dead on Saturday evening at approximately 8.45pm. The body was found at the foot of the stairs leading to the cellars, on a spot marked "X". Miss Scarlett found the body. Apparently, her screams were heard in the village nearby! Does Miss Scarlett protest too much? Cause of death has yet to be determined, but there are several likely objects around the house that could have been used.

The objects are: Dagger (found in the lounge),Candlestick(found in the dining room) ,Revolver (found in the study) ,Rope  (found in the ballroom) Lead Pining ( found in the conservatory)  and Spanner  (found in the kitchen)The Chief suspects that it have to be the guests who were here  for the weekends. They are: Prof. Plum (Purple), Mrs. White (White),Mrs. Peacock (Blue), Miss Scarlett (Red),Col. Mustard (Yellow)  and Rev. Green (Green) , 

                                  

                                   credits:http://edtec670.edublogs.org/files/2009/10/clue-game1.jpg

 At the start of the game, the will be three different decks of cards. They are separated according to suspects, weapons, and rooms.  A player will choose randomly one suspect, one weapon and one room card from the three sets of cards.

These chosen cards will then be placed in a special envelope, so that nobody will be allowed to see them as it represents the answer to the case. The remaining cards are then evenly distributed among the players. After distributing the cards, the player is allowed to select any characters (tokens) they wish to represent.  To move their tokens, the players need to roll the dice.They are allowed to move their tokens in any direction they want except diagonally. Every player is given a checklist (a list of all the cards in the game.) The player is allowed to tick off any clue they are given. The main aim of this game is to find out the murderer and the cause of the murder (the cards in the envelope).

Credits:http://www.smartfellowspress.com/First_of_Sheila.htm 

When a player is trying to give the details of the murder, He or she will try to tell his/her suggestion. For an example “I think it was Mrs peacock, in the kitchen, with a rope.” At that moment, the player needs to place the tokens that were mentioned in the room she/ he stated. Then, the player sitting on the right must disagree with the statement, by showing only one of the cards (suspect, room, and weapon) secretly to that player who made the statement. This will then prove that the card in not in the envelope.  

                                           

                                          Credits:http://www.silysavg.com/gamesandparts/clue/itempics

Once a player managed to narrowed down the solution, that player is allowed to conclude. The player will proceed to check the cards in the envelope, without letting any players to see it. If that player makes a wrong conclusion, He or she is to leave the game. If the player makes the right conclusion, he or she must show the solution cards to the other players and the game ends here!

Though the rules may be straight, there are some challenges in the game. As a player is given limited card, He or she is not given much clues to start with. Not only that, the player needs to think a lot before making an accusation, as they are given only a chance in each round. If they make the wrong accusation, they are wasting their chance of getting to the answer which may benefit the other players.

The climax of the game is when all the players are getting close to finding out who is the player. Any of the players may know who the killer is, and each player wants to be winner of a game. At the same time, they do not wish to make the wrong decisions.If they make the wrong decision, they have to the leave the game. Therefore, that moment will be very stressful for the entire players.

Overall, I think it is a good game, as I feel that it has very good storyline, it can be played many times as there are many possibilities of Dr black murder, and it has many challenges. There is also a climax in the game (the part when the player makes an accusation and checks the envelope). It does not require any luck at as it is all about logic. All a player needs to do is to think carefully before making their moves.

Therefore, I feel that this game deserves :A thousand year game title".