Defination :
In the German language a game is any activity which is executed only for pleasure and without conscious purpose. In this definition every activity that brings pleasure is a game. For example, people dance, play musical instruments, act in plays, and play with dolls and model trains.
Other definitions :
- "A game is a system in which players engage in an artificial conflict, defined by rules, that results in a quantifiable outcome."
- "A game is a form of art in which participants, termed players, make decisions in order to manage resources through game tokens in the pursuit of a goal." According to this definition, some "games" that do not involve choices, such as Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land, and War are not technically games any more than a slot machine is.
- "A game is an activity among two or more independent decision-makers seeking to achieve their objectives in some limiting context."
Types :
- Sports : Many sports require special equipment and dedicated playing fields.
- Lawn games : Lawn games are outdoor games that can be played on a lawn.
- Tabletop games : A tabletop game generally refers to any game where the elements of play are confined to a small area and that require little physical exertion.
- Dexterity and coordination games : This class of games includes any game in which the skill element involved relates to manual dexterity or hand-eye coordination.
- Board games : Board games use as a central tool a board on which the players' status.
- Card games : Card games use a deck of cards as their central tool. These cards may be a standard Anglo-American (52-card) deck of playing cards.
- Dice games : Dice games use a number of dice as their central element. Board games often use dice for a randomization element, and thus each roll of the dice has a profound impact on the outcome of the game.
- Pencil and paper games : Pencil and paper games require little or no specialized equipment other than writing materials.
- Guessing games : A guessing game has as its core a piece of information that one player knows, and the object is to coerce others into guessing that piece of information without actually divulging it in text or spoken word.
- Video games : Video games are computer- or microprocessor-controlled games. Computers can create virtual spaces for a wide variety of game types
- Online games : From the very earliest days of networked and time-shared computers, online games have been part of the culture.
What criteria must a game have?
There are criteria which apply to all games and those that apply to the "games with rules". First, I will describe the criteria that apply to "games with rules".
- Game rules
- Goal
- The course of the game is never the same - chance
- Competition
Summary
Games are objects which consist of components and rules and have certain criteria: rules, a goal, always changing course; chance; competition; common experience; equality; freedom; activity; diving into the world of the game; and no impact on reality.
