The document is a research essay discussing Johan Huizinga's statement that "play is a significant function – that is to say, there is some sense to it. In play there is something ‘at play’ which transcends the immediate needs of life and imparts meaning to the action. All play means something." The essay provides supporting points for Huizinga's statement by examining play in language, civilizing functions, and games. It then lists refuting points, including that play is irrational and unproductive. The essay concludes by reexamining Huizinga's statement based on the arguments presented.

1. COMM3304
Research Essay
Student ID: 20910329
Student Name: Siti Aisyah Bagarib
Question Number: 1
“[Play] is a significant function – that is to say, there is some sense to it. In play there is
something ‘at play’ which transcends the immediate needs of life and imparts meaning to the
action. All play means something.” (Huizinga). Discuss.
Word Count: 1910
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2. “[Play] is a significant function – that is to say, there is some sense to it. In play there is
something ‘at play’ which transcends the immediate needs of life and imparts meaning to the
action. All play means something.” (Huizinga). Discuss.
Introduction
Johan Huizinga is a Dutch cultural historian and one of the greatest scholars of play (Salen
& Zimmerman, 2004). In his most influential theoretical work, Homo Ludens, he investigates the
role of play in human civilisation. He states that animals play just like men but men play at a higher
level than the simpler forms of animal play. Huizinga writes that the ability of even animals to
embark in a form of play shows that play is more than just a physiological experience or a
psychological intuitive imperative?. Since essentially animals play too, play goes beyond any
rational nexus.
So what is play? How is play significant? Many attempts to define and explain what play is
and to determine its implications have been inconclusive because play can take on so many forms.
To some people play means an outlet for relaxation. To some, to play means to engage in folly
while others take play as a serious affair.
“[Play] is a significant function – that is to say, there is some sense to it. In play there is
something ‘at play’ which transcends the immediate needs of life and imparts meaning to the action.
All play means something.”
In The Definition of Play and The Classification of Games, Roger Caillois who is the former
student of Huizinga, criticizes some concepts made in Homo Ludens. Despite his several criticisms,
Caillois' definition of play is similar to Huizinga's definition (Henricks, 2010). Both of them
emphasize the central role of play in human culture. Therefore I will be using these two texts by
Huizinga and Caillois as touchstones for this essay.
First I will start of by listing points on why the essay statement is true. play is significant???
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3. Some will agree with Huizinga's statement that play “is a significant function – that is to say, there
is some sense to it. In play there is something ‘at play’ which transcends the immediate needs of life
and imparts meaning to the action. All play means something.”. I will start of the essay by listing
down these points. We will be looking at play in terms of language, civilizing functions and game
play.
In the next section I will list down points that refute Huizinga's statement and finally
followed by my conclusion regarding the topic based on the points I have highlighted.
Supporting Points
Huizinga has outlined in his book that play has a kind of omnipresence. It is
important but it is not clear why we do it, for play is irrational and we are rational beings. Children
play for physical, cognitive and emotional and social development (Ginsburg, 2007). Even animals
play therefore they are more than mere rational beings.
Huizinga discussed the role of play as essential within the context of a culture. He
establishes play as a cultural foundation. We are only concerned with higher forms of meaningful
play.
The functions of higher forms of play are derived from two basic aspects. The first is to
contest for something and the other is the representation of something. Here we will take a look at
the term play expressed in three aspects: language, civilizing functions and in rituals. The contesting
for is expressed in language and gameplay and the representation of is expressed in civilizing
functions.
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4. Play in Language
According to Freidrich Hegel, we can only understand something passively, which is to say
that something can only come into existence if it is not identifiably something else (Hegel, 1894).
The word play cannot be conceived if other things cannot be identified as 'not playing'. Therefore
play must also have preceded language as the very nature of language is brought about by language.
Language is an interactive discourse on how we learn and form new concepts, communities
and identities. The term ‘language-games’ was coined by Ludwig Wittgensteinian to express games
of language-skill played between two or more speakers. In order for one to master a language, one
has to master the 'rules of language', just as in games (Bohman, 2007). Rules are needed within
games to create order. We play by breaking rules but abide the rules of the game in order to play it.
Once the game rules are broke, the game is ruined. (Huizinga, 1955)
Play in Civilizing Functions
“Play is the root of all productive activity in the world” (Hans, 1981). Children play for
physical, cognitive and emotional and social development (Ginsburg, 2007). Huizinga writes that
there is no civilisation if there is no play. Play never stops playing. It is possible to imagine a world
of play without man but it is impossible to imagine a world of man where play does not exist. Even
for activities aiming at the satisfaction of basic needs, for example hunting, takes on the play-form
(Huizinga, 1955). Play goes beyond biological instinct and can be characterized as a social function.
A strong example of play is expressed in rituals. The close relationship between play and rituals is
argued to not only show that play is primary to rituals but also that rituals are reconceptualized as
play.
Representation means to display before an audience. Representation turns into a
performance once it displays something out of the ordinary cast to spur admiration. The ritual bears
all the essential characteristics of play in that it transports its participants to another world. RR
Marett talks about this element of imagination being operative in all primitive religions. Meaning to
say that the subject uses terms and expressions that are collected as documents of belief without
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5. working them out into a consistent theory (Marrett, 2003).
The consciousness of play being only pretend does not prevent regarding it with utmost
seriousness, immersion and “a devotion that passes into rapture and, temporarily at least,
completely abolishes that troublesome ‘only’ feeling.” (Huizinga, 1955).
Game Play
To start this section off, I give you a quote by Plato that goes “You can discover more about
a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” (Plato, 360 B.C.) √
Huizinga states that play not only creates order, it is order. All play and games come with
rules affixed in order for them to function. These rules are what uphold the temporary world
determined by play (Salen & Zimmerman, 2003).
Play exists in its own special space and time can be started and paused at any time. Huizinga
coined the term magic circle. The magic circle goes beyond a physical component. One enters the
magic circle once they begin a game and as long as players maintain a illusory attitude, play is fun
and enchanting (Caillois, year, pg. no?). Those who do not have that state of mind would upset
other players and disrupt the game. These people are called spoiled-sports. A spoiled sport is not the
same as a cheater as the latter still acknowledges the magic circle in spite of false-playing, however
a spoiled-sport shatters the illusion of the play-world (Huizinga, 1955).
Refuting Points
Play is Irrational
Curiously enough, Johan Huizinga, the one who quoted “All play means something” also
states that play as irrational. It is neither logical in it's being, that is to say play is important but we
do not know why we do it, nor is logic a necessary component in play. Animals and children play
illogically but play in adults often remains illogical too. For instance language-based games such as
pun, internet memes and jokes (Dawkins, 1989). To “get” the punchline is not to follow through
rule-based reasoning. “It is more like grasping a gestalt. ” Hector Rodriguez writes in The
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6. International Journal of Computer Games and Research (Rodriguez, 2006).
Play is also irrational in a sense that there is a crave for meaninglessness√. Salen and
Zimmerman mentions this in their book Rules of Play, Game Design Fundamentals that there is
meaning to be found in embarking in the meaninglessness (Järvinen, 2004).
Play is Unproductive
Roger Caillous is a French intellectual is widely cited in the field of ludology,
primarily from his book Les Jeux et les Hommes (Man, Play and Games). In his book, he
establishes six criteria that define human play. He classified that play is free in that it is a voluntary
act, separate within the limits of space and time, uncertain in outcome and player initiative, non-
productive in creating new elements of any kind, rule-guided and that play is an unreality against
real life.
Productivity means something other than than the production of physical good. Caillois
suggests that gambling does not produce anything. From an economic viewpoint, this is problematic
since gambling is in fact a huge industry (Juul, 2003).
Play is non-seriousness (Huizinga, 1955). This does not mean that play is not serious and
frivolous, it means that play can take on serious forms and players can take playing very seriously.
However the materiality of that play is highly dubious. Whether it be being a good piano player or
getting the highest score for pinball, the achievements of serious players who do well in the game
that they play are only recognized and relevant to that specific play-community.
Fun is Relative
Central to all the different ways of how people engage play is the element of fun (Huizinga,
1955). However not everyone experiences the fun in play. Csikszentmihalyi started research on a
concept called Flow to account for the pleasures found by immersion in everyday activities.
The focus of his research is to understand the process by which certain behaviours make life
enjoyable. He found that the experience of flow occurs when there is a harmonization between the
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7. individual's skill and the difficulty of the task at hand. When there is a disproportion between
individual skill and the difficulty of the task, the flow state may be prevented and this in turn would
decrease pleasure in immersing in that activity (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997).
A person who likes solving puzzles would enjoy the Rubick's Cube but someone who
derives pleasure from creating something would find the Rubick's Cube incredibly frustrating and
would rather paint a picture.
Conclusion
“‘Life must be lived as play, playing certain games, making sacrifices, singing and dancing, and
then a man will be able to propitiate the gods, and defend himself against his enemies, and win in
the contest.’” – Plato (Plato's Laws, )
Play is irrational. From its mismatch with the flow of reason to the unproductivity of play
yet humans continue to spend countless hours immersing themselves in play, even developing new
forms of play.
Whether or not we see the importance, significance and sense in play, my opinion is in
agreement with Huizinga's statement. All play means something whether it works by our primitive
subconscious, whether it manifests itself in language or whether civilizations develop from it.
Roger Caillios says that play is free, separate, uncertain, non-productive, rule-guided and
that play is not reality. People play differently and for different reasons. This fact alone shows that
all play means something. Animals play may be to develop muscular skills and and help reduce
stress. People play to have fun although the idea of fun remains subjective.
During my research while writing this essay, I came across significantly more evidence to
support rather than refute “[Play] is a significant function – that is to say, there is some sense to it.
In play there is something ‘at play’ which transcends the immediate needs of life and imparts
meaning to the action. All play means something.”
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8. Reference list:
Bohman K., Kimberly (2007). Reading Games: An Aesthetics of Play. USA: Scholarly
Series. http://www.dalkeyarchive.com/book/?GCOI=15647100488350 (accessed 10 December
2011)
Caillois, Roger (2006). “The Definition of Play and The Classification of Games.” The
Game Design Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology. Ed. Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman.
Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2006. 122-55. Print.
Dawkins, Richard (1989). The Selfish Gene (2 ed.). Oxford University Press, p 192.
http://books.google.com.sg/books?id=WkHO9HI7koEC&pg=PA192&redir_esc=y (accessed 10
December 2011)
Ginsburg, Kenneth. R. (2007). “The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child
Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds”. PEDIATRICS 119 (1).
http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;119/1/182 (accessed 10 December
2011)
Hans, James S. (1981) The Play of The World. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press.
http://www.questia.com/library/book/the-play-of-the-world-by-james-s-hans.jsp (accessed 10
December 2011)
Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich (1874). The Logic. Encyclopaedia of the Philosophical
Sciences. 2nd Edition. London: Oxford University Press.
Henricks, Thomas S. (2010). 'Caillois's Man, Play and Games: An Appreciation and
Evaluation'. American Journal of PLAY.
http://www.journalofplay.org/sites/www.journalofplay.org/files/pdf-articles/3-2-article-cailloiss-
man-play-and-games.pdf (accessed 10 December 2011)
Huizinga, Johan (1955). Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture, p 46.
Boston: Beacon Press.
Järvinen, Aki (2004). 'A Meaningful Read: Rules of Play reviewed', The International
Journal of Computer Game Research 4(1). http://www.gamestudies.org/0401/jarvinen/ (accessed 10
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9. December 2011)
Juul, Jesper (2003). 'The Game, the Player, the World: Looking for a Heart of Gamenes'. In
Level Up: Digital Games Research Conference Proceedings, edited by Marinka Copier and Joost
Raessens, p 30-45. Utrecht: Utrecht University.
http://ocw.metu.edu.tr/file.php/85/ceit706/week3_new/JesperJuul_GamePlayerWorld.pdf (accessed
10 December 2011)
Marett, R. R. (2003). 'Progress in Prehistoric Times', Psychology and Folklore. Kessinger
Publishing.
Rodriguez, Hector (2006). The Playful and the Serious: An approximation to Huizinga's
Homo Ludens. The International Journal of Computer Game Research, 6 (1).
http://www.gamestudies.org/0601/articles/rodriges (accessed 10 December 2011)
Salen, Katie, Zimmerman, S. (2004). Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals. MIT
Press. http://www.ebook3000.com/dictionary/Rules-of-Play--Game-Design-
Fundamentals_54568.html (accessed 10 December 2011)
Thorn, Matthew (2004). 'Girls And Women Getting Out Of Hand: The Pleasure And Politics
Of Japan's Amateur Comics Community' Fanning the Flames: Fans and Consumer Culture in
Contemporary Japan William, State University of New York Press. http://matt-
thorn.com/shoujo_manga/outofhand/index.php (accessed 10 December 2011)
This is generally a well-written and informed essay. Your discussion demonstrates that you have a
good understanding of Huizinga’s ideas, and that you are comfortable analysing complex theories.
However, there are quite few issues/ideas/concepts that required more unpacking; often you write
two or three sentence paragraphs that establish a topic (sentence) but they do not provide sufficient
analysis of the topic, or they fail to develop the point.
73/100
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