Game: features, types and benefits

We explain what gambling is and what its characteristics are. In addition, we explain the types of games that exist and their various benefits for the individual.

Play is an activity common to all human beings.

What is the game?

The game is a recreational activity, carried out alone or in a group, in which a dynamic of competition, cooperation or camaraderie is established between the individuals involved. Although its immediate purpose is recreational, that is, mere entertainment, it can also serve other secondary purposes, such as teaching, socialization or physical development.

The games They are present in all cultures and civilizationsand can even be observed in some animal species. The oldest known case of instruments for recreational purposes comes from Ancient Mesopotamia (around 3000 BC) and is called the “Royal Game of Ur”. Another important historical antecedent is the Olympic Games, the sporting competitions in honour of the gods that were held in Ancient Greece between the centuries 776 BC and 393 AD.

The games They accompany human beings throughout their entire existence. They are used as a mechanism for social integration, as a leisure activity and also as a method of teaching or exercising new skills and knowledge. However, they are of special importance in childhood, because through them children incorporate their culture and learn to relate and socialize. For this reason, the UN includes play among children’s rights.

Game Features

Games are essential in childhood.

In general terms, the game is characterized by the following:

• It’s voluntary. Player participation is, at all times, by their own decision. No one can be forced to play or continue playing if at any given time they decide to stop doing so.
• It is governed by rulesEven the most imaginative and fanciful game adheres to a set of rules agreed upon by the players. These rules cannot be broken without altering the dynamics of the game, but they can be changed if all players agree on them.
• It is consensual. When several people play, the chosen game and the rules of the game must be known and accepted by all participants.
• Has limits. The game occurs in a certain place and time, during which the behavior of the players obeys a special situation. Therefore, when the game ends, everyday life takes over again.
• It is individual or group. Depending on the case, the game may involve a single individual or a group. Many individuals may play separately in the same location or, given the conditions, may play the same game across distance.
• It’s selfless. Normally, the game has a set purpose, that is, a goal to reach or an opponent to beat. However, this purpose is selfless, that is, winning does not imply any objective advantage or real goal in any area.
• Changes with age. What an individual plays varies depending on whether they are a child, adolescent or adult, since their tastes and affinities change.

Types of games

There are many ways to classify games, depending on different criteria, such as: the number of players, the relationship between players and the dynamics of the game.

Types of games according to the number of players

Games can be group or individual.

Depending on the number of players involved, games are classified as:

• Individual games. These are games in which each player participates independently, either alone or in the company of others. For example: card solitaire, hopscotch or airplane, or yo-yo.
• group games. These are games in which several players participate together, either in teams or in a dispersed manner. For example: baseball, blind man’s bluff or cops and robbers.

Types of games according to the relationship between players

Competitive games are those in which players compete against each other.

Depending on how the players interact, it is possible to distinguish between:

• Competitive games. They are those in which the players face each other and each one tries to prevent the other from achieving their objective, whether it is a matter of accumulating points, deducing information or reaching the goal first. For example: basketball, dominoes or fighting video games.
• Cooperative games. These are games in which two or more players must understand each other to solve a puzzle, overcome an obstacle or transmit information. For example: charades, fuchiball or chain.

Types of games according to the dynamics of the game

In board games a board is used.

Depending on the dynamics of the game, we can distinguish between:

• Sport games. These are games in which players put physical skills into practice, usually around a ball or some other instrument. For example: tennis, racing or kickingball.
• Table games. These are games that involve a board and where the players are usually seated. Strategy, logic and attention are emphasized. For example: chess, Chinese checkers or ludo.
• Gambling. They are those that depend on luck and not on a particular talent (physical or mental) of the players. For example: bingo, poker, or rock, paper, scissors.
• Mental games. They are those that take place in the minds of the players, almost always without involving physical elements, at most writing. For example: riddles, I spy or crossword puzzles.
• Video game. These are games that require a console or a computer to be played, either individually or in groups. For example: war simulators, graphic adventures, strategy games, or sports games.

Game benefits

Despite being an entertainment activity and, therefore, unproductive, games play important functions at different stages of life. These functions can be social, cultural, psychomotor, emotional or intellectual.

Social and cultural functions

The game allows the integration of the individual into their culture.

Play allows the individual to integrate into his or her culture and encourages symbolic thinking. It also teaches him or her to relate to others, to establish and respect norms and to pursue objectives. These elements are fundamental for proper social development.

Psychomotor functions

Through play, participants can expand and exercise their reflexes and their motor and sensory abilities, strengthening their attention and their perception of reality. Children, for example, discover new ways of perceiving their environment through play, while coordinating their body movements and organizing their body structure.

emotional functions

Through play, tension and stress can be released.

The game has a therapeutic value, since works as a tension and stress reliever, in addition to allowing and facilitating socialization and exchange with third parties. Playful situations provide a friendly environment to express and explore emotions, for both children and adults.

Intellectual functions

Games encourage planning skills, complex actions and the interpretation of events, which stimulates reflective and representative thinking. They also encourage imagination and creativity, and allow children to gain an early understanding of the difference between fantasy and reality.

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References

• Garvey, C. (1985). The children’s game. Morata.
• Marín, I., Penón, S. and Martínez, M. (2008). The pleasure of playing. Planet.
• Royal Spanish Academy. (2024). Game. Spanish dictionary. https://dle.rae.es/
• VV.AA. (2008). The game as a teaching strategy (Sel. Cinthia Vidal i Altadill). Educational Laboratory.