Sara Estus – Reading Questions Response

Chapter 1 Reading – Critical Play Radical Game

• How does Mary Flanagan’s definition of “Game” differ from Chris Crawford’s as well as the definition crafted by Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman? 
• While Mary Flanagan feels that games function more as cultural products, shaped by the designer and players to create a specific experience, stating that games are about how players interact with a system, being deeply influenced by cultural context and personal interpretation. Chris Crawford’s definition of games is vastly different, distinguishing between games and puzzles, emphasizing that games evolve and are shaped by the player’s actions, while puzzles are static and have fixed solutions, leading to the idea that games are dynamic, and rules can change based on the player’s decisions. However, Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman stated that a game is a system in which players engage in an artificial conflict, defined by rules, that results in a quantifiable outcome. outlining six key components; system, artificial, players, conflict, rules, and outcome, presenting a more formal and structured approach to understanding games.

• What is an Activist Game?
• Mary Flanagan states that Activist games are characterized by their emphasis on social issues, education, and, occasionally, intervention. More so that the concept is a challenge on real issues, through the themes, narratives, roles, settings, goals, and characters; and less commonly, through game mechanics, play paradigms, interactions, or even the concept of winning to benefit an intended outcome beyond a game’s entertainment or experiential value alone.

Chapter 3 Reading – Critical Play Radical Game

• Go and Chess are examples of games that feature “perfect information”, what other games share that feature?

• More examples of games that feature “Perfect information” are Tic-Tac-Toe, checkers, and Mancala.

• Why might chance or gambling games hold spiritual or religious importance to ancient cultures?

• Chance or Gambling games hold spiritual or religious importance in ancient cultures, due to the factor of the game sharing the principles of “fate and divine will.” Anthropologists and play scholars Csikszentmihalyi and Bennett noted that games of chance “seem to have emerged from the divinatory aspect of religious ceremonials.

• When was the earliest battle between government/ religious groups and games? What modern games can you think of that have been banned or demonized?

• The earliest battle between government/ religious groups and games can be traced back to Ancient Rome with gambling, though gambling was initially allowed in Rome, concerns about its social and moral effects grew, with leaders like Emperor Augustus who tried to stop excessive gambling by imposing restrictions and laws.

• What is a fox game, and what would be a modern example?

• A fox game is “a group of board games featuring unequal opponents, one player is the fox, or aggressor. Other players control or play the numerous geese, sheep, or prey the fox tries to eat while the fox attempts to avoid the traps his opponents set all around him.” A modern-day example of this (Sorry this is so funny) is Among Us, where one player is an imposter, and the others are normal crewmates. The idea of the game is to find the imposter before too many crewmates are murdered.

• What was the purpose or intent of the game: Mansion of Happiness?

• In the game: “Mansion of Happiness” “players compete to be the first to reach “happiness,” or heaven, a large square in the center of the board. Progress is attained through good moral conduct in the context of the home. Here, good deeds lead children and their play pieces down the path to “eternal happiness” and players must beware of landing on spaces that interject, albeit through chance, the setbacks of “vices” such as cruelty and ingratitude.”

• Why do artists from the Fluxus and Surrealist movements play games? Why did Surrealists believe games might help everyone?

• Surrealists emphasized the playfulness of Dada using chance and juxtaposition, but they were also concerned with the internal workings of the mind and encouraged a deep focus on the subconscious. Relying on the work of Sigmund Freud, and the importance of perceptions. This understanding pushed Surrealists to believe that games might help everyone by challenging the mind and how players perceive the world. However, Fluxus artists saw that games lay between the rational and the absurd, between mobility and fixed trajectories, and between logic and chance. And sought a new art practice, one that was open to humor, intimacy, player agency, and various aspects of performance.

• Changes in what can signal profound changes in games? How were pinball games reskinned during WW2?

• Changes in game mechanics, themes, technology, or social contexts can often signal profound shifts in games, whether they are physical, digital, or social. These changes may arise from new technological advancements, shifts in cultural attitudes, or responses to external circumstances, such as war.  With this, during WW2 pinball games were reskinned due to a shortage of metals, often, the machines would become completely non-electric, depending on plastics and wooden components. Artistically, during the war pinball machines contained patriotic art, rather than pop culture.

• What statements did Fluxus artists make by reskinning games like Monopoly and Ping Pong?

• By distorting the structure of Monopoly or removing its focus on profit, Fluxus artists sought to expose the artificiality and destructiveness of capitalist structures, pushing for a more playful and egalitarian approach to human interaction and creativity. Furthermore, Fluxus artists were not necessarily interested in the outcome of games but rather in the process of playing itself. This approach to Ping Pong de-emphasized competition and embraced the idea that art and play should be about exploration, interaction, and openness rather than winning or following traditional rules.

• How are artists like Lilian Ball, Marcel Duchamp, Takako Saito, Yoko Ono, Gabriel Orozco, and Ruth Catlow using war games?

• Lilian Ball often uses participatory art to engage audiences in reflecting on power and conflict through game-like interactions.

• Marcel Duchamp uses chess as a metaphor for strategy, power dynamics, and competition, exploring the intellectual and aesthetic aspects of games.

• Takako Saito creates interactive, unpredictable game-like situations that question traditional roles and the arbitrary nature of conflict.

• Yoko Ono uses games to envision peace and cooperation over violence, with works like Play It by Trust promoting pacifist ideals.

• Gabriel Orozco reimagines chess with expanded possibilities, symbolizing freedom and creativity in resolving conflict rather than being bound by fixed rules.

• Ruth Catlow creates a reworked chess game called Rethinking Wargames that introduces pawns as resistors to violence, emphasizing the importance of negotiation and nonviolent resolution.

• Why is it important for players to have agency in a critical or serious game?

• Player agency is crucial because it allows players to feel that their choices and actions have a meaningful impact within the game world. By creating a space (the magic circle) players can feel that what they say and do matters in terms of the outcome of the game. Agency also allows players to better reflect on serious matters that can promote learning.