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Man, Play, and Games

Front Cover
8 Reviews
University of Illinois Press, 2001 - Games - 208 pages
In Man, Play and Games, Caillois investigates the phenomenon of play, which he describes as "an occasion of pure waste: waste of time, energy, ingenuity, skill, and often of money." Caillois defines play as a free and voluntary activity that occurs in a pure space, isolated and protected from the rest of life. Play is uncertain, since the outcome may not be foreseen, and it is governed by rules that provide a level playing field for all participants. In its most basic form, play consists of finding a response to the opponent's action -- or to the play situation -- that is free within the limits set by the rules.

Caillois develops a matrix of types of game, based on whether the role of competition, chance, simulation, or vertigo (being physically out of control) is dominant. Against this, he sets a continuum of ways of playing, ranging from the unrestricted, joyful improvisation characteristic of children's play to the disciplined pursuit of solutions to gratuitously difficult puzzles. Caillois also examines the means by which games become part of daily life and ultimately contribute to various cultures their most characteristic customs and institutions.

  

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Review: Man, Play and Games

User Review  - Shawn - Goodreads

Building off of Johan Huizinga's account (read my review), Roger Caillois, in Man, Play and Games, introduces an expanded and more exhaustive account of play. Huizinga put forward the thesis of ... Read full review

Review: Man, Play and Games

User Review  - Timothy - Goodreads

This is a great complement to Huizinga's work, and I found Caillois to be a more engaging writer. He brings some really eclectic material to the table, including animal psychology and detailed ... Read full review

All 8 reviews »

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Selected pages

Contents

The Definition of Play
3
The Classification of Games
11
The Social Function of Games
37
The Corruption of Games
43
Toward a Sociology Derived from Games
57
Play and Games Variations
69
An Expanded Theory of Games
71
Simulation and Vertigo
81
Competition and Chance
99
Revivals in the Modern World
129
ADDENDA
143
The Importance of Games of Chance
145
Psychological and Mathematical Approaches
161
Notes
177
Index
203
Copyright

Common terms and phrases

activity adults agon and alea animal attitude baccara basic become behavior Bicho Caillois carnival ceremony champion character characteristics chess child children's games Claude Berge combinations contests contrast corresponding costume culture dance desire destiny dice disguise domain ecstasy equally example fact favor function gambling games of chance games of skill games of vertigo Giovanni Comisso Groos Homo Ludens Huizinga hypnosis ilinx illusion imitate important initiation insect instinct intoxication involved kind of game limited longer lottery ludus Lydia Cabrera magic mask masked gods mathematical merely merit mimicry mimicry and ilinx mystery nature paidia panic Paris personality Play and Games player pleasure possession possible precise principles of play reality regulated risk Roger Caillois role rules secret seems shaman significant simulation and vertigo slot machines social society spirit stars symbols terrifying tion trance translated by M.B. trichome winner

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References from web pages

JSTOR: Man, Play, and Games.
Man, Play, and Games. By ROGER CAILLOIS. Translated by MEYER BARASH New York: Free Press of Glencoe, Inc., 1961. Pp. ix+ 208. $5.00. ...
links.jstor.org/ sici?sici=0002-9602(196209)68%3A2%3C254%3AMPAG%3E2.0.CO%3B2-D

citeulike: Man, Play and Games
<P>Presented here in Meyer Barash's superb English translation, Man, Play and Games is a companion volume to Caillois's Man and the Sacred. ...
www.citeulike.org/ user/ yish/ article/ 423549

Man, Play and Games - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Man, Play and Games (ISBN:0029052009) is a 1961 book by Roger Caillois, a translation of Les jeux et les hommes. It is an influential book on ludology, ...
en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Man,_Play_and_Games

Roger Caillois / Man, Play and Games
Presented here in Meyer Barash's superb English translation, Man, Play and Games is a companion volume to Caillois's Man and the Sacred. Subjects: ...
www.press.uillinois.edu/ books/ catalog/ 64rcw3ts9780252070334.html

Toy Design Project: January 2005
The books were: "Rules of Play" and "Man, Play and Games". ... "Man, Play and Games" by Roger Caillois is classified as a book on sociology and sport. ...
espensdiploma.blogspot.com/ 2005_01_01_archive.html

Caillois, R. (2001). Man, play and games. Champaign, IL ...
KNOWLEDGE. « back to search results. Caillois, R. (2001). Man, play and games. Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press. ...
www.informalscience.org/ knowledge/ citation_view.php?refID=2783

anthrosource | American Anthropologist - 65(1):178 - Citation
Man, Play, and Games . Roger Caillois . Review by William Davenport · Full-Text on JSTOR · Add to my favorites · Email to a friend · Alert me when new ...
www.anthrosource.net/ doi/ abs/ 10.1525/ aa.1963.65.1.02a00400

ENGL 668K: Digital Studies » Blog Archive » Reading a Game ...
One of the crucial texts to the study of games is Caillois’ Man, Play, and Games. In it, Caillois defines play as a voluntary, unproductive activity that is ...
mith2.umd.edu/ teaching/ courses/ f06/ engl668k/ ?p=135

AN INVITATION TO PLAY by ANDY POLAINE |
Twenty years later French philosopher and writer, Roger Caillois, built on Huizinga’s work in Man, Play and Games (Les Jeux et les Hommes, ...
blog.game-play.org.uk/ ?q=ANDY_POLAINE

Man, Play and Games (Caillois, Roger) -- Bibliography (issues) Online
Man, Play and Games (Caillois, Roger) -- Bibliography (issues) Online by the Union of International Associations (UIA), an international non-governmental ...
www.diversitas.org/ db/ x.php?dbcode=re& go=e& id=13432660

About the author (2001)

Roger Caillois (1913-1978) was a French social theorist and writer. Claudine Frank is Assistant Professor of French at Barnard College.

Barash was on the faculty of Hofstra College in New York.

Bibliographic information

QR code for Man, Play, and Games
TitleMan, Play, and Games
AuthorRoger Caillois
Translated byMeyer Barash
Editionreprint
PublisherUniversity of Illinois Press, 2001
ISBN025207033X, 9780252070334
Length208 pages
Subjects ›  › 

Games / General
Social Science / Anthropology / Cultural
Sports & Recreation / General
  
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