Why do you play games?

Why do you play games at all?
Obviously you like to play games or are interested in playing some board games otherwise you wouldn’t be visiting our website. But have you ever stopped to ask yourself why you play games? Have you really ever wondered what your motivations are?

Well, that’s the question that was recently addressed on a new board game podcast called Ludology. It’s part of the Dice Tower Network and is hosted by Ryan Sturm and Geoff Engelstein. They’ve been involved with games for decades and involved with game podcasts for quite some time as well. They’re well-spoken and dissect games very well. So they know what they’re talking about…until now.

Ok – I won’t say they were completely wrong, because they put forth great reasons why people play board games. But I think they missed discussing a huge reason why people play games. In fact I believe it’s the reason the majority of people in the world play board games.

But first, take a look at their list of 6 reasons why people play board games:

• Competition
• Socialization
• Imagination
• Learning and Analysis
• Simulation
• Collecting Games

So what’s missing?
I think the biggest thing missing is that their perspective is too narrow. Or better said, they’re focusing on only one audience. In particular, they’re mostly speaking about “gamers”. And it’s a fair assumption on their part because most of the people that listen to board game podcasts do so because they love gaming as a hobby and play a lot of games. And this group typically gets classified as “gamers”.

However, from our perspective, we’re looking at the world with different glasses. Most of the people in the world aren’t going to fall into the “gamer” category (however you want to classify it) and don’t consider their playing of games as a hobby. Yet, most families in the world do have some games in their home and enjoy pulling them out once in a while to play. So why do they play games?

I think it’s simply for Shared Family Entertainment. Now, that may be too broad since the categories in their list could fall under that as well. For example – people find entertainment in competition, imagination, or simulation. So maybe my thinking is just too simple or basic. But I think for most people it is just that basic, they just want some down time and to have fun with family.

So the item on the list that most closely fits why we play games is Socialization. It’s spending time with others engaged in an enjoyable activity. I was just very surprised that Ryan and Geoff’s discussion when they talked about Socialization was all about meeting new people at game gatherings and such. There wasn’t any mention about family socialization. And I believe that’s where most game playing in the world takes place – at home with family members.

From the feedback we receive from readers the world over, most board game and card game memories come from family time. So while gamers may disagree, they’re only a small subset of people in the world enjoying great board games.

Regardless of your motivation, we hope you continue to find a lot of fun in playing board games.

P.S. In their first Ludology episode, Ryan and Geoff define “what is a game” – we really suggest you check it out.