A characteristic of play... is that it creates no wealth or goods, thus differing from work or art. At the end of the game, all can and must start over again from the same point. Nothing has been harvested or manufactured, no masterpiece has been created, no capital has accrued. Play is an occasion of pure waste: waste of time, energy, ingenuity, skill and often of money...
As for the professionals - The boxers, cyclists, jockeys, or actors who earn their living in the ring, track or Hippodrome or on the stage … it is clear that they are not players but workers. When they play, it is at some other game. (Caillois: 1962L p.5)
The definition of a game is as follows:
A game is a a form of play, sport or a competitive one played according to rules and decided by skill, strength, or luck.By that definition, the lives that we live every day is a game. We compete against others to better ourselves, set by the rules of our morals and laws set in place to ensure we do not cheat at the game of life. My argument in response to Caillois is that if the play consists of things that we face every day, then life is no more than a play of life. If that is so, then the statement that there is nothing to be gained from play is misguided as in our lifetime we learn many skills as well as many lessons.
Hard work and patience generally improve your stance in the game of life, they gain you material possessions as well as currency. Certain aspects relieve pressure built up from hard work, for example entertainment, which in itself is not a total waste of time. From watching entertainment films, series, programmes etc, you can educate yourself about other locations in the world as well as build up a good general knowledge.
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