What are games?

When sat down and asked to think about what is a game, it is hard to define. When asked, many people will have a clear idea about what a game is, for example when I think of a game I immediately think of a sporting activity such as tennis. This however may be different for many people. For example others may think of a game such as chess. Recently however the first type of game that springs to mind in many people would have been the answer digital games. However although these are types of games, none of them share all the same characteristics. Wittgenstein claims as cited by Schroeder page 140 “there is no set of defining features of a game; rather, the concept is held together by a network of ‘family resemblances”. Wittgenstein also states that no definition has been set for the word game, the only way possible to describe game is to describe some games and states that this and similar things are called games. If definitions are given they are too inclusive. He continues his argument by comparing games to a rope. He states that a rope is made of twisted fibres but no single thread. Another analogy Wittgenstein uses is one of family. All members of the same family share similar features such as hair or eye colour, but they are not all exactly the same. For example the game Doom is a fighting game where the aim is to seek and kill enemies to reach a goal, this however is not the case in a game such as The Sims, in which you have to create families and keep them alive and happy. Although both are classed as games they share little characteristics. When playing both games, I know and comprehend that I am playing a game, but I would not play them for the same thrill or reason.


Word count: 316

Bibiography
S. Schroeder. Wittgenstein. (2006). They Way Out of the Fly-Bottle. Polity Press: Cambridge.
H. Sluga and D.G. Stern. (1996). The Cambridge Companion to Wittgenstein. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.