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Games people used to play

Though The Encyclopedia of Play in Today’s Society was published in 2009 it only recently came to my attention. I hope I’m not too late in bringing it to yours.

I haven’t actually read the entire work. The set is priced at $400, a figure that exceeds my budget for this category. There was only one review: “Excellent book; glad I found it” but what help is that?

However, if you visit Amazon.com as I did, you can use the “Look Inside” feature to poke around a bit: read the preface, the introduction, the table of contents, and portions of chapters; gain a sense of what’s covered – it’s a lot.

The work is in two volumes, contains well over 1,000 pages, has 450 articles by 120 different authors – and it’s all about play. Wow!

Forgotten Neighborhood Games is similar but neither as ambitious nor as scholarly as the Encyclopedia. You can pick up a used copy for $8.50. One hundred-fifty games are covered there; a compilation prompted by the author’s receipt of blank stares from 6- to 16-year-olds when, as a teacher, he suggested they play some of the old games. None of the games registered with those kids, not even Kick the Can.

Kick the Can is, of course, covered in the Encyclopedia. Coverage that goes beyond mere commentary to postulate that considering a game only in terms of how much fun it is misses the central role that play fills in our lives. Play is more than fun, it’s learning – learning to follow rules, accept defeat, choose leaders, take risks to reap rewards, experience “danger,” aggression, competition, and intergroup hostility. In short, it’s preparation for life.

Certainly, you remember playing Kick The Can? Close your eyes and experience again that old exhilaration: the unleashing of a primal urge to sneak stealthily, run quickly, kick vigorously the can your opponent guards before he or she can tag you!

Remember how, when you saw an opportunity, your adrenalin would surge? Then, throwing all caution to the wind you would give it your all and make a dash for the can.

Looking for a project? Consider paying a visit to the recycling center to pick up a few decent sized cans. After peeling off the labels paint them bright colors and send them off to those people who have been causing so much trouble in the places we keep reading about. Be sure to include instructions in the appropriate language and a note explaining that the game is an aggression release activity.

Do your best to encourage participation; maybe offer a prize based on the BTUs of energy expended.

After learning which games our kids were not playing I wondered which games they were.

One of their top games is Assassin’s Creed. The Creed is a video game series that has sold over 73 millions copies. Rainbow Six Siege is an upcoming first person shooter game that, reportedly, puts heavy emphasis on environmental destruction. Big sales are expected for the Seige.

In view of these salient facts, perhaps you should hold off shipping a can or two and resolve, now that decent weather has arrived, to get the neighborhood gang together soon for a little game of Kick The Can.

Consider offering a prize.

Doug Pugh’s Vignettes run bi-weekly on Tuesdays. He can be reached via email at pughda@gmail.com.

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