“Life
must be lived as play, playing certain games, making sacrifices,
singing and dancing, and then a man will be able to propitiate the
gods, and defend himself against his enemies, and win in the
contest.”
– Johan
Huizinga
It’s
that time of year again. We make plans to visit friends or family.
Someone prepares a meal, others bring drinks and snacks. Hopefully we
don’t have
too much anxiety that everyone gets along and carefully laid plans
come together. Time to clean the house and prepare the table as
everyone gathers. We
set up our rulebooks, scenario notes, gamemaster screen, favorite
dice. Wait...are
we here to celebrate Thanksgiving or play games?
The typical Thanksgiving holiday and gaming share many similar
elements. We gather together around a table or similar shared space
for a celebration, one of thankfulness and another of play and
imagination. Each has a symbolic purpose grounded in some form of
play: the recreation (to some degree) of the mythical first
Thanksgiving, the immersion in an interactive game that mirrors some
reality, however fantastic. One provides an opportunity for
reflection, the other for entertainment, and both for taking a break
from the normal, often tedious routine of our everyday lives. Both
require some degree of preparation – of food, game material,
cleaning the house for guests – sometimes fraught with anxiety:
will we all get along, will the food be just right, have we forgotten
anything, will the overall experience be satisfying? Often everyone
brings something for the table, whether a main dish, a host of
indulgent snacks, drinks, and dessert. Games even form part of the
Thanksgiving tradition as many people sit down afterward to watch
their favorite football teams compete...or those of us who aren’t
into sports might actually break out some of their favorite adventure
games to play or introduce to non-gamers (something I plan on
indulging in during my Thanksgiving observance).
