Bernard de Koven, “Changing the Game”
“Suppose we are feeling so playful that we destroy the game together. If that’s what we want to do—destroy the game—then everything’s fine. But suppose we really want to play a game” (39)
“It’s all play and no game, all release and no control. No one can find the center. We have lost all responsibility—to the game, to the community, to ourselves. We are not playing well at all” (40)
“There is a very fine balance between play and game, between control and release, lightness and heaviness, concentration and spontaneity” (40)
“The function of our play community is to maintain that balance, to negotiate between the game-as-it-is-being-played and the game-as-we-intend-it-to-be. It is for that reason that we maintain the community” (40)
“On the one hand we have the playing mind—innovative, magical, boundless. On the other is the gaming mind—concentrated, determined, intelligent. And on the hand that holds them both together we have the notion of playing well” (40)
“The balance between the playing mind and the gaming mind is never at an equilibrium. There is a dynamic tension between these two—a dialog. Playing well means playing within that dialog” (41)
“So the definition of playing well is the result of an ongoing process of negotiation and renegotiation” (41)
“Rules are made for the convenience of those who are playing. What is fair at one time or in one game may be inhibiting later on. It’s not the game that’s sacred, it’s the people who are playing” (44)
“we might not be playing the game. But there is no ‘the game’ for a play community. Any game whatever, as long as we are playing it well, is the game” (45)
“When we play a proven game—a game that has been played before—we are presented with a system of rules that has a balance of its own. Even if we ourselves have never played that game before, if the game is, officially, a game that works, we begin playing it with the knowledge that it is fair. We know that there are reasons for the rules” (47)
“General Definition of a Changed Game: A variation which requires the development of a new strategy” (51)
“General Purpose for Changing a Game: … to restore equilibrium” (52)
“Specific Recommendation for Technique: Change one rule at a time” (52)
“Universal Definition of the Working Game: What you are experiencing wellness in” (52)
“Another Specific Recommendation: There are more rules than you realize” (52)
“To Bear in Mind: The reason you’re changing the game” (52)
“Another thing that might stand between us and the well-played game is our refusal to acknowledge our differences” (53)
“Before we assumed a handicap, we were already playing fairly. We abided by the same set of rules. Neither of us cheated. But now the kind of fairness we are seeking is one that will assure both of us access to a well-played game” (55)
“There’s a tendency, as we begin to make things official, to think that only one particular form of a game is the real game. The fact is, any game we’re playing is a real game. That’s the fact. After all, the only thing that makes a game real is that there are people playing it” (57)
Game
- Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor