Games are a simple and pleasurable aspect of life that we all enjoy. There isn’t a single person alive who doesn’t enjoy a good game. For clarity, the word “game” is not exclusive to only video games or computer games. The word “game” encompasses anything that has rules, a goal, requires voluntary participation and a feedback system. It’s debatable that games are a necessary feature of life. In Reality Is Broken, Jane McGonigal (the author) maintains that games are an essential part of living, and one that helps maintain our sanity and fuel general happiness. She says games are more than just a way to pass the time; that games can teach us skills that are applicable in real life. Ostensibly, life (not the board game) is perhaps the biggest game we play.
Life has rules. Most of life’s rules are implemented and enforced by other “players” who play the same game. However, there are some foundational rules that players understand without needing an explanation. One of those understood rules is that you only get one life. Another rule is that eventually your respective game will come to a close – and no one knows when their respective “ends” will occur.
Life also has an overarching goal and multiple goals within it. The main goal of life is to live it, live it well and find happiness within the life made. This part of the game is more intrapersonal due to each player’s individual reward system that earns them their happiness. This reward system is based on four criteria: (1) satisfaction, (2) likelihood of success, (3) social connection, and (4) meaning. These criteria make for an ideal game and hence, easier access to happiness.
Life requires participation. Participation can come in the form of active involvement or passive involvement. Debatably, life can only truly be lived actively. Active involvement does not guarantee that a player will “win the game”, however, it can make playing the “meta games” more enjoyable. The meta games are the subgames, or side quests, within the predominant game of life. Inside the realm of our participation, we can quit life at any point. We would, therefore, no longer be players in the game.
Lastly, life has a feedback system. Life’s feedback largely comes in the form of consequences to positive and negative actions. Positive actions are rewarded with encouragement. Negative actions are combated with admonishments. This feedback system of checks and balances holds the player directly responsible for the outcome of their gameplay.
Conclusively, games are used for more than their surface level functions and are an indispensable facet of life (again, not the board game).
