Why do we become lost in play? How are play and improvisation linked to creativity and problem solving?

When fully engaged in a game or task our relationship to the flow of time seems altered. On rare occasions, when all contingent conditions are optimal, we may experience rapture or feel otherwise transported.

There is sensuous pleasure in going where curiosity takes us. There is joy in discovering new things and solving problems. Finding significance, constructing meaning and learning are not only life-sustaining necessities; they are inextricable from how we amuse ourselves.

When faced with repetitive tasks or periods of inaction we like to make things interesting by finding points of interest and imposing constraints on ourselves. We tend to set ourselves challenges and interim goals. It would be almost impossible for workers painting the lanes in a swimming pool not to race.

Can playing ingenious games suffice as a universal metaphor for the human condition? Can we view all kinds of human activities as rule construed, improvisational language games?

A game is its own self-referential world. It has a life of its own. Games can be loosely or tightly organized. They can be solo or cooperative. They may include elements of conflict and competition; may require varying combinations of skill and luck; may involve role play and make-believe; and may be performed for the thrill of physical exhilaration or other mind-altering sensation.

A game may model, or represent, discrete ways of performing actions in the real world.