This discussion started on the LLP Discord recently but I fear it getting lost, so pulling it out to here.

Martin said:

In an educational setting, what’s the difference between a game and an activity? I know that Uno, tic-tac-toe, and Memory are games, but I have another game/activity(?) I use in which the children each have a card with some kind of puzzle or question on it, and three possible answers at the bottom. They use a wooden clothespin to clip onto their answer choice. Is this a game? Why or why not? Does it matter?

Here’s a photo:

I replied:

I have my own ideas, but what do you think first?

is it a game?
why, or why not?
does it matter?

(Btw, I love what’s going on in this picture 😍 )

Martin’s response:

Haha to be honest I’m mostly thinking about my dissertation and how/if I can include things like these cards. Is it a game? There’s no element of chance/randomness, but doesn’t mean it isn’t a game. It’s not necessarily competitive, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a game. I want to say it’s ludic because it has interesting images, plays with words (rhymes, phonemic awareness, etc.), and uses an object (clothespin) in a novel way.
It has interaction, a goal, rules, and some level of challenge, so I’m leaning toward it being a game.

My big ol’ reply:

Alright, I see no one else has replied yet, so I’ll dive in :slight_smile:

Honestly, I’m conflicted, and not just on the topic of whether your playful activity with the cards is a game or not. More on the “so what” regarding the answer. Game? Not Game? So what?

I’m gonna come back to my LLPx02 keynote, cos that’s where my mind mostly is these days.

Let’s get some Goffman in here. How do you frame these activities?

"Hey kids, we’re going to play a game… I’ve got these cards. Go ahead, choose one. OK, and then I have these pegs… and I want you to see if you can find a connection between whats on the bottom and whats on the top. I’ll let you know if you have got it right or wrong…! Go on!

The kids probably feel like this is a game. And that legitimises it as a game. I think.

But let’s say it’s NOT a game. Then what is is it? It’s playful as all heck.

I want to compare it to some analogous activities, that get increasingly more multimodal and tactile:

You give them a worksheet without any pictures. Just matching words based on sound.
Same worksheet – only this time with pictures ONLY
Same worksheet – only this time with all of the modes above: pictures, words, different kinds of connections.
Now yours: cut outs, pegs, physicality.

There’s a deliberate attempt to make these activities GRATIFYING for the students. (remember the talk, the definition of “playful” –> to pursue an additional, aesthetic purpose of a given activity) You’ve poured more of the ludic in you into the activity. You’ve made it extremely playful by playing with materials (one of three ways that I think teachers can be playful, the other two being the methods and mediation).

But “so what”… right?

I think the so what can relate to a few things. Item (1) vs Item (4) on that list, can be compared empirically in terms of their effect on:

cognitive (language) development
motor skills
satisfaction, motivation, pleasure, fun…!?
…

Not sure. Ran out of steam a bit at the end there. Keen to hear others’ thoughts. This IS important (for me at least)