History of Play

Play certainly started out simply enough. Early mammals learned to play as a way of polishing the complex neural circuitry that they were born with. A young colt has most of the circuitry in place to walk and to run, but getting everything coordinated with the sense of balance, the visual field, and internal neural inputs takes a certain amount of practice, which is accomplished through a form of play known as gamboling.

Jumping, dancing, darting, and running in young herbivores are immediately recognizable as play, yet they serve the deadly serious purpose of learning the fine points of maneuvering in a world full of predators.

The hunting mammals took the process even further, using play as a means of honing their hunting skills. The stalking, pouncing, wrestling games that felines play are all exercises meant to learn the skills of the hunt.

But humans took the concept of play the furthest. Lord knows they had to with infants popping out of the womb several years before they were truly ready to take on the world, they needed every opportunity to learn the complex skills necessary to survive.

Play's role in our childhood is so dominating that we cannot let go of it when we grow up; we continue to insinuate the concepts of play into everything we do. And these play-concepts have been integrated into our culture. Our culture is stocked with a great many behavior patterns or templates that we use to guide our actions. I still recall the nervousness with which I endured my first formal meal: a lunch with a prospective employer. I fretted over my table manners, worrying at each step what the proper behavior was. Should I place my napkin on my lap as soon as I sit down, or wait until food is served? I knew that there was a specific program of behaviors expected of me, but I was unsure of many of its details. We could just as easily refer to such behaviors as rituals, but the difference between a ritual and a game is trifling.

Consider, for example, the elaborate mating games played by teenagers in an earlier, simpler time. One form of game-ritual was the school dance, where each person was expected to wear a special costume and dance with members of the opposite sex. The dances themselves were specified by the music that was played and the fashion of the time. After they were old enough to obtain a driver's license, the games changed. The rules required the boy to pick up the girl, where he would pass inspection by the girl's father. Then the boy took the girl to dinner, often at a restaurant frequented by others from the same social group. Later, the boy might take the girl to a movie. Afterwards, with the girl's consent, the boy might take her to a private location to "make out." Finally, the boy took the girl home before the deadline set by her father, where the girl was expected to provide a goodbye kiss.