📘 Part 3: Games

This episode's vocabulary

Make-believe game (noun) - a game where you believe or imagine things that appear to be attractive or exciting, but are not real.

Hide-and-seek (noun) - a children's game in which a group of children hide in secret places and then one child has to go to look for them.

Cowboys and Indians (noun) - a children’s game involving mock pursuits, gunfights, and killings as though between cowboys and American Indians.

Timeless (adj.) - something that is timeless does not change as the years go past.

Classic (noun) - a well-known piece of writing, musical recording, or film which is of high quality and lasting value.

Divergence (noun) - the situation in which two things become different.

Outlier (noun) - a person, thing, or fact that is very different from other people, things, or facts, so that it cannot be used to draw general conclusions.

Solitary (adj.) - a solitary person or thing is the only person or thing in a place.

To collaborate (verb) - to work with someone else for a special purpose.

Per se (adverb) - by or of itself.

Readily (adj.) - quickly, immediately, willingly, or without any problem.

To scaffold (verb) - to provide or support with a raised framework or platform..

Guideline (noun) - information intended to advise people on how something should be done or what something should be.

To prevail (verb) - to get control or influence.

To beat (verb) - to defeat or do better than.

Loaded question (noun) - a question that has particular words chosen to suggest the answer that is wanted.

To compete (verb) - to try to be more successful than someone or something else.

Hooked (adj.) - strongly attracted to something or someone.

Antisocial (adj.) - often avoiding spending time with other people.

Excessive (adj.) - too much.

Questions and Answers

M: What games do children play these days?

R: Other than video games, like I said? Oh, there are a lot of apps they play on their phones and tablets. Though I think they also really like the outdoor and make-believe games like hide-and-seek or cowboys and Indians where they have the chance to play or chance to play them. They're sort of timeless classics that anyone could enjoy.

M: Do boys and girls play different games?

R: I don't think so when they're younger. Though, as they get older, there's definitely a divergence of interest. Boys seem to start preferring things which are more active and related to the jobs of providers, whereas girls usually lean towards passive activities that relate to the role of carer. That's just generally speaking, though, there will be outliers.

M: Which are better, team games or individual ones?

R: That's down to personal choice, and, well, and the purpose I think. If you're more of a solitary person, and like to relax in your own company, then you'll likely want a lot more, well, your time, compared to a more social person who will want to develop from being around people and collaborate or compete more.

M: And which ones do you think are more popular these days?

R: Just going by the media, probably team games. You see people doing team sports a lot more often than you see them doing solitary ones. Like people have rugby teams that they go to, or I think there's a game that people play. Fortnite. That's what it is. That's quite famous, and you have to play in a team for that too.

M: Are games important for children's development?

R: Well, I don't know if it's games per se, but free and structured play is important. And games just seem like the most readily available example of that. They scaffold their understanding of rules and relationships, which are important guidelines for how we function in life.

M: Why do people like to play different games?

R: Well, if we're talking about the same person playing different games, then probably the novelty of seeing something new will be a key driver of behaviour. If we're all about different people engaging in different games, it will likely be about diverging interests, I suppose.

M: Is winning the most important goal in playing games?

R: I mean, that depends on what you mean by winning. If it's about domination, then probably not. People are social creatures, so they get more out of trying and prevailing together, rather than the actual beating of the other team. Though, I'll concede that as part of it. Of course, if the goal is to win and enjoy the rewards that come with it, then that's another matter, though, then it's less about the victory and more about the rewards then. Don't you think?

M: Is it important to develop a sense of competition in children?

R: Well, that's a loaded question. If by a sense, then you mean like this awareness of competition and how it works, then yes, since they need to cope with loss and manage the emotions that come with competing, if we're talking about getting kids hooked on the idea of competing, which people often mean when they say this phrase, then no, I mean, that can have really damaging consequences or damaging results in the long term, since they'll only care about the competition and nothing else. Just pretty antisocial.

M: Do you think games can help people relax and relieve stress?

R: Yeah. Though, you have to ask yourself why that is. I mean, usually, we feel stressed out because of the need to cope with some sort of excessive pressure. So why are games necessary to help with this and why do people feel that way as a matter of normal life?