Twinspace

A short story of games

Story games
Origin of the word “Play”
The word comes from the Latin “jocus” but also from the word “ludus”. The first “jocus” means “joke” while the word “ludus” means kids games but also “gamble”.
A classification of games
COMPETITION: based on the ability of the players. For example: Chess.
ALEA (means “dice”): based on the chance. For example: the roulette.
MIMICRY: based on imaging to be someone else. For example: two kids playing to “if we should be two astronauts…”. The theatre comes from these games.
ILINX (from the greek, it means vertigo): based on the feelings of the players (exaltation, panic,…). For example: merry-go-round.
Fantasy and rules
We usually think that rules make us “prisoner”. But in games rules give us the chance to free our creativity, ability and fantasy. Only respecting rules, a game can be funny and a victory can be really satisfactory. It’s the same in sports and in math.
“Play” in europrean languages.
From the Latin “jocus” comes the words “giocare” in Italian, “jouer” in French, “jogar” in Portuguese, “jugar” in Spanish, “juca” in Romanian.
Hopscotch
"Campana" in Italian, "Marelle" in French, "Rayuela" in Spanish,