{"product_id":"man-play-and-games-by-roger-caillois","title":"'Man, Play and Games' by Roger Caillois","description":"\u003ch4\u003eOriginally published in French in 1958 as \u003cem\u003eLes jeux et les hommes\u003c\/em\u003e, Roger Caillois’s \u003cem\u003eMan, Play and Games\u003c\/em\u003e is one of the foundational attempts to treat play seriously. \u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCaillois divides games into four tendencies: \u003cem\u003eagon\u003c\/em\u003e (competition), \u003cem\u003ealea\u003c\/em\u003e (chance), \u003cem\u003emimicry\u003c\/em\u003e (simulation) and \u003cem\u003eilinx\u003c\/em\u003e (vertigo), then examines how each migrates outward into institutions, rituals, economies and forms of social organisation. \u003cspan class=\"contents\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe argument becomes stranger and more interesting when Caillois turns from games themselves to their corruption. Competition detached from limits becomes ruthless struggle; chance becomes superstition; simulation becomes alienation; vertigo becomes compulsion. Play, for Caillois, is therefore not merely a miniature version of society but a way of seeing what happens when instinct is formalised, contained, ritualised—or allowed to leak beyond its boundaries. The book remains especially useful across sociology, anthropology, game studies and cultural theory because its categories are simple enough to travel while never quite staying simple. \u003cspan class=\"contents\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTranslated from the French by Meyer Barash.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEdition \/ condition: University of Illinois Press, Urbana, 2001. First Illinois paperback edition. Paperback. Very light shelf wear and minor rubbing to covers; corners lightly bumped. Internally clean and unmarked; binding firm. Very good condition.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"bower studio","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46175162138707,"sku":null,"price":22.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0689\/0268\/2707\/files\/novels_novellas_51.png?v=1788763218","url":"https:\/\/bowerbooks.com\/products\/man-play-and-games-by-roger-caillois","provider":"bower books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}