Play and "Disney Infinity"

     Play is an important part of childhood. In fact, one could argue that most of childhood is spent playing. When we grow up, we play a lot less and usually as a release from work. As adults, play can become means to an end: relieve stress, add some fun to a routinely boring day, etc. But with children, play is an end in and of itself.

     While not always the case, a lot of times play involves a game of some sort. It was interesting to see the different types of board games. Before playing them in class, I had never given much thought about the different areas games challenge. Some games are just random luck, like Candy Land. Other games, such as Hungry, Hungry Hippos and Rock'em Sock'em Robots, are still mostly luck, but with some basic motor skills involved. More advanced motor skills are tested with games like Operation, Jenga and possibly Twister. Games like Clue and Battleship have been made into movies challenge critical thinking and do not require any physical skills.

     The skills tested usually, or at least try to, correlate to the age of the  target audience. Candy Land, made for small children, requires no skill and therefore can be enjoyed by even the youngest of children. If you have a small children play Jenga, she will just have fun knocking the blocks over and playing with them. Another small children would not even comprehend how to play Clue.

     That is one of the important things about play: it should correspond with the capacities of the player. If the games is too easy or too hard, whether physically or mentally, the player will not enjoy it. I have played video games, where the levels get progressively harder, where I just quit the game because it got too hard and I was no longer having fun.

     It is also important that the game not be too hard to learn. In class we played Disney Infinity which was the first time I had played it. I am also not a big gamer; I usually stick to games where an arrow directs to the next thing I need to shoot. But, at least in the Toy Box mode, there was nothing guiding me. I should have watched a tutorial, but I did not; so I was left to figure things out on my own. Which was kind of hard. I was not having fun at first because I did not know what to do. But, after I figured a few things out, it became more fun. It is always fun to play the game, but not so much in learning how to play.

     Play is an important part of life, whether you are a child or an adult. And in order for play to be effective, it needs to be within certain boundaries of difficulty. If it is too hard to learn, kids will not bother to learn how to play. Or, if it is too hard or too easy to play, children will either become frustrated or bored and will quit playing.