Game is a mental or physical competition, between two or more participants, that follows specific rules. For analytical approach used in social sciences see entry game theory. Roger Caillois defines play (game) as activity that is free, uncertain, separate, regulated, fictitious and unproductive. He divided games into four categories: agon (competition), alea (chance), mimicry (simulation), and ilinx (vertigo).

George Herbert Mead argues that there are two phases in the process of socialization of a child, through which his self is formed. In the earliest period of development, the child is in the "play" phase. During the "play", the child internalizes and imitates certain roles that are related to various social acts. In this phase, it takes on various social roles by taking on, during the play, the role of doctor, warrior, mother, father, or any other role. In the second phase, which Mead called a "game", the child internalizes the roles of all other people who participate in the game. In this way, the child develops a highly organized set of rules that shape different roles. When this process is completed, the child becomes able to see himself from the perspective of other actors. By assimilating the roles of others, the child takes on collective roles.

Herbert Marcuse critiques the economic reductionism of Marx's theory. Marcuse pointed out that work in production, although very important, suppresses other activities, materializes and alienates man, and prevents him from fully developing his abilities. The game is the complete opposite of work because it enables the development of freedom and happiness.

References:

Bainbridge. The Warcraft Civilization: Social Science in a Virtual World (2010);

     -     Star Worlds: Freedom Versus Control in Online Gameworlds (2016);

Barthes. Mythologies (1972, in French 1957); 

Caillois, Roger. Man, Play and Games. (1958);

Fine. Shared Fantasy: Role Playing Games as Social Worlds (2002);

     -     Players and Pawns: How Chess Builds Community and Culture (2015);

Marcuse. Eros and Civilization: A Philosophical Inquiry into Freud (1955);

     -     One-Dimensional Man (1964);

Mead. Mind, Self, and Society: From the Standpoint of a Social Behaviorist (1934).