Playful Participation

IN THIS PAPER WE INTRODUCE SOCIAL GAMES AS A NEW TERRAIN FOR STUDIES IN PARTICIPATORY CULTURE. SOCIAL GAMES DEFY EASY CLASSIFICATION AND CANNOT BE APPROPRIATELY UNDERSTOOD FROM EXISTING RESEARCH PERSPECTIVES. INITIALLY, WE THEREFORE ATTEMPT TO DEFINE SOCIAL GAMES BY COMPARING THE GENRE WITH RELATED GAME GENRES, NOTABLY SERIOUS GAMES AND HEALTH GAMES. TO FURTHER INCREASE KNOWLEDGE OF SOCIAL GAMES, WE INTRODUCE A TYPOLOGY OF PLAYFUL PARTICIPATION IN SOCIAL GAMES. THE TYPOLOGY IS CONSTRUCTED BY USING FORMAL CONCEPTS FROM THEORIES OF PARTICIPATORY ART. ITS RANGE OF APPLICATION IS THEN DEMONSTRATED THROUGH AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF EIGHT SOCIAL GAME PROTOTYPES THAT ARE DESIGNED AS PART OF AN ON-GOING THREE-YEAR RESEARCH PROJECT CALLED “SOCIAL GAMES AGAINST CRIME”. THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP SOCIAL GAMES THAT CAN HELP CHILDREN BUILD RESILIENCE TOWARDS MANY OF THE PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS THEY EXPERIENCE AS A RESULT OF PARENTAL INCARCERATION.