why games?

It is very hard to define what a game is. It is possible to list qualities that exist within games such as competitiveness, teamwork and puzzle solving but to provide a definition that encompasses all characteristics of all games is hard. This is because games have no fixed boundaries. For example some games are competitive and some are not. Where football is two teams facing each other, the Sims has no real objective other than to better your characters and your characters house. Wittgenstein said that not all games share the same features but games do have similarities that can be grouped together. He called this family resemblances. This means that certain characteristics of games can be seen elsewhere in other games. For example, the Sims requires no real skill, just a lot of patience which can also be seen Animal Crossing. Also the puzzles in Legend of Zelda resemble those found in Bomberman. It is using this way that we can make connections between games which is useful. Wittgenstein understood that the definition of game has blurred boundaries and not one characteristic is present throughout all games but using family resemblances, it is possible to look at possible traits that qualify as a game.