Play Boundaries: Transgression and Rule-Breaking in Play
Discover transgression and boundaries of play, and how play allows us to explore boundaries, challenge norms and experiment with behaviour.
Transgressive play is an integral (yet uncomfortable) part of the play spectrum.
Transgression is the act of crossing boundaries or breaking rules or social norms. In play, transgression allows participants to explore what is normally restricted, forbidden or outside everyday behaviour. Transgression only exists where there are rules. In play, rules establish boundaries, and it is through crossing or bending these boundaries that play becomes dynamic and meaningful. In role-play, participants may explore behaviours or roles that would not be acceptable in everyday life. The structure of play makes this exploration possible and safe. Games create structures and limits, and it is through testing or breaking these limits that players explore new possibilities, behaviours and meanings.
Transgressive play is an integral (yet uncomfortable) part of the play spectrum, encompassing both the desirable (what is fun or creative) and undesirable (lying, trolling, or griefing). This duality between the desirable and undesirable is a central tension in understanding the nature of play. Players sometimes encounter moral dilemmas, interpersonal dynamics that challenge them, or uncomfortable situations that mirror real-life complexities, leading to natural moments of tension and social regulation.
Duality of play
Desirable | Fun, creativity, relaxation |
Undesirable | Trolling, griefing, cheating |
The tension between desirable and undesirable transgressions is the key to understanding the nature of play.
When the agreement is broken, it exposes the fragility (or flexibility) of play. Transgressive play can have different outcomes; indeed, the most significant risk is the collapse of the make-believe. When the collective make-believe fades, the play loses all meaning. Tensions and conflict arise when these boundaries are tested or broken, intentionally or accidentally. In games, players often push against limits, testing what is allowed. This tension between rule and transgression creates moments of surprise, creativity and engagement.
Conflict tensions overview
Tension | Description |
Intrapersonal | Internal dissonance with the imaginary world. |
interpersonal | Adversity between players. |
Structural | Disagreement with the system, narrative, or rules. |
These challenges range from minor rule disagreements or inconsistencies to deliberate antisocial behaviour. Transgressions, though disruptive, can become moments of transformation, in which disbelief breaks the imaginary, allowing new meanings to emerge. As disbelief can dissolve make-believe, it is also in moments of disbelief that new truths can arise and possible futures be imagined.
Challenges
Rule disagreement
Narrative inconsistencies
Ordinary anxieties
Personal Traumas
Deliberate antisocial behaviour
This is a text overview of the poster presentation for the Transformative Play Initiative Seminar 2025: Games, Conflict, and Education, in Visby, Sweden. Hybrid event co-funded by the Erasmus+ ROCKET project; the Uppsala Forum on Democracy, Peace and Justice; and the Department of Game Design.
Tiz Creel of Living Things Studio ©2024
Thank you for reading 🫀
Keep it playful.