{"product_id":"9781517916220-impossible-reversal","title":"The Impossible Reversal","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA History of How We Play\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTracing the cultural history of play - from Fluxus to \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eSimCity\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGames and gamified activities have become ubiquitous in many adults' lives, and play is widely valued for fostering creativity, community, growth, and empathy. But how did we come to our current understanding of what it means to play? \u003ci\u003eThe Impossible Reversal\u003c\/i\u003e charts the transformation of notions of playfulness beginning in the second half of the twentieth century, when a legion of artists, academics, and engineers developed new ways of theorizing, structuring, and designing ludic activity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThrough examples ranging from experimental Fluxus games to corporate role-playing exercises and from the Easy Bake Oven to \u003ci\u003eTetris, The Impossible Reversal\u003c\/i\u003e presents four styles of playfulness characteristic of the \"era of designed play\": the impossible reversal, which puts a player in a seemingly hopeless scenario they must upend with a tiny gesture; expending the secret, which involves silly rules that gain an obscure power and require players to embrace failure; simulated freedom, a satiric criticism of the ordinary world; and oblique repetition, a way of playing that stumbles toward unimaginable outcomes through simple, meaningless, and endlessly iterated acts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA unique genealogical account of play as both concept and practice, \u003ci\u003eThe Impossible Reversal\u003c\/i\u003e illuminates how playfulness became essential for understanding cultural, technical, and economic production in the United States.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRetail e-book files for this title are screen-reader friendly with images accompanied by short alt text and\/or extended descriptions.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57396565803382,"sku":"9781517916220","price":25.15,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/stand_40259142_acb3a580-8089-474a-81da-c3e609f32aed.jpg?v=1773258892","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9781517916220-impossible-reversal","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}