Competitive and Addictive Gaming VS Gaming for Play

The compulsive games-player, of course, is another universal phenomenon, particularly where gambling is a part of the game. The compulsive gambler is not made in a day: he descends an increasingly slippery path, eventually falling into a psychological trap from which escape is rare. The Chinese god of gambhng, Tu Chieng Kui, represents a man who spent his hfe gambling until he died, deeply in debt. Traditionally, statuettes made of him - known as 'a devil gambhng for cash' - show a figure in tattered clothes, his queue coiled carelessly around his head, with a lottery ticket stuck into his hair. Gamblers worshiped this image in their homes, burning incense and lighting joss sticks in his honor, and bowing their heads to the ground before him. All too often the devotee's fate was the same as his deity's I

Fortunately, for most people the permanent fascination of games lies simply in the pure joy of playing. It is this intangible pleasure that distinguishes the true game from, say, the professional sport, where winning rather than playing is all-important. The turning of a game into a sport is exemplified by lawn tennis. In 1905 ladies played in full skirts, long sleeves, and with natty little straw hats perched on their heads. The game was a social event and fun. Seventy years later leading women players are highly trained athletes, on circuit for most of the year, and engaged in cut-throat competition. National prestige may depend upon the result of a tournament. The light-hearted joy of the game has disappeared; competitive sport has taken its place.