Fictional Games: A Philosophy of Worldbuilding and Imaginary Play

by Stefano Gualeni, Riccardo Fassone

What roles do imaginary games have in story-telling? Why do fiction authors outline the rules of a game that the audience will never play? Combining perspectives from philosophy, literary theory and game studies, this book provides the first in-depth investigation into the significance of fictional games within fictional worlds.

Drawing from contemporary cinema and literature, from The Hunger Games to the science fiction of Iain M. Banks, Stefano Gualeni and Riccardo Fassone introduce five key functions that different types of imaginary games have in worldbuilding. First, fictional games can emphasize the dominant values and ideologies of the fictional society they belong to. Second, some imaginary games function in fictional worlds as critical, utopian tools, inspiring shifts in the thinking and political orientation of the fictional characters. Third, a few fictional games are conducive to the transcendence of a particular form of being, such as the overcoming of human corporeality. Fourth, imaginary games within works of fiction can deceptively blur the boundaries between the contingency of play and the irrevocable seriousness of “real life”, either camouflaging life as a game or disguising a game as something with more permanent consequences. And fifth, they can function as meta-reflexive tools, suggesting critical and/or satirical perspectives on how actual games are designed, played, sold, manipulated, experienced, understood and utilized as part of our culture.

With illustrations in every chapter bringing the imaginary games to life, Gualeni and Fassone creatively inspire us to consider fictional games not as moments of playful reprieve in a storyline, but as significant and multi-layered expressive devices.

Genres: Nonfiction, Game Design

216 pages, Hardcover

Published January 12, 2023

Reviews

[Ailuriel of Ilorian]

I started reading this because of a university course called History of Board Games (it was insanely cool if anyone was wondering ;)). We had to do a final presentation on a games-related topic of our choosing, and being a lover of literature and worldbuilding, I immediately thought of fictional games (those invented for a work of fiction). That topic quickly led me to this book.

Following a general introduction, Gualeni and Fassone use each chapter to explore a different way in which fictional games may be used within a story (as tools of utopia, repression, transcendence, etc.), giving concrete examples through both more detailed case studies and smaller mentions.

The book is an academic one (released through such a publisher and with those rigors and standards) but, although somewhat dense, manages to be wonderfully readable and accessible to anyone interested.

It also made my tbr and watchlist piles grow. The authors discuss just enough for one to get curious about the works mencioned but don't really spoil them, and the overall selection is excellent.

An important disclaimer (that the authors are the first to acknowledge) is that this is not meant to be a complete overview, because the field is very young, because they were focused on English language examples and because there are only so many branches you can explore in a single book. Many further explorations are possible and necessary in the future (it certainly gave me plenty of food for thought).

For anyone interested in exploring the topic, the appendix with its list of ninety-something games is particularly useful as a quick reference and starting place, together with this Wikipedia page and, for a deeper dive, this recent magazine volume of eludamos edited by the authors of the book.