ABSTRACT
In the time of the ludic turn, as proposed by Brian Sutton-Smith (1997), the cultures of play are in convergence. Although the industry of traditional toys is faced with fears relating to the digitalization and dematerialization of play culture, physical toys are surviving due to unique tactile and manipulable qualities that still cannot be grasped by digital or even hybrid playthings. The presumption is that a toy with an outstanding play value will endorse a wow effect. Once utilized in play, the toy gives the player a secondary wow, which results in an experience of flow. Popular play patterns are used to cultivate mass-marketed toys and, in this way, add certain value to artifacts that have previously been considered trivial objects, at least from the perspective of adult use. Finally, when the player has creatively cultivated the toy, she or he has given it an added (auratic) value, glow.
