ABSTRACT
In this part of the book, I will move on to look at theories and research in the area of game-based learning that is perhaps most neglected in the literature, that of games for play. In the ‘serious’ context of learning, the frivolous, playful aspects of games are often passed over because they are seen as being inappropriate or not acceptable, particularly in the context of adult formal education. However, it is the very playful, or ludic, quality of games that gives them so much power for learning; the fact that they offer an ‘other’ world in which mistake-making is taken for granted, and taking on other characters or ways of being is integral to the activity. In this chapter I will first provide an overview of play and learning, before discussing the related concept of fun and considering the relevance of fun to learning.
