ABSTRACT
One of the striking things about games is that they can be played in many diff erent ways. Changing a reward system by introducing welfare epics altered World of Warcraft (WoW), but that was an intervention initiated by developers. Wordplay can also address how players shape the discourse of video games. In many games new tactics are tested and developed that allow players to develop strategies in an attempt to improve their odds of success. When new approaches are successful they are often copied, imitated, and integrated into other styles of play, eff ectively becoming new norms for the game, like the forward pass in American football or the off - side trap in soccer. These elements are intimately connected to wordplay, as changes in games are formed and sustained by the elements both surrounding them and within them. Wordplay illustrates how the adoption of new means of play is advanced, as people must perceive the change as likely to be successful as a precursor to adapting the approach.
