In Jeux sportifs, jeux de société et classifications, Pierre Parlebas and Michel Boutin analyse games and the concept of play.

Activities commonly called games inspire great enthusiasm around the world.

Some, such as sporting games, primarily involve motor performance. Others, including many board games, primarily involve cognitive activity.

Can we identify the characteristics of play that give these games psychological or cultural meaning? The book presents the most significant classifications developed over recent centuries.

One question raised by all games is how they make room for the pleasure of being together and how cooperation and opposition relate. Understanding how games work can help us examine that question clearly and without ideological bias.

What choices do our societies make on this issue today, and what choices will they make in the future?

The book is available on the Éditions L’Harmattan website. ISBN: 978-2-343-24901-8.