PLAY
Read the Summer/Autumn 2018 PLAY issue all about games, theatre, music, travel, sports and leisure changing things for the better.
Hunt Thoughtful: A daily scavenger hunt for the good in the world
As much fun as a baby coati. I haven’t seen a coati in a while. You know the coati, the Central and South American cousin of the raccoon: curved snout, the tail of a lemur. This isn’t surprising of course as I live in London (aka ‘not the natural realm of the coati’). So I shouldn’t really complain. Not… Read more →
Wishlist: Thoughtful ways to play
Could there be anything more satisfying than changing the world and having fun while doing it? Creatively designed and compassionately made, here are a few things to help you do just that. Travel… … And Leisure Fun… … And Games Photo credit (header): Erol Ahmed Read more →
How to cheat at work
When the itch to play doesn’t abate as you grow up. Here’s how I used to play. Early in the morning, before anyone else was awake—or at least awake enough to pay me any attention—I would go downstairs and pull on a pair of wellies. In summer, I might not bother. In winter, I might drag a coat over my nightie,… Read more →
Q&A: Monster shopkeeper and designer Alistair Hall on the question of play
When he’s not running a general store for vampires, werewolves and zombies, Alistair Hall is creating award-winning design for the likes of Penguin Books and The National Trust at his studio We Made This. I asked the co-founder and art director of children’s literacy charity Ministry of Stories and its fantastical shop Hoxton Street Monster Supplies to share his thoughts on play. How does the idea… Read more →
Replay: What we can learn from the earliest forms of play
We need to get back to basics and take ‘frivolous’ play more seriously. Every day, for anything from 30 minutes to an hour, at some point between lunch and dinnertime I’m forced to play. Waiting patiently for hours, until I’ve wrapped up important phone calls and made a big dent in the day’s work, my playmate isn’t fussy about… Read more →
A playlist you’ll want to play all day
There are many ways to play. Children play carelessly, threading worms on a string, keeping spiders in their pockets. Grown-ups play to escape their workaday weeks. They wait for their horses to come in (twenty-fucking-five to one!), and they yearn for the weekend and with it the opportunity to dance, and make a little love. There are dangers, too. When… Read more →
Run and play: The joy of jogging
Running is quiet. You run alone. You are free. I used to run. When I was in school, it was the only sport I did, or could do. Other sports were loud, involving a conspiracy of rules, teammates, spectators and judges, all oppressive. I liked running for its simplicity. Running is quiet. You run alone. You are free. Your… Read more →
Rubik’s cure: The healing power of play
A Rubik’s cube helps one boy fit all the pieces of his life together. Our son Julian was born bright—he talked and walked early, put words together in new ways, but seemed to find the world a perplexing place. “Turn off the dark,” when he was afraid, “Turn on the heatiator,” when he was cold. He was clingy, wouldn’t… Read more →
Postcards from Cannes, the world’s biggest playground for creativity
Beyond the beach and booze, is there a more thoughtful side to the Cannes Lions Festival? If you have anything to do with brands, marketing or advertising, your social media feeds may have recently been filled with snaps of rosé, yachts and people drinking rosé on yachts. The occasion? The annual Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. After years of… Read more →
How to change the world by playing video games
Once upon a time, video games were (or at least many of us assumed they were) the preserve of adolescent couch potatoes. Many followed the same basic script—fight some bad guys, collect some trinkets, save a princess. A lot has changed in the decades since I first held a joystick, and I’m not just talking about the technology. More and… Read more →
Never Alone: When Inuit oral tradition meets 21st Century technology
The vast emptiness of the Arctic tundra is no place for a little girl. But Nuna is no ordinary child. The Alaskan native, a skilful hunter, has sneaked away from her village to find the source of a persistent blizzard threatening her home. Not long after setting out, alone and exhausted from trudging through the snow, she awakens a ferocious… Read more →