Which are games?

It seems evident to me that all of these online applications are video games. In the broadest of terms they all provide some sort of entertainment. In all of these there is an end goal, something that the player is aiming to achieve from playing.

The one that I struggled most with was Mr. Piccasohead. At first I felt that there was no goal to the game, no motion. However as a continued to play and get sucked in by the creativity of the interface and the many creative controls I felt that this game fulfilled Caillois Paidea, having few rules and no inherent competition.

Samarost was intriguing through its puzzle like nature. A bit more competition came into play where the player pitted their wits against the computers puzzles. Moving more from Paidea toward Ludus it was always me vs. the computers "intelligence."

The Goat in the Grey Fedora operated on the same level as Samarost where you are pitted against the programming and story writing of the game designer. With the computer programmed with many many variables It is easy to run yourself in circles or stumbling upon a challenge.

Collapse is in a much more raw way a game. Relying heavily upon Ludus one is directly competing with the clock while following strict rules regulating the players actions.

Finally FunkyTruck4wd is an interesting mix between Paidea and Ludus. There is a point system in the game and you are always trying to better your score, however creative moves and physics defying game play leave a creative flow to the game that is entertaining when you don’t feel like competition.

The most important change in my judgment of games is that I now allow Mr. Picassohead to be considered a game whereas I may have set it aside from such a classification. I have come to the realization that games are for the most part tools for entertainment that can be competitive against another or oneself. The Mr. Picassohead centering around Paidea entertains without being highly competitive, it provides the framework and you challenge yourself within it's parameters.