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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Campbell" data-source="post: 8298407" data-attributes="member: 16586">It's obviously possible for us to play a loosely defined game without a shared purpose. I think doing so reduces the social value of games which to provide spaces where we can freely develop skills or practice different social roles in a context that is somewhat removed from our normal social divisions. When play games in an environment where we have to socially negotiate with others existing social norms tend to take precedence and the freedom to really play is incredibly diminished.For functional play I don't think that shared purpose needs to come from the game text, but it needs to be there or we don't have a Magic Circle. Instead we have dysfunctional play. Obviously there will never be a perfect match here, but in my experience the more of a shared purpose there is the better play is. Without a shared purpose there is no mastery. We are not valuing each other's play and contributions. It's a mess in my opinion.</blockquote>