Wittgenstein on Games

Wittgenstein’s idea on games is that they all generally have overlapping similarities and share some common features. He outlines 3 features which are found in majority of games, however not all games have all three features, but most have at least two. These features are, the game could either be a skills game, something like Tetris, on the other hand, a game may only require luck, i.e. the lottery. And finally the game may have an element of competitiveness. A game must at least have one of these features to be considered a game. Wittgenstein describes games using the metaphor of a rope with different twisted fibres, not a single thread. He also describes games using the idea of family resemblance. Family members often share similar features, i.e. nose, eyes etc but will not all have exactly the same features. This is the case with games.I will be discussing three games in terms of their shared features. The first game I will discuss is The PC game Minesweeper: Although this game requires some skill in trying to work out, by the number clues given, where the next bomb might be, the game also requires some luck, as choosing your first few boxes is randomly done, with out any thought or skills required. There is no competition in this game, however some may argue that you are competing with the PC or yourself.Football soccer: This game would be highly competitive as you are competing directly against the other team, and would need a lot of good game controlling skills. However luck does not seem a feature of he game as it is more skills orientated than luck. You need skills to control the ball and make the right moves not luck.Pin ball: whether this game is more skills orientated than luck orientated is debatable. Some may consider the way you strike the flippers determains how successful you are in the game. Where as some may debate that the striking of the flippers requires no skill and the game is based on luck as the player has no control over where the ball goes, its luck. Again this game is only competitive in the sense that you may be competing against yourself by setting your self higher target scores etc.

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