In class we discussed all the different kinds of play that Caillois classified. He included Agon, Alea, Mimicry, and Ilnix. I found his break down very insightful, but a bit confusing due to all the crossing that can happen. Most games, most good games anyways, involve many elements (or pull from more than one of these categories) so as to keep the players interested in the game.

The category that most interested me was Ilnix. I was surprised that it was considered a category in and of itself. Sure it’s fun to play games that get you dizzy in such as the merry-go-round or go on roller coasters, but I’d never considered it a category by itself. What interested me more than this was the crossing over of other categories with Ilnix. For the most part Ilnix seemed like a pretty independent category where as a lot of games are hybrids of Agon, Alea, and Mimicry. I couldn’t think of any games where Ilnix would cross with Alea. The only example of Mimicry and Ilnix crossing was the example Caillois used of people diving off of poles and spinning in other countries imitating birds, and I had never heard of it until the reading. The cross overs are far and few between.

I actually found a version of Tetris online that is called “First-Person Tetris.” It is far and away the most difficult version of Tetris I have ever played and incorporates Agon with Ilnix in a most surprising way. I won’t explain how because the shock I received when starting to play this was probably the best part of playing the game. But I do recommend trying this interesting and rare hybrid of categories.