Super interesting book that was maybe a bit too philosophically nirty gritty for me read. The author is a good speaker and has talked aboit it on a number of podcasts, maybe i didnt need more depth than that. But very good.

The gist is: Games are a form of art whose medium is agency, like poetry's is language, and dance's is movement. Nguyen breaks down different theories of play and bears down on one of his own creation, which identifies a type of play that is common but uncovered by other theories: aesthetic striving play. Devoting oneself to the goal of a game ("winning") purely for the aesthetic appreciation of striving within a particularly structured form of agency. We do not care about winning per se, still less about having more cubes on our side of the table than the opponent, but if we get what we are seeking by temporarily taking that goal on, focussing on it as if we care deeply about it, and then immediately discard it afterwards.

He also talks about the dangers of harms of "gamification" where we use these simplified value structures as shortcuts to our supposed real deep value systems. Fitbit steps for health. GPAs for knowledge. Likes for social engagement. Etc.