We are at play in a language game' is how Wittgenstein described human experience. Alongside Nietzsche, Gadamer, and Derrida, he saw play as open and not governed by objectives and rules. Yet we are surrounded by games that are highly rule-governed with precise outcomes. Worldwide, the most widely played games, from football and rugby to tennis, cricket, and hockey, emerged in a few decades in Victorian Britain. The outcome of a cultural outlook that sought to define and codify the world, it proved highly successful. But critics argue this has now been extended to many areas of life, including work, relationships, and much of the internet. Open playful activity has been replaced with goal-directed dopamine hits to the detriment of our lives and social well-being.

Must we break free from rule-defined games, and recognise life itself as a form of open, rule-free play? Do we need to eradicate the gamification of social and working life? Or are rules and goals essential and desirable, motivating action and enhancing experience?

Philosopher of sports Emily Ryall, Big Think's Jonny Thomson, and anarchist political theorist Ruth Kinna debate breaking free of the rules of the game.

In partnership with Big Think