Well Played Journal

What makes a game good? or bad? or better?

Well Played is a concept of providing in-depth close readings of games that parse out the various meanings to be found through the experience of playing a game. The term “well played” is used in several senses. Initially it was in two ways. On the one hand, well played is to games as well read is to books. So, a person who reads a lot of books is “well read” and a person who plays a lot of games is “well played.” On the other hand, well played as in well done. So, a hand of poker can be “well played” by a person, and a game can be “well played” by the development team. Jose Zagal has articulated a third way of considering well played in an ethical sense. So, players should consider how to play well in terms of not cheating, and developers should consider how to make games that treat players respectfully. And Bernie De Koven’s The Well Played Game, is a spiritual precedence to joys of playing well.

The Well Played Journal is a forum for in-depth close readings of games that parse out the various meanings to be found in the experience of playing a game. It is a reviewed journal open to submissions that will be released on a regular basis with high-quality essays.

Contributors are encouraged to look at games through all three senses of “well played,” analyzing sequences in a game in detail in order to illustrate and interpret how the various components of a game can come together to create a fulfilling playing experience unique to this medium. Through contributors, the journal will provide a variety of perspectives on the value of games.

The goal of the journal is to continue developing and defining a literacy of games as well as a sense of their value as an experience. Contributors are invited to also discuss games in general (ranging from tabletop, to big games and more) and how they are often designed for different fields (education, entertainment, etc.) as we more fully develop a literacy around games and play. Contributors are encouraged to consider using screenshots and video of their gameplay in order to help illustrate their ideas. And we’re open to suggestions on themed issues around a specific game or a topic across games.

Games are a complex medium that merits careful interpretation and insightful analysis. By inviting contributors to look closely at games and the experience of playing them, we hope to expand the discussion, and show how games are well played in a variety of ways.

The Well Played Journal will be published regularly. We won’t develop a set schedule until we have a good sense of the amount of quality submissions. Our goal is to publish as often as we have great essays. There won’t be a subscription, although as with all our publications, all issues will be available for download for free, and we’ll offer print versions for sale through Lulu.com.

All submissions and any questions should be sent to:

Well Played Journal Issues

ISSN 2164-344X (Print)
ISSN 2164-3458 (Online)


Well Played Post-Mortems on AR and VR Games Volume 13 Number 1 (Initially released in January, 2024) Introduction Drew Davidson Paws and Presence: The Impact of a Quadrupedal Avatar on Virtual R...Book Details
Author : Drew Davidson
Publish : 2024
Publisher : Play Story Press
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Well Played V13 N1: Post-Mortems on AR and VR Games
Well Played eSports and Community Volume 12 Number 1 Barry Joseph, Stan Altman and Nick Fortugno (Initially released in January, 2023) The City College of New York Introduction: Esports as Commu...Book Details
Author : Barry Joseph
Publish : 2024
Publisher : Play Story Press
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Well Played V12 N1: eSports and Community
Well Played Ethics Volume 11 Number 1 José P. Zagal (Initially released in July, 2022) To Ethically Play Well José P. Zagal The Dilemmas of a Disco Cop 5: Ethically Well Played Experiences in...Book Details
Author : Drew Davidson
Publish : 2024
Publisher : Play Story Press
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Well Played V11 N1: Ethics
Well Played Playable Theatre Volume 10 Number 2 Celia Pearce and Nick Fortugno (Initially released in July, 2021) Introduction: Building a Plane in Mid-Air Celia Pearce TPK in Elsinore: The Lar...Book Details
Author : Celia Pearce
Publish : 2024
Publisher : Play Story Press
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Well Played V10 N2: Playable Theatre
Well Played Escape Rooms Volume 10 Number 1 Clara Fernández-Vara and Ira Fay (Initially released in April, 2021) Introduction Clara Fernández-Vara and Ira Fay A Descriptive Schema for Escape ...Book Details
Author : Clara Fernandez-Vara
Publish : 2024
Publisher : Play Story Press
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Well Played V10 N1: Escape Rooms
Well Played The Sporting Mindset Volume 8 Number 3 John Sharp (Initially released in September, 2019) Introduction John Sharp Exploring the Sporting Metagames of Competitive Android: Netrunner ...Book Details
Author : Drew Davidson
Publish : 2024
Publisher : Play Story Press
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Well Played V8 N3: The Sporting Mindset
Well Played Intergenerational Play Volume 8 Number 2 Eric Klopfer (Initially released in September, 2019) Introduction Eric Klopfer Games, Play, Meaning and Minecraft Diane Carr & Cheesyca...Book Details
Author : Drew Davidson
Publish : 2024
Publisher : Play Story Press
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Well Played V8 N2: Intergenerational Play
Well Played Connected Learning Summit Volume 8 Number 1 (Initially released in May, 2019) The Logical Journey of Reimagining “Zoombinis:” Adventure, Research, and Computational Thinking Jodi ...Book Details
Author : Drew Davidson
Publish : 2024
Publisher : Play Story Press
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Well Played V8 N1: Connected Learning Summit
Well Played Meaningful Play and Games for Social and Emotional Learning Volume 7 Number 2 Susan E. Rivers and Heidi McDonald (Initially released in February, 2018) iThrive Games Founder’s Lette...Book Details
Author : Drew Davidson
Publish : 2024
Publisher : Play Story Press
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Well Played V7 N2: Meaningful Play and Games for Social and Emotional Learning
Well Played Analog Games Volume 7 Number 1 Ira Fay (Initially released in February, 2018) Introduction Ira Fay Distribution, Deckbuilding, and Design in Star Wars: The Card Game Nick Bestor N...Book Details
Author : Drew Davidson
Publish : 2024
Publisher : Play Story Press
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Well Played V7 N1: Analog Games
Well Played Games, Value and Meaning Volume 6 Number 3 (Initially released in September, 2017) Agency, Identity, Sex, Gender, and Pokémon Go Allison Bannister So Close You Can Feel Her Prostitu...Book Details
Author : Drew Davidson
Publish : 2024
Publisher : Play Story Press
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Well Played V6 N3: Games, Value and Meaning
Well Played European Videogames of the 1980s Volume 6 Number 2 Clara Fernández-Vara and Bennett Foddy (Initially released in June, 2017) European Videogames of the 1980s Clara Fernández-Vara &...Book Details
Author : Bennett Foddy
Publish : 2024
Publisher : Play Story Press
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Well Played V6 N2: European Videogames of the 1980s
Well Played Let's Play Volume 6 Number 1 Moses Wolfenstein and Drew Davidson (Initially released in January, 2017) Introduction Moses Wolfenstein Well Played let's play: 6.1 Videos Who Needs V...Book Details
Author : Drew Davidson
Publish : 2024
Publisher : Play Story Press
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Well Played V6 N1: Let’s Play
Well Played GLS and DiGRA Volume 5 Number 2 (Initially released in May, 2016) PART 1: DIGRA EVE is Real: How conceptions of the 'real' affect and reflect an online game community Marcus Carter, ...Book Details
Author : Drew Davidson
Publish : 2024
Publisher : Play Story Press
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Well Played V5 N2: GLS and DiGRA
Well Played Games, Value and Meaning Volume 5 Number 1 (Initially released in April, 2016) A Narrative Dream: The Unfinished Swan Eric Guadara Handling Differences in Skills between Parents and ...Book Details
Author : Drew Davidson
Publish : 2024
Publisher : Play Story Press
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Well Played V5 N1: Games, Value and Meaning
Well Played Diversity in Games Volume 4 Number 3 Jane Pinckard and Clara Fernández-Vara (Initially released in November, 2015) Introduction Celia Pearce From Pixel Babes to Active Agents – H...Book Details
Author : Clara Fernandez-Vara
Publish : 2024
Publisher : Play Story Press
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Well Played V4 N3: Diversity in Games
Well Played Learning and Games Volume 4 Number 2 Stephen Jacobs and Ira Fay (Initially released in September, 2015) Introduction Stephen Jacobs Medulla: A 2D sidescrolling platformer game that ...Book Details
Author : Drew Davidson
Publish : 2024
Publisher : Play Story Press
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Well Played V4 N2: Learning and Games
Well Played DiGRA & GLS Volume 4 Number 1 Sean Duncan and Caro Williams (Initially released in April, 2015) PART ONE: DIGRA Where’s BattleTech in MechWarrior Online? A Case Study in Game A...Book Details
Author : Caro Williams
Publish : 2024
Publisher : Play Story Press
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Well Played V4 N1: DiGRA and GLS
Well Played Seriously Weird Volume 3 Number 2 Emily Flynn-Jones (Initially released in September, 2015) Introduction Emily Flynn-Jones Part One: Out of Control Weird WarioWare Instructi...Book Details
Author : Drew Davidson
Publish : 2024
Publisher : Play Story Press
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Well Played V3 N2: Seriously Weird
Well Played Games, Value and Meaning Volume 3 Number 1 (Initially released in February, 2014) Assassin’s Creed III: The Complete Unofficial Guide, a Teacher’s Limited Edition Wade Berger, P...Book Details
Author : Drew Davidson
Publish : 2024
Publisher : Play Story Press
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Well Played V3 N1: Games, Value and Meaning
Well Played Theories of Well Played Volume 2 Number 2 John Sharp (Initially released in September, 2013) Introduction John Sharp Inhabiting Games Well (If not Uncomfortably...) Casey O’D...Book Details
Author : Drew Davidson
Publish : 2024
Publisher : Play Story Press
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Well Played V2 N2: Theories of Well Played
Well Played Games, Value and Meaning Volume 2 Number 1 (Initially released in November, 2012) Stories from the Seats of Power: Chopper versus Chopper as dueling Travelogues Matthew Thomas Payne...Book Details
Author : Drew Davidson
Publish : 2024
Publisher : Play Story Press
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Well Played V2 N1: Games, Value and Meaning
Well Played Romance in Games Volume 1 Number 4 Jane Pinckard (Initially released in July, 2012) Technology and emotion: Playing for the love of the game Richard E. Ferdig & Kristine E. Pyt...Book Details
Author : Drew Davidson
Publish : 2024
Publisher : Play Story Press
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Well Played V1 N4: Romance in Games
Well Played Games, Value and Meaning Volume 1 Number 3 (Initially released in May, 2012) Time Tech and Tales: The fall and rise of the popularity of narration in games seen through Monkey Island...Book Details
Author : Drew Davidson
Publish : 2024
Publisher : Play Story Press
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Well Played V1 N3: Games, Value and Meaning
Well Played Games, Value and Meaning Volume 1 Number 2 (Initially released in February, 2012) BioShock and Portal: A Discussion of Poetics Yotam Haimberg We should be heroes… A case study ...Book Details
Author : Drew Davidson
Publish : 2024
Publisher : Play Story Press
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Well Played V1 N2: Games, Value and Meaning
Well Played Games, Value and Meaning Volume 1 Number 1 (Initially released in October, 2011) These essays were part of the Well Played Sessions at GLS 7.0, the 2011 Games+Learning+Society Confer...Book Details
Author : Drew Davidson
Publish : 2024
Publisher : Play Story Press
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Well Played V1 N1: Games, Value and Meaning