If you read this site on a regular basis, you know that I think most definitions of games are either a bit crude or, more likely, just over-thought and over-wrought. So, I like to try and show examples to prove my point.

The latest exhibit is this.

Is dieting a game?

It has rules and an objective. It’s naturally competitive; you spend a lot of time on a diet stacking yourself up against other people.

To extend the example, look at Jesper Juul’s quite interesting definition of “game”:

• Rules: Check. Calories, caloric intake, burn rate, etc.
• Variable, quantifiable outcome: Check. Pick a weight and weigh yourself.
• Value assigned to possible outcomes: Check. I will look sexy when I reach this weight.
• Player effort: Check. Obviously.
• Player attached to outcome: Check.
• Negotiable consequences: Check. I get to eat a Big Mac for every 10 pounds I loose.

So the question is: Does it matter that dieting is a game? Or do we need a definition that excludes dieting?