Art of playing.

Play is an important part of our daily lives, as evidenced by the old advertising slogan "A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play". Of course, many people prefer to substitute words such as 'coffee' or 'non-prescription drugs' rather than 'Mars', but that's really their own business. It's the other elements in the slogan that are important, especially 'work': play is a key factor in the work/life balance. Whenever an employer tells you that they encourage a healthy work/life balance, don't assume that this means 50/50. They actually mean 95/5. After all, they're not paying you to have a life, are they? (If they actually are, then tell me where you work.)That said, work can afford some opportunities for play as well. Playing air guitar while sitting in an office swivel chair can be pretty fun, provided no-one has noticed you. The only trouble is if you put a bit too much gusto into the power chords, as this accidentally pushes your chair across your little area of open plan, knocking you straight into the recycling bin, as well as ripping your headphones out, thereby opening up your music to the entire floor. Not that I know this personally, you understand. (Whistles nonchalantly.)Playing upThere's nothing quite like a good hands pounding on the table, bawling your eyes out, toddler-style tantrum, is there? So cathartic and so immature at the same time. I regret the fact that because we have grown up, started jobs and relationships, incurred financial and social responsibilities and are just so fran-tic-a-lly busy, we don't get to have a loud, no-holds-barred tantrum any more. Or at least, we're not supposed to, despite the fact that the pressures on us are greater. It seems very inequitable that when we are young enough to jump up and down legitimately, howling in anger, there is actually very little for us to shout and scream about, yet when we are old enough to have job, money or personal worries, it is not really acceptable to sit in the middle of an office, legs crossed, screaming to high heaven and crying like a baby.Well, I think that we should bring tantrums and playing up back into adult life. If we get all the horrible things like bills to pay and meetings to attend, then I think we should be allowed some of the decent things as well, starting off with the inalienable right to holler and launch hissy fits as and when we deem necessary. Further items on this Regression Manifesto will include the right to sulk, the right to claim "you just don't understand me" and then stomp off to our bedrooms, the right to do our homework in front of the television, and the right to wear whatever damn underwear we want when we get run over in the street.Playing hard to getIf you are coy, then you'll already know. If you're not, then I'm not telling.Playing into their handsIt's that particular moment when you realise, "I've been had" accompanied by a slight sinking feeling in your stomach and generally also partnered by the beginning of laughter from others. Walking straight into a trap, be it verbal or a practical joke, or even just being set up to supply an answer that had already been predicted; these are just a few ways of playing straight into somebody's hands. They have you where they want you, you have swallowed the bait and they are now reeling you in. However, unless you are prepared to take the radical step of never saying anything and never going anywhere ever again, there isn't an awful lot you can do about playing into people's hands, I'm afraid. Vigilance is your best option. Oh, and a very low gullibility level will help no end also.Playing awayDon't ever think you won't get caught. You will. Don't ever think you won't hurt people. You will. Don't ever think it won't haunt you. It will. Don't ever think that it's not a bad idea. It is. Don't ever think that you won't lose friends. You will. Don't ever think that it's worth it. It isn't. Don't think you'll keep it secret. You won't. Don't ever think that tears won't be cried. They will. Don't ever think that it's just the way you are. It isn't. Don't ever think that you're being clever. You're not. Don't think you won't feel ashamed when you look back. You will.Playing for keepsThere is a time when playing stops being fun and suddenly gets very, very serious. Whether it's a 'friendly' game of pool, a kickabout in the park or even a poker night at a friend's house, however much you are enjoying simply playing, a competitive edge enters the game at some point and remains there, under the skin. I remember that playing Trivial Pursuits at college was possibly one of the most competitive things I have ever done: out of the players, two were graduate students who already had their Firsts, two of the others would go on to get Double Firsts, the another player got a 2:i and then there was me. Oh dear. As they were predominantly English Lit students, the Art & Literature category of questions quickly became a bloodbath, as you might imagine, and it was arguably the quickest game I have ever played (and lost quite badly).Although it's not quite the same as the 'win at all costs' strategy of game-playing, when you switch from a gentle, well-isn't-this-fun mode into a destroy-destroy-destroy mode, playing for keeps isn't all that easy to conceal. In a 'friendly' game of pool, for example, the sudden and insistent snookering of your opponent will be pretty obvious and very likely to push them into an equal tactic of attrition. Chess, despite stalemates, has never been anything other than playing for keeps and so neatly avoids the courteous first few moves before the deluge. Of the more physical sports, you know things are going badly when a little game of three or four people playing keepy-uppy descends into a mélee of twelve or so people performing sliding tackles, grabbing shirts and making sure that they foul everybody bar that big bloke who spent some time inside, so don't mess.Playing by the bookNo matter where you are, what you are doing, or who you are with, one of the people around you will be the rules person. You know what they're like: all events must be played out according to his/her little book. The type of person who whips out a calculator when the bill for dinner arrives, the person who insists on making an entire cinema row move because they have to sit in "their" seat, the person who doesn't believe in tipping because it isn't in their rule book. This level of formal, constricted thought is liable to get more relaxed people whipped up into a frenzied rage. "Can't we just go out and see what happens?" is the lament, while the response is invariably something along the lines of "But what's the plan?" Although this person will be invaluable when the car breaks down, when someone gets ill or when the fate of the world is at stake, while you're just going out for a few beers, they will be massively irritating. There are times when the book should be shelved and left at the library.So, play up! Play up! And play the game. If you're not winning, you're not cheating well enough.