Learning to have fun - part two - exploring the "senses of play"

People talk about "humor" as if it were a "sense" - like the sense of taste and touch and such. They also sometimes talk about the "sense of play" and "sense of fun" - and though it has nothing immediately to do with what we're about to play with, there's also the "sense of self" and "sense of community." And then of course there's nonsense, which I guess is also a sense.

These senses - the senses of humor and play and fun - are, as far as I can understand, genuine sensitivities. A person with a "good" sense of humor or play or fun can somehow sense just the right thing to do or say to make things fun or funny. When their sense of humor or play or fun is off, when they are "over the top" or seem too serious, they stop being fun, they just aren't that funny.

Then there's the senses of self and community. These play an important role in our senses of fun and play and humor. The better our sense of fun, play, humor, the better our sense of self, and our sense of community.

One of the easiest ways to sharpen your own sense of fun is to have it with others - when you and your friends, or your family, or your colleagues, are all being funny together. And, of course one of the easiest ways for you to be funny together is to play games, especially funny games. I happen to have compiled a collection of these very same games. I call this collected compilation pointless games. Can you guess why?


from Bernie DeKoven, funsmith