The problem of defining the child's play in the context of contemporary culture

The paper deals with a child’s play as a phenomenon of modern culture. An attempt is made to identify the characteristics of the game. The game is regarded as an exceptional attribute of human existence. Such main game features as creativity and normativity are highlighted. The term ‘proposed circumstances’ is introduced to refer to the game conditions, which, along with the game rules, are a factor generating the game. It is proposed to distinguish two main classes of games: games with the rules (normative) and games with the proposed circumstances (creative). The activity nature of the game is postulated. The specific goal-setting is to be treated as one of the pivotal criteria of play activity. The author concludes that the game is the purposeful and reasonable activity; the goals of the game can differ in content, personal aspirations of players and other factors.