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Play Saves the World

Play Saves the World

By: Daniel Hilty & Kevin Taylor
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About this listen

 Daniel and Kevin explore the meaning of play for human flourishing – what it is, what it means, and how people create and maintain playful lives. We explore books, people, places, and ideas committed to engendering play in the midst of busy, working lives.2026 Daniel Hilty & Kevin Taylor Art Spirituality
Episodes
  • 6 Spiritual Realities of Board Games

    6 Spiritual Realities of Board Games
    Jan 25 2026

    In this episode of Play Saves the World, Daniel and Kevin explore the intersection of spirituality and board games, discussing six spiritual realities that emerge from play. They delve into the definitions of play, its importance in fostering community, grace, agency, education, freedom, and presence, and how these elements contribute to a life-giving spirituality. The conversation reflects on the evolving understanding of play over three and a half years of podcasting, emphasizing the joy and connection that board games can bring to individuals and communities.

    Support us on [Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/playsavestheworld)

    Takeaways

    Play is a voluntary activity that fosters community.

    Engaging in play nurtures a sense of belonging.

    Grace is an essential aspect of play, emphasizing self-worth.

    Play encourages agency and the ability to make choices.

    Educational elements in games can shape our understanding of history and society.

    Freedom in play allows for exploration and creativity.

    Presence in play helps us focus on the moment and connect with others.

    Play is inherently rewarding and provides joy.

    The act of play can serve as a meditative practice.

    Board games can bridge generational gaps and foster interconnection.

    Chapters

    00:00 Introduction to Spiritual Realities of Board Games

    02:12 Defining Play and Its Importance

    13:54 Spiritual Realities of Play

    18:44 Sense of Belonging and Community

    19:18 Grace and Self-Worth in Play

    24:47 The Divine Nature of Play

    26:59 Agency and Choice in Spirituality

    29:47 The Educational Value of Play

    35:53 Freedom Through Play

    42:23 The Importance of Presence in Play
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    48 mins
  • Episode 39: The 7 Deadly Sins of Board Gaming

    Episode 39: The 7 Deadly Sins of Board Gaming
    Sep 24 2023
    Defining sin What is sin in the Christian tradition? What do we mean by “7 Deadly Sins”? 7 deadly sins: pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth. Developed in the 300s with the Desert Fathers, especially Evagrius Ponticus. The 7 capital virtues were chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness, and humility. In Dante’s Inferno there are 8 categories of sin: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Wrath, Heresy, Violence, Fraud, Treachery. The Sins of Board Gaming 1 - It’s All About Winning (Pride and Wrath) Winning as ontological end and not functional end (trading seriousness for delight) Fraud and treachery were the worst sins in Dante’s mind For games to work, you have to try to win, but winning is no more the point of games than framing is the point of a house or the engine is the point of a car 2 - It’s All About Owning (Greed and Envy) Hyper consumption of games - materialism How does this game fit in my collection? This is not a cheap hobby (no hobby is cheap, in the end), so what fits in your budget and priorities? I love the idea of a game swap or trade or market so you get some value out of them and they don’t clutter up your life (Marie Kondo) Seeing ourselves first and foremost as consuming beings can rob us of delight and gratitude over what is before us. World in a cup of tea. 3 - It’s All About You Being Right (Pride) Arrogance about different games (trading exclusion for inclusion) - tribalism. My games are better than your games. My people are better than your people. My god is better than your god. Assumption that everyone should play games 4 - It’s All About You Being in Control (Pride) Alpha player (trading control for agency) 5 - It’s All About You (Pride) Putting the games over people - Buddhist concept of valuing people over principles Flexing your games or knowledge Putting principles over people - Buddhist teaching, Jesus tooTurning play into work 6 - People Not Taking Gaming Seriously (Sloth) Bringing the wrong attitude to the table Not respecting other’s property Cheetos Agreeing to play a game but not really focus on it 7 - Turning Play into Work? The nature of sin is that it takes something and good and twists it There’s more to life than games Anything can become your god Next Episode - Liz Davidson - Value of Solo Gaming CALL TO ACTION: Subscribe to our newsletter (https://buttondown.email/BoardGameFaith) Support us on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/boardgamefaith/) interact with us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/boardgamefaith/) Discord us Discord (https://discord.gg/MRqDXEJZ).
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    1 hr and 1 min
  • Episode 101: What Is Work?

    Episode 101: What Is Work?
    Jun 16 2024
    To define what play is, we have to define what work is. (This isn’t all that unusual – scholars do it with secular vs. religious, or prose vs. poetry.) Work or labor is intentional human activity to support our needs and wants, or those of others or our larger group. Work is something we do for another purpose – it is 2-eyed, 1 eye to the activity itself and 1 to its outside result (payment, food, etc.). It is a means to an end. Work isn’t inherently bad. In the Bible it is implied that humans would work the earth before the Fall. Work is not a result of original sin, but original sin corrupts work, so that the ground is cursed, and there are thorns and thistles in our gardening. We will now sweat to make the bread we must eat. In fact, work can be marvelous - a sense of purpose and contribution and accomplishment - The pleasure of your earned paycheck for your labor - The ability to form and improve our world - The freedom to engage in different kinds of work to support us - The notion of vocation, that our work might be something God calls us to do with our time and energy Work and play are not necessarily opposed to each other Sometimes the distinction is said to be productivity, but this isn’t true (e.g., work day with nothing getting done versus Minecraft) Jane McGonagal says that play is just work we enjoy Brian Sutton-Smith: the opposite of work is depression One person’s work can be another person’s play (e.g., computer programming, professional athletes, spreadsheets) Work being play would be awesome!!! But clearly work can be oppressive Some forms of work are oppressive or dangerous – factories, or gig economy with no benefits and vulnerable employment Being underpaid because your labor is set by supply and demand You might hate your job but are stuck with it because you need the money If you cannot work you will have no way to support yourself You are vulnerable to work changing, being fired, AI The instrumentalization of all things, including our time (Oliver Burkeman) When we are only a cog in the machine, when we spend our days only in service to some other goal, then everything become a means to an end, and we never get to the end itself. Such instrumentalization also generates a disturbing lack of presence. We are always lost in the future (or sometimes the past), which spiritual traditions (and psychology) tell us are often the causes of restlessness and fear: “do not worry about tomorrow” (Luke 12), Buddhism’s grounding the present Protestant work ethic A rather strange valuing of work due to Protestant ideas about grace, salvation, and human effort (since you are saved by grace alone but cannot know if you are truly among the elect who are saved, your best hope is to be a good worker in the vague hope that this indicates your salvation, but it cannot actually impact it) As a result, we come to tie our sense of self worth and value to our work, to our productivity through work – so if you fail at work you fail at life. We value others based on their wealth and work habits Martin Luther King Jr. tied the Protestant Work Ethic to racism and the exploitation of the poor (“We have deluded ourselves into believing the myth that capitalism grew and prospered out of the Protestant ethic of hard work and sacrifice. The fact is that capitalism was built on the exploitation and suffering of black slaves and continues to thrive on the exploitation of the poor—both black and white, here and abroad.”) This impacts many Western Protestant cultures where one should stay extremely busy and complain about work a lot – don’t take vacation, let work consume you because it’s inherently good to work. As a result, we can feel a profound lack of freedom, value, and agency. The truth is: work is often overwhelming. It can be good. But it cannot save us. It is not our true purpose.
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    1 hr and 1 min
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