What are different styles of play?

Communication Play is play using words, nuances or gestures for example, mime, jokes, play acting, mickey taking, singing, debate, poetry. Communication play used the whole body – from facial expressions, hand gestures, body demonstrating and vocally. Creative Play is play which allows a new response, the transformation of information, awareness of new connections, with an element of surprise. Deep Play is play which allows the child to encounter risky or even potentially life threatening experiences, to develop survival skills and conquer fear. Dramatic Play is play which dramatizes events in which the child is not a direct participator. Exploratory Play is play to access factual information consisting of manipulative behaviours such as handling, throwing, banging or mouthing objects. Fantasy Play is play which rearranges the world in the child’s way, a way which is unlikely to occur, for example being a superhero or sitting on a cloud. Imaginative Play is play where the conventional rules, which govern the physical world, do not apply, for example pretending to be an animal, or having a make-believe friend to being an object i.e. a tree. Locomotor Play is movement in any or every direction for its own sake, for example playing chase, jumping, skipping and climbing trees. Mastery Play is control of the physical and affective ingredients of the environments, for example making a dam in a stream, building a bonfire and digging holes in the earth or sand. Object Play is play which uses infinite and interesting sequences of hand-eye manipulations and movements i.e. examining an item and looking into how and why something works. Recapitulative Play is play that allows the child to explore ancestry, history, rituals, stories, rhymes, fire and darkness. Role Play is play exploring ways of being, although not normally of an intense personal, social, domestic or interpersonal nature. Rough and Tumble Play is close encounter play which is less to do with fighting and more to do with touching, tickling, gauging relative strength. Social Play is play during which the rules and criteria for social engagement and interaction can be revealed, explored and amended. Socio-dramatic Play is the enactment of real and potential experiences of an intense personal, social, domestic or interpersonal nature. Symbolic Play is play which allows control, gradual exploration and increased understanding without the risk of being out of one’s depth.

Play means doing something for fun, rather than for practical reasons. The beauty of this definition is that there’s no one way to play. Play doesn’t mean just building with blocks or playing with cars. Play is versatile and can be different things to different people. For some people, it’s climbing rocks. For others still, it’s writing. For some, it’s reading a good book. Symbolic Play uses objects, actions or ideas to represent other objects, actions, or ideas, e.g., using a cardboard tube as a telescope. Rough and Tumble Play is close encounter play which is less to do with fighting and more to do with gauging relative strength. Socio-Dramatic Play is when children act out experiences, e.g., playing house, going to the shops or going to a restaurant. Social Play is any social or interactive situation where the expectation is that everyone will follow the set rules - like during a game or while making something together. Creative Play allows children to explore, try out new ideas and use their imagination. Communication Play is play using words, gestures, e.g., charades, telling jokes, play acting, etc. Dramatic Play is play where children figure out roles to play, assign them and then act them out. Locomotor Play is movement for movement’s sake, just because it’s fun. Deep Play is play which allows the child to encounter risky experiences and conquer fears, like heights, snakes, and creepy crawlies. Exploratory Play is using senses of smell, touch and even taste to explore and discover the texture and function of things around them. Fantasy Play is the make-believe world of children. Imaginative Play is play where the conventional rules, which govern the physical world, do not apply, like imagining you are a bee or pretending you have wings. Mastery Play is control of the physical and affective ingredients of the environments, like digging holes or constructing shelters. Object Play is play which uses sequences of hand-eye manipulations and movements, like using a paintbrush. Role Play is play exploring ways of being, although not normally of an intensely personal, social, domestic or interpersonal nature. Recapitulative Play is play that allows the child to explore ancestry, history, rituals, stories, rhymes, fire and darkness. These types of play aren’t hard and fast categories that never intersect. In fact, one playtime can include different play types. For example, playing pirates can include rough and tumble play, symbolic play, dramatic play, communication play, social play, fantasy play and imaginative play.

How you want your team to build attacks and defend are key considerations when choosing a style of play. How should they react when they win or lose the ball is another important factor. What roles and responsibilities are there for each position also needs to be thought about. You might have to find a balance between your style of play and what your players are capable of, though. For instance, say you have a fast, tricky winger who loves a 1v1 and driving into space, you can set up your team to invite pressure, then counter quickly. This suits your winger, but when teams sit deep, and you have more of the ball, there’s not much space to drive into, so you may need to tweak your style a little. Different styles of play can include pressing high, counter-attacking, and possession-based styles. You can use game styles to help develop your team, such as working on pressing, delaying, denying, and dictating play.