Playthings in early modernity: party games, word games, mind games

Abstract

An innovative volume of fifteen interdisciplinary essays at the nexus of material culture, performance studies, and game theory,?Playthings in Early Modernity? emphasises the rules of the game(s) as well as the breaking of those rules. This, the titular "plaything" is understood as both an object and a person, and play, in the early modern world, is treated not merely as a pastime, a leisurely pursuit, but as a pivotal part of daily life, a strategic psychosocial endeavour.