The phenomenon of play is local: that is, while the phenomenon of play is universal, the experience of play is intrinsically tied to location and culture.

Games are legitimate forms of media, human expression, and cultural importance

Critical play means to create or occupy play environments and activities that represent one or more questions about aspects of human life . . . . Criticality in play can be fostered in order to question an aspect of a game’s 'content,' or an aspect of a play scenario’s function that might otherwise be considered a given or necessary.

A group’s preference for specific activities is one important way values emerge in a culture. The leisure habits of the rich are framed as activities to see and to be seen at. They prove exercise, but no exertion; they are a courtly site of sociality and pleasure.

Critical play is characterized by a careful examination of social, cultural, political, or even personal themes that function as alternates to popular play spaces.