Coincident play: Temporal and spatial overlaps of play activities

Previous research successfully addresses how digital play fits into the social relations of urban space, often disrupting or enriching them (e.g., Montola [2005]. ‘Exploring de Edge of the Magic Circle: Defining Pervasive Games’. Proceedings of the Digital Arts and Culture 2005 Conference. Copenhagen: IT University of Copenhagen) and the seamless transitions between digital and physical spheres (e.g., de Souza e Silva [2006]. ‘From Cyber to Hybrid: Mobile Technologies as Interfaces of Hybrid Spaces’. Space and Culture 9:3, 261–78). Considering the social, temporal and spatial context of a play activity, it typically exists parallel to other forms of play. Be it an insider or an outsider, it is further important for people to be able to recognise activities of play as they take place. This article applies Huizinga’s idea of play demarcation to build an analytical frame ‘coincident play’ to aid in understanding contexts of play, especially in urban space. A single park in Hong Kong serves as a case and provides around 20 parallel play activities to study. The proposed approach allows us to identify and analyse socially, temporally and spatially coexisting play and playful activities and to recognise the richness that ensues in specific physical spaces.