Beginnings of the game, beginnings in the game, beginnings in game studies – Beginnings are structural features, and understood as such, their analysis at various levels allows for diverse insights into the functioning of games, of game culture and not least of game studies. Although play ans game as elementary moments of culture do not have a clear 'beginning', the concept of 'beginning' promises to be useful as a heuristic instrument in many ways. Thus, the title 'beginnings' is not only a self-reflexive allusion to the beginning of this journal, but its thematisation is also prototypically suited to appropriately open the programme of Spiel|Formen: To treat play(s) in their capacity as cultural form(s).
