One thing we’re always revisiting when thinking about our curriculum and ethos at the Arterie is play, and how important it is for learning new skills. But what does play mean to you?

Reading about the role of play in education led me to the work of Dr. Stuart Brown, a medical doctor, psychiatrist, clinical researcher, and the founder of the National Institute for Play. Dr. Brown identifies 6 different “Play Personalities,” with subtypes for more specific interests. (image sourced from their website)

The goal of identifying your “Play Personality” is to help you create a life or routine for yourself that includes more play in a way that feels natural to you. Play can be incorporated at home, in the workplace, in classrooms, with your family, and in romantic relationships. Knowing the play styles of friends and family can give you new insights about your friends, family, and co-workers.

I can instantly recognize how a lot of the people in my life embody different play styles. My best friend is definitely an organizer, more specifically a coordinator - her idea of fun is to coordinate and host a party. She once developed and created an entire tasting menu to accompany the Lord of the Rings Trilogy; myself and a few other friends were put to work cooking and mixing drinks to serve. Whenever we go on a trip, she researches for months in advance to find all of the best restaurants and sights to see and creates a full itinerary.

You'll probably identify with more than one category. I am firmly a creator, with some mover and explorer tendencies- I feel the most in a flow state when I'm painting, but I also love being at the gym, dancing, going on hikes in places I've never been to before, discovering new music, or doing research for these newsletters. Being introspective about the natural ways in which I play has made me consider creating time for myself to engage in other types of play that enjoy, but don't do often, like planning a day trip to somewhere I've never been.

It also makes me consider that what I find engaging might not be at all enjoyable for others. If I'm planning a hangout with a friend, I might think about their play style first. If they're a creator-storyteller, maybe they'd like to go see a movie. If they're an organizer-collector, maybe they'd prefer to go thrifting.

You can take a quiz to find your play style here. Just a heads up for anyone who's wary of sharing their data- when you complete the quiz, the site will ask for your name and email address, and informs you that your responses are securely stored for research purposes: “your responses help fuel research at the National Institute for Play.”

If you'd rather just have a look at the different play styles and their descriptions, you can find one here.

What's Your Play Style?