---
title: "1 Play Isn Quotes By Ian Bogost"
description: "1 Play Isn quotes by Ian Bogost. Plus more from Ian Bogost and more Play Isn sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/833/ian-bogost-9716_clever_play-isn-t-you-being-clever-or-finding-a_699022.jpg"
---

> [Play isn't you being clever, or finding a trick, or finding a way of covering over your own misery, or persuading someone to do what you want. It's the process of working with the materials that you find and discovering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/play-isn-t-you-being-clever-or-finding-a-trick-or-finding-a-way-of/)

[Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/833/ian-bogost-9716_clever_play-isn-t-you-being-clever-or-finding-a_699022.jpg)

## More by Ian Bogost

> [I think the most important way to understand play is that it's this property that's in things. Like there's play in a mechanism. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/i-think-the-most-important-way-to-understand-play-is-that-it-s-this/)

[Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/)

> [Once you get yourself on that path where you're willing to find something delightful in laundry and in dishwashers, it means that you train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/once-you-get-yourself-on-that-path-where-you-re-willing-to-find/)

[Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/)

> [Our ideas of happiness, gratification, contentment, satisfaction, all demand that those feelings come from within us. If you flip that on its head and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/our-ideas-of-happiness-gratification-contentment-satisfaction-all/)

[Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/)

> [When we use this word fun, it sort of bangs up the ordinary and the extraordinary altogether.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/when-we-use-this-word-fun-it-sort-of-bangs-up-the-ordinary-and-the/)

[Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/)

> [We think we want enjoyment, and that enjoyment is incompatible with work, and somehow we have to import the pleasure into these miserable experiences.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/we-think-we-want-enjoyment-and-that-enjoyment-is-incompatible-with/)

[Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/)

> [You can experience play at work, not because you're messing around or wasting time or something, but because you're looking really deeply and seriously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/you-can-experience-play-at-work-not-because-you-re-messing-around-or/)

[Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/)

> [Actually a lot of the supposedly serious and meaningful and worthwhile content on the podcast or on the television is no more or less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/actually-a-lot-of-the-supposedly-serious-and-meaningful-and/)

[Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/)

> [I think a lot of the misery that people experience comes from that sensation of boundlessness, of infinite possibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/i-think-a-lot-of-the-misery-that-people-experience-comes-from-that/)

[Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/)

> [There's just an enormous vast universe of possible intrigue out there and why not pay attention to it? Because then you're not burdened with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/there-s-just-an-enormous-vast-universe-of-possible-intrigue-out-there/)

[Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/)

> [Generally speaking, when people use the word fun, it's like a placeholder. You know, "How was your evening?" "Oh it was fun."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/generally-speaking-when-people-use-the-word-fun-it-s-like-a/)

[Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/)

> [Wouldn't we all rather have the possibility of finding pleasure and delight in literally anything we might encounter? Instead of assuming that actually there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/wouldn-t-we-all-rather-have-the-possibility-of-finding-pleasure-and/)

[Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/)

> [Fun has to do with habitual activities but then also terrifically novel or unusual ones. It works as a sort of strange milkshake of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/fun-has-to-do-with-habitual-activities-but-then-also-terrifically/)

[Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/)

> [“Irony keeps reality at a distance. It has become our primary method for combatting the external world’s incompatibility with our own desires. Today’s irony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/irony-keeps-reality-at-a-distance-it-has-become-our-primary-method/)

[Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/)

> [Play isn't you being clever, or finding a trick, or finding a way of covering over your own misery, or persuading someone to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/play-isn-t-you-being-clever-or-finding-a-trick-or-finding-a-way-of/)

[Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/)

> [To me, being able to find gratification in more venues, rather than greater gratification in a few, seems like a much more sane way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/to-me-being-able-to-find-gratification-in-more-venues-rather-than/)

[Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play-isn/ian-bogost/#itemlist",
            "name": "1 Play Isn Quotes By Ian Bogost",
            "numberOfItems": 1,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Play isn't you being clever, or finding a trick, or finding a way of covering over your own misery, or persuading someone to do what you want. It's the process of working with the materials that you find and discovering what's possible with them.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Ian Bogost"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/play-isn-t-you-being-clever-or-finding-a-trick-or-finding-a-way-of/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/833/ian-bogost-9716_clever_play-isn-t-you-being-clever-or-finding-a_699022.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/833/ian-bogost-9716_clever_play-isn-t-you-being-clever-or-finding-a_699022.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/833/ian-bogost-9716_clever_play-isn-t-you-being-clever-or-finding-a_699022.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Play isn't you being clever, or finding a trick, or finding a way of covering over your own misery, or…” — Ian Bogost",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play-isn/ian-bogost/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play-isn/ian-bogost/",
            "name": "Play Isn Quotes by Ian Bogost",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play-isn/ian-bogost/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/833/ian-bogost-9716_clever_play-isn-t-you-being-clever-or-finding-a_699022.jpg"
            },
            "description": "1 Play Isn quotes by Ian Bogost. Plus more from Ian Bogost and more Play Isn sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play-isn/ian-bogost/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play-isn/ian-bogost/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Play Isn",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play-isn/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "Ian Bogost",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play-isn/ian-bogost/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```