Sandbox game
A sandbox game is one where the player is given a lot of creative freedom to enjoy the game as they see fit rather than being forced to play it in a prescriptive manner. The name refers to the children's past time of playing in a sandbox, where there is no way to "win," and the only goal is to have fun, however, in order for a sandbox game to be a game, it must incorporate actual game mechanics. Sandbox games have been around for a long time, but they really grew into their own with the creation of sandbox video games.
Personal
I was a bit of a loner growing up, and I spent a lot of time playing by myself. I loved sandboxes, building blocks, Legos, and various other forms of play which focused primarily on imagination and creativity. I loved repurposing my toys for other forms of play and often erected complex miniature worlds out of them. In my teens, this love was redirected into sandbox video games. As a parent, I still enjoy sandbox games, and enjoy sharing my love of them with my daughters.
Examples
This is a list of non-video game that are important to me which have sandbox elements, for the full list, see the category. For just video games, see sandbox video game.
Title | Released | Description |
---|---|---|
Calvinball | 1990-05-05 | Created by Bill Watterson in his comic strip Calvin and Hobbes. All the rules are made up on the fly by the players, and it can't be played the same way twice. |
Conway's Game of Life | 1970-??-?? | A good example of how emergence results in game play. |
Langton's ant | 1986-??-?? | More emergence from cellular automaton. |