Describing play has been a pastime for many great thinkers over the centuries.
Although today none of the classical theories of play is regarded as sufficient to define what play is and can do, they all have offered some basis for more modern ideas.
German playwright and philosopher, Friedrich von Schiller (1759–1805) speculated that play exists because it allows children to rid themselves of excess energy, which frees their artistic, creative, and spiritual natures (Frost, Wortham, & Reifel, 2012).
To this, Herbert Spencer (1820–1903) added that, long ago, humans expended most of their energy to acquire food and shelter. However, life in the modern world does not require the
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