From Social Patterns

TRN - Games are:

 'A thing that you play' (Zoe) (amusement)
 Immersive / Engaged 'In the game'
 Immediate (except for chess by mail)
 Fun
 Social (except for solitaire)
 Have:
   a near-term goal ( win, advance, etc. ) - different than learning to play an instrument
   a score ( provides immediate positive (& negative) feedback )
   rules
 Sometimes are:
   iterative - turns, moves, etc.

Examples: - Games

 World of Warcraft

- Non-games w/ game-pattern elements

 geni.com - keeps track of who has posted the most pictures, invitations, etc. (basically measures participation esp. viral)
 LinkedIn.com - shows profile 'completeness'
 facebook - doesn't inherently have any 'game' elements but some of the first & most successful applications are games
   facebook should add 'game patterns' into its core structure

Non 'game' Interfaces can learn from game patterns by adding the pattern-etts (pattern elements):

 Near-term (escalating) goals / levels
 Score / Status / Immediate feedback (positive encouragement)