New Books in Popular Culture Peter D. McDonald, "The Impossible Reversal: A History of How We Play" (U Minnesota Press, 2026)
Apr 11, 2026
Peter D. McDonald, an academic and author who studies the cultural history of play, explores how twentieth-century artists, designers, and engineers reshaped what play means. He outlines four styles of designed play, traces role-playing from therapy to corporate life, and considers digital and pervasive forms like ARGs and TTRPGs. The conversation maps play as a plural, historically grounded phenomenon.
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How Fluxus Sparked The Book
- McDonald began the project from his English literature and game design background and Mary Flanagan's Critical Play.
- Fluxus works inspired his own alternate reality games and Fluxus experiments at the University of Chicago.
Playfulness Is Multiple Not Monolithic
- Playfulness is plural and historically contingent rather than a single timeless instinct.
- Peter D. McDonald contrasts Fluxus games with earlier avant-garde practices to show different meanings of 'playful' emerge over time.
Impossible Reversal As A Play Style
- The 'impossible reversal' is a style of play where a passive, tiny gesture flips a hopeless scenario into success.
- Examples include riddles, pinball, Rube Goldberg devices, and Fluxus puzzles that depend on sudden perceptual shifts.
