Towards a Taxonomy of Sexy Analogue Play

Abstract

I endeavor here to develop a taxonomy for describing and discussing forms of analog play which involve sexy content. Whilst I think there is some use in keeping the umbrella term “sexy analog play” to cover all forms of non-digital play with a flirty or sexy connotation, it is better to investigate other, more specific words for use in describing precisely the types of play to be discussed. Whilst undoubtedly personally useful, the existence of such terminology has other applications as well. Namely, it would be useful to have words besides “adult” to describe analog games with sexual content from a marketing perspective. As a descriptor, “adult” board games can refer to difficulty level as well as content, which makes locating and purchasing sexual games difficult. To widen the existing vocabulary used to discuss sexual games, I have identified four broad categories drawn from a thematic analysis of existing literature in the fields of game studies, folk games, and game design, as well as contributing my own terms from my own research where I noticed a gap in the published literature. The four categories are: sexy brink play,1 sexy board and card games, secret dress-up play,2 and erotic role-play.3 These four categories are by no means exclusive or final, but rather represent a starting point for fleshing out categories of sexy analog play.4 Rather than consider this taxonomy as limiting what can or should count as sexy play, it is better to think of it as a first attempt at collating existing research with the goal of popularizing terminology for discussing and describing a wide variety of sexy games.