Core games designs mechanics and theories

This is one of the most important mechanics a game needs, without meaningful play there is no point to playing a game or even designing one in the first place.  There is a reason as to why humans have been playing games since we can remember not only in our own individual lives but as the human race and in history.

There was once a man named Johan Huzinga, he was a dutch historian.  He also wrote a book named Homo ludens which translates in english too Man the player!
This book looked at games and what they mean to us as humans, in it he describes how games have been around for thousands of years and how it is human nature and that games make us human he wrote, "Play is older than culture".

It (plays) is a significant function that to say, there is some sense to it. In there is something "at play" which transcends to the immediate needs of life.

When designing a game meaningful play is mechanic that not only needs to be understood by the designers however it must transcend right down to the players, without this games have no overall meaning and are less likely to impress.

Two kinds of meaningful play!

Descriptive - This is easy to understand, basically you get what you give in games. As the player interacts with the game we expect certain events or interactions too take place for example if we shoot a barrel with a gun we as players would expect visual and audible prompts, such as the character shooting the barrel and the barrel exploding, we would expect to hear gun shots and explosions.  If this does not happen then the game has failed the player.

Evaluative - This type of meaningful play is slightly harder to understand, this is where we as players take a step back and evaluate the game on a more complicated level than just a like or dislike of the game.