"'Tis Bargain'd 'Twixt Us": The Reclamation of Kate in The Taming of the Shrew

[...]even though games are often spontaneous, they create order through their own set of rules which eliminate chaos so that many players may participate, and any deviation from those rules spoils the game and generates disorder. The problem remains that simple definitions of game, a singularly unsimple concept, do not completely suffice for an understanding of how game-playing can be used to delineate between the recreation and re-creation games. [...]the distinction between the ostentatious or incidental and the greater challenge and intellectual effort to the player is a distinction between games played for recreational pursuits (i.e. punning, bragging, practical joking, flyting) and those played to re-create, re-educate, or re-claim particular individuals or social situations which threaten to disrupt more productive experiences, allowing players to direct their energies into achieving their goals rather than merely protesting about the inequities they face. [...]at least two different levels of game playing are employed in Shakespeare's comedies: the first, which is recreational in nature, and a second which is re-creation and involves a more deliberate action and which is task or goal oriented. The second level of game, the re-creation game, requires a more deliberate stroke to begin the action and is task or goal oriented in its purpose. Because it is goal-oriented, the stakes in re-creational games are much higher and they almost always help move the plot forward by forcing a reaction from another player.