It's been a while since I've been to a good party.
Games have been perceived in many different lenses. They might be - or be comparable to - or benefit from being seen as sharing features with - art, architecture, playgrounds, simulations, museums/galleries, places, stories, movies... and other things. My newest lens is the game as a party.
I've been reading The Nature of Order (http://newforum.droqen.com/index.php?topic=364.0) and it's really getting me in the mindset of places, and I mean to remind myself that games are not places where life happens, but more akin to the life itself.