James P. Carse
You are either playing to win, which forces the game to end, or you are playing to keep the game going, which makes all rules mutable and all boundaries playful.
Finite games are played within fixed boundaries to defeat opponents and claim titles, whereas infinite games play with boundaries to invite others into continuous, evolving play.
Because all participation in finite games is inherently voluntary, players must mask their freedom and adopt a serious, theatrical role to compete convincingly.
A finite player trains to control the future and prevent surprise, while an infinite player is educated to expect surprise and be transformed by it.