You can play the violin, or you can just play. You can play one person against another. You can play chess. It is instructive to think about how all the work and practice of playing a musical instrument can lead to an ease and abandon that is like that of children playing tag. And on the other hand, the ease and abandon that children experience while playing tag must be weighed against the tension and challenge that they experience at the same time.
I often hear how play in the animal kingdom prepares for adult life. I think that’s true for human children, too.