1 From Social Play to Social Games and Back: The Emergence and Development of Social Network Games Frans Mäyrä, Jaakko Stenros, Janne Paavilainen & Annakaisa Kultima [Pre-print version of article published in: Rachel Kowert & Thorsten Quandt (eds.), New Perspectives on the Social Aspects of Digital Gaming: Multiplayer 2. (New York: Routledge, 2017)] Abstract The social dimensions can take many forms in games and play cultures. The phenomenon of social network games, especially the historical evolution of Facebook games, provides an interesting opportunity to explore of the social aspects of game creation and play cultures. The social and cultural frames of social play and networks have become increasingly central areas to explore in game research. Around years 2006-2007, games distributed through social network services became known as ‘social games’, even though their actual characteristics do not necessarily rely primarily on social interaction, or real-time social play, for example. Nevertheless, social play and social network services have had a central role for the design and use of these games, and it is important to understand how they have operated – as games, and as playful elements in particular kind of social media environment. This chapter draws upon a decade of research in the field of casual and social games, and highlights the interrelations between player experiences, game and service design features, as well as industry business models in this area. Finally, the chapter also reflects on the future directions of social game play, and its research. Introduction Games have been studied for well over a century and the academic interest in play stretches back to antiquity. Yet contemporary game studies coalesced as a field around the turn of the millennium. As a field game studies has been organized around a (rather deceptively) singular object of scrutiny, ‘games’. However, as a social construct the category of ‘games’ is a moving target – and there are multiple social and discursive contexts and communities that have a stake in how games and play are defined. Gaming communities, fans, casual gamers, designers, scholars as well as academic fandom (“aca-fans”), different parts of the game industry, hobbyists, legislators, educators, and artists all have diverse yet partially overlapping stakes in this discussion. Questions such as “What is a game?”, “Who is a gamer?”, and “Are games art?” are all part of this discussion on how to understand and properly position games. Obviously the conceptualization of games has direct implications on the characterisation of game studies as a field. Published in Kowert R., Quandt T. (eds.) New Perspectives on the Social Aspects of Digital Gaming. Routledge Advances in Game Studies. Routledge, 2017. ISBN 978-1-138-64363-5.