Not Just For Kids: The Radical Act Of Playing Together

Somewhere along the way, we were told to stop playing.

To stop mucking around, to sit still, to fit in with everyone around us, to be serious.

And so we did.

We swapped play for productivity, wonder for order. We learned how to look like we had it all together, but in the process, many of us forgot how to actually be together.

But here’s what I know for sure: when you make space for play, connection comes back. Imagination returns. People relax. The masks drop. The magic happens.

We Learned to Play Before We Learned to Compete

In Australia, many of us started life in a community playgroup. It was chaotic, messy, colourful and loud. There were toys to share, biscuits that got dropped and picked back up, and kids who just sat and watched from the sidelines. And in those moments, without even realising it, we learned how to be human.

We learned how to take turns.

We learned how to share, negotiate, ask, and adapt.

We learned to build something together, literally and metaphorically.

We figured out that imagination was allowed. That everyone belonged.

No one taught us these things with a whiteboard. We absorbed them through play.

Then came school. And with it: rules. Hierarchies. Desks in rows. We started measuring each other. Competing. Sorting. Comparing. Some of us got told we were “gifted,” others “challenging.” And little by little, play was faded out.

We stopped being free around difference, we started avoiding it.

The very skills we were praised for in playgroup, empathy, connection, creativity became “soft” skills. Less valued. Less funded. But here’s the kicker: they’re the very skills we’re all craving now. At work. In relationships. In our communities.

Play Is the Work

We’ve been sold a myth that play and work are opposites.

One is what you do after the work is done.

One is what happens outside the office.

One is productive, the other is a waste of time.

But that’s a false divide.

At Wondiverse, we don’t see play as the thing you add to work. We see it as the way you work.

Play isn’t just about toys, games, or dress ups, although we love all of those. It’s a mindset. A way of approaching life with curiosity, creativity, experimentation, and connection.

When we bring play into the work we do, whether it’s a strategy session, a classroom, a community event, or a government consultation, something shifts.

People show up differently.

The tension lifts.

The ideas get bolder.

The walls come down.

And suddenly, collaboration becomes possible.

Play invites people to step outside of their rigid roles and rediscover their imagination, their humour, and their humanity. It makes room for questions instead of just answers. It allows space to even hear hard truths sometimes and absorb them. It lets people take risks, get things wrong, try again, and still feel safe. It rehumanises the process.

And here’s the truth: people want to play. Even the ones who say they don’t. Especially the ones who say they don’t. We’ve just been trained out of it.

The work of inclusion, leadership, innovation, and wellbeing doesn’t need to be heavy to be meaningful. In fact, when it’s infused with play, it becomes more sustainable, more engaging, and more likely to succeed.

Because when play and work become the same thing, we unlock something that many people have been craving for a long time, joyful purpose, authentic connection and meaning that doesn’t burn us out.

So no, we’re not asking you to add play to your to, do list.

We’re asking: what if play is the to, do list?

What if the world we’re trying to build needs less grind and more wonder?

Less ticking boxes, more curiosity?

Less trying to be right, more trying things together?

Play is the Original Social Glue

Play is how we test ideas and roles. How we stretch into new parts of ourselves. It’s where trust builds, where laughter takes the edge off, and where our nervous systems breathe a sigh of relief. In relationships, romantic, platonic, or professional, play is the glue. The safe way in.

Dr Stuart Brown, founder of the National Institute for Play, says: “The opposite of play is not work. It’s depression.”

And he’s right. Without play, we disconnect from joy, from each other, and from possibility.

Play is the Way Back to Each Other

Play breaks down hierarchy. It dissolves status. It invites everyone in regardless of age, background, neurotype, or confidence level. It says, “Come as you are. You’re part of this.” Whether you’re building a LEGO city, throwing ideas around a table, or solving a ridiculous made up problem, it creates space where every voice counts.

As Dr Peter Gray says: “Play is nature’s way of ensuring humans learn the skills they need to live peacefully and successfully in a group.”

And right now, that skill is in high demand.

I’ve seen it in real time. At events where autistic kids lead the adults. At workshops where people cry from laughing while learning how to listen. In workplaces where play rehumanises teams that have been hiding behind roles and job titles.

Teams That Play, Stay

Inclusion doesn’t come from policies. It comes from people actually wanting to connect and play is one of the fastest ways to get there. It lets people make mistakes without fear. It creates safety. And when there’s safety, there’s innovation.

Harvard’s Amy Edmondson calls it psychological safety. At Wondiverse, we just call it what happens when everyone’s allowed to be. When you let people play, you unlock what’s already inside them.

And when neurodivergent people are part of that space, without needing to mask or shrink or translate their way of being, the possibilities explode. Suddenly, difference isn’t a problem to solve. It’s the spark that makes the whole thing work better.

Play isn’t childish. It’s deeply human. It’s the portal back to each other. Back to joy. Back to the parts of ourselves that know how to dream, collaborate, and create.

At Wondiverse, we believe when you allow people to be, magic happens.

That moment of magic? It’s not just warm and fuzzy, it’s transformative. It’s the doorway to better conversations, braver ideas, and more authentic relationships. It’s where we remember that connection doesn’t come from doing things perfectly, it comes from being fully ourselves.