Table 4.

TOPO outdoor play types summary.

Primary Play Type	Play Subtype	Description	Examples	Common Intersections with other Play Types	Comparable Categories from Other Typologies
Physical Play	Gross motor	activities that utilize large muscles and/or require whole body movement; not just casual movement of an object, but activities which might tax muscles or help to improve gross motor skills; can also include large muscle activities that require hand/eye coordination	climbing, running, throwing/catching, lifting, carrying heavy loads, crawling, swinging an item such as a bat or branch, jumping, kicking, or riding a bicycle	play with rules: as in chasing games	functional play; locomotor play; exercise play; movement play; deep play
	Fine motor	activities that involve the use of smaller muscle movements and hand/eye coordination, or which help develop finer motor skills; can include picking up or manipulating small objects in the environment	using a spoon or stick to stir water or mud, using a small shovel to scoop sand, picking up leaves, balls or other small loose parts	exploratory-active: as in stirring a bowl of dirt and water to make mud	functional play; object play
	Vestibular	activities which test or improve a child’s sense of balance and/or reinforce their relationship to the earth; usually involve movement of the head or quick movements in multiple directions	balancing, spinning, twirling, sliding, rolling, rocking, or hanging upside down; play activities could include balancing on a log or bridge, going back and forth on a glider or see saw, rocking in a chair or hammock, riding a swing, doing somersaults or cartwheels, walking on their hands, skipping, using monkey bars or hanging from a tree branch		functional play; locomotor play; exercise play; movement play; deep play
	Rough & Tumble	engagement in playful or mock fighting or wrestling “between friends who stay friends” [2] (p. 89) or more broadly playful physical contact such as tickling. Note: needs to be distinguished from actual aggression, which is not meant as a playful exchange between friends and is categorized within OPOS as non-play	play fighting, wrestling, tussling, tumbling, tickling, “sword” fighting	imaginative: as in play fighting within a superhero scenario	social play; play fighting
Exploratory Play	Sensory	playful but primarily passive (i.e., non-manipulative) exploration of an object or environment, often through one or more senses; includes interactions where the child appears to be receiving sensory information about the object or environment where their attention is focused, such as rubbing a plant part to feel its fuzziness or roughness; also includes when a child is walking through an environment but clearly taking in or exploring the setting	rubbing a leaf blade, splashing feet through flowing water, searching the ground for bugs or flowers, running mud through their fingers, petting an animal	bio play-plants or bio play-wildlife: as in playing with plant or animal life	object play; exploration
	Active	playful activities that involve active manipulation of an object or the environment where the child is paying attention to the outcome of the action, movement, or interaction These activities may have some goal, such as filling a pail with shovelfuls of sand, but where the child is not necessarily building or constructing something.	shoveling sand into a pail, digging a hole in a pile of gravel, floating a boat down a stream, collecting rocks and leaves, using a tree branch as broom to sweep dirt, driving a toy truck through mud, pulling the petals off a flower, stirring water and dirt together to make mud	imaginative: as in a “parent” baking a mud “pie” to serve to family for dinner	object play; sensory motor; cause and effect play; construction play; mastery play
	Constructive	activities where the child is manipulating objects in or the environment itself for the purpose of physically building or construct something, or else the thoughtful destruction or taking apart of something; includes when a child is playing with or putting together any kind of puzzle.	using rocks to build a dam in a stream, using loose parts to build a fort, piling rocks up to build a pyramid, piling up sticks to build a “fire”, arranging crates to define a “house”, moving pylons to create a racetrack	physical play types: as in picking up or manipulating small or large objects as part of (de) construction activities imaginative-play types: as in constructing a tower to use in their role as prince or princess	construction play; constructive play; mastery play; cause and effect play; creative play; deep play
Imaginative Play	Symbolic	where the play involves using an object, action or idea in the environment as a symbol for something else. This pretense is essentially embedded in the other two imaginative subtypes, but this is to be used when there is no observable evidence of socio-dramatic or fantasy play elements	using a piece of wood to symbolize a person, or a piece of string to symbolize a wedding ring, or a banana to play the role of a phone	exploratory-active or exploratory-constructive: as in turning mud into “cake batter” or constructing a “house” out of cardboard boxes	creative play; dramatic play; symbolic play
	Socio-dramatic	where the imaginative play involves playing or trying out typical social, domestic or interpersonal experiences or roles they may experience as adults	playing “house”, going shopping, pretending to be parents, organizing or cooking a meal, pretending to have a family fight	exploratory-active or exploratory-constructive: as in pretending a plate of stones is “supper” for their children or arranging logs to form the outline of their “house”	symbolic play; dramatic play; role play; creative play; fantasy play; role play
	Fantasy	where the imaginative play involves performing or playing with situations that are not personal or domestic, or enacting something that is unlikely to occur in real life.	playing characters from Harry Potter, pretending to be a princess, a wizard, an animal, or a space pilot	exploratory-active or exploratory-constructive: as in pretending sticks are wizards’ wands, or a line of wood stumps as their castle moat	symbolic play; dramatic play; creative play; fantasy play; role play
Play with Rules	Organic	two or more kids are agreeing to play or challenge each other in a certain way, where they develop, negotiate and even change the rules as they go	developing a game where superheroes chase villains, or racing toy cars down a plank, or seeing who can climb highest in a tree	physical play types: as in running, wresting, or spinning as part of a made up game or challenge	games with rules; social play; locomotor play
	Conventional	two or more kids playing games that have common, universal or well-known rules that the players understand before commencing. Note: if the play morphs into an activity where the rules are changed or renegotiated so they no longer follow the traditional rules of play then in become play with rules—informal	soccer, baseball, tag, capture the flag, hide and seek	physical-gross: as in running to play soccer or tag	games with rules; social play; locomotor play
Bio Play	Plants	where a child observes, discusses, or interacts with a living plant	picking a fruit, closely examining a leaf or flower, or exploring or commenting on some characteristic of the vegetation	exploratory-active: when they manipulate portions of the plant, or exploratory sensory: when they comment that a leaf “feels fuzzy”
	Wildlife	when a child is keenly observing or interacting with wildlife in the same environment including animals, birds and bugs (that are not a domestic pets)	catching small animals or bugs such as fireflies, moths, frogs, or crawdads; closely observing a bird or a turtle; poking a stick in the water to watch frog eggs wobble; looking under a log to see bugs	exploratory-active: when they pick up a bug, or manipulate the environment to better see an insect; exploratory sensory: as in when they are actively watching a bird, bug or animal
	Care	a child acts in a way that demonstrates care or stewardship of the environment, or an appreciation of nature	watering a plant or planting an acorn, building a home for a turtle, rescuing a caterpillar that is crawling along a pathway, picking up a piece of litter and placing it in the recycling bin	exploratory-active: when they are filling a pail in order to water a plant, or gathering grass to feed a caterpillar
Expressive Play	Performance	intentionally performing for others in some way	includes singing, drama/acting, dancing, playing music, juggling, or even hamming it up for the entertainment of others		musical play; creative play; symbolic play; semiotic play
	Artistic	manipulating the environment specifically for an artistic, creative or aesthetic outcome; includes mark-making and drawing	arranging leaves in a pattern, drawing spirals or pictures in the dirt or sand, painting or drawing pictures, making a pattern in the mud with footprints, or a sculpture out of sand	exploratory-active or exploratory-constructive: as in building of a patterned pyramid out of colored blocks, or designing a castle complex out of sand	creative play; symbolic play; semiotic play
	Language	activities involving the playful use or testing of sound, words and/or language	making up rhymes or poems, singing to themselves or with others, chanting, making up/telling jokes or stories,	exploratory-active or exploratory-constructive: as in using a blade of grass or branch to make a whistling sound, drumming on a pot with a spoon	storytelling; narrative play; communication play; musical play; recapitulative play; semiotic play
	Conversation	activities where the primary playful interaction is social conversation with other children or adults but does not involve any role play, is not supplemental to the play, or fall under other expressive play subtypes	includes two or more children sitting around a stump circle talking about a mutually attended event, or discussing their day with a parent	restorative-resting and/or non-play nutrition: as is a small or large group talking together while sitting in the shade or eating a snack	communication play; active conversation
Restorative Play	Resting	includes activities where a child is clearly taking a mental and/or break or rest	includes sitting, laying down, daydreaming, talking quietly to themselves (not paired with another play activity), or even quietly staring into space	non-play nutrition, exploratory-sensory or restorative-onlooking: as in sitting in the shade while taking a water break, or visually exploring the environment or other children while resting
	Retreat	where a child has removed themselves to a small, controlled space; may include the ability to look out and watch others	includes crawling into or watching out from a fully or semi-private fort, den or other enclosed space	exploratory-sensory or restorative-onlooking: as in sitting in a small fort peering out at the environment or other children nearby
	Reading	when a child is reading or writing for pleasure, or listening to others or music	includes reading a book, listening to another person telling a story or reading to them, or listening to music	exploratory-sensory: as in listening to a naturalist while they exhibit a live animal	exploration
	Onlooking	where a child deliberately steps back from nearby play for a period of observation rather than interaction; may just precede or follow play with others	when a child is sitting or standing apart while clearly watching others play or interact nearby	restorative-resting or exploratory-sensory: as in sitting on a log bench watching and listening to other children playing in a nearby setting	onlooker behavior; hovering
Digital Play	Device	where child is playing with or on a digital device with no interaction with the real world/physical environment	includes play games on a phone, tablet or portable game device, or listening to music through a device	restorative-resting or restorative-reading: as in sitting on a park bench playing a game on a phone, or laying on a blanket listening to music	communication play
	Augmented	when a child is using a digital device to mediate or augment their interaction with the physical world	includes playing Pokémon Go or other augmented reality game, or using their phone to read information transmitted through QR codes in the environment	play with rules: as in playing an augmented reality game with peers in the space
	Embedded	when the child is interacting with digital prompts or devices embedded in the real world/physical environment without a personal digital device	includes activating digital sensors in the environment to hear sounds or see light displays, playing a digital instrument embedded in the environment, playing with an interactive digital screen in the environment	expressive-performance or play with rules: as in playing musical sounds via a digital instrumental device embedded in the space or playing a digitally-embedded game with friends
Non-Play	Self-care	when a child is engaged in an activity meant to take care of themselves or their appearance; can include helping a friend or sibling to do these activities	includes taking off socks and shoes, tying shoelaces, tucking in shirt, or cleaning hands		transition
	Nutrition	when a child is taking a break to eat or drink	eating lunch or a snack, taking a drink of water		transition
	Distress	when a child is disengaged from play, and exhibiting signs of distress	crying, throwing a tantrum, throwing objects in frustration		anxious behaviors
	Aggression	refers to non-playful, agonistic interactions with another child or adult	includes hitting, kicking, grabbing, pinching, scratching, threatening
	Transition	where the primary activity is non-playful movement from one space or point to another, and there is little to no active engagement or exploration of the environment	includes walking or running in or out of the play space, or from one play setting to another	exploratory-sensory: as in walking to the bathroom, but also actively visually exploring the environment as they go	transition
	Other	other types of observed “non-play” activities; can include “chores” or clean up work, especially if directed by an adult and not initiated by the child	includes picking up litter and placing in garbage bin, putting away play materials or gathering belongings when getting ready to leave the play space		transition