This volume furthers discourse and understanding about the complex phenomenon we know as play. As with volume one, Diversions and Divergences in Fields of Play, Reifel's purpose is to provide a forum for new thinking about play in humans and animals … across various cultural, social, and activity settings (1998, p. xi). Necessarily, this effort cuts across various disciplines, including biology, anthropology, history, psychology, education, leisure studies, sociology, and any field in which play theories contribute.

Play Contexts Revisited is comprised of sixteen contributions organized in five sections. Each section flushes out specific types of play, such as Stories of Adult's Play. Comparative contributions focus on play of other cultures and even other species. Volume two of Play & Culture Studies enriches the series with innovative articles about the many aspects and examples of play.