In "Playground Equipment for Teenagers to Senior Citizens," we looked at how playgrounds can benefit the bodies of folks of all ages. Now play expert, industrial designer and design educator Cas Holman has got a new book out on how play can benefit adult creativity and more.

Holman ought to know; she's designed playgrounds and toys, and has held workshops for the likes of Disney Imagineering, LEGO, Nike and Google. In PLAYFUL: How Play Shifts Our Thinking, Inspires Connection, and Sparks Creativity, she shares her learnings.

Adults need play in our lives, but not as we view play for children. We need to re-learn how to free play. Since free play for adults has less to do with the activities we engage in than with our mindset, we need to find ways to shift perspective.

Holman delivers a call to action for adults to tap into their Play Voice, and allow play back into our lives in a way that will change them for the better. Play can look different for each of us: it might be a conversation with a stranger, a meandering walk in nature, a dance party in your kitchen, or even rearranging your living room. Each of these activities is "free play," that is, play driven by our internal desires rather than by external reward.

In Part One, readers will learn why free play is so important – not just for children, but for adults as well. Then, Holman provides the steps readers can take to achieve a playful mindset to shift their lives in Part Two.

The book will be released on October 21st, 2025 and is available for pre-order here.