Games Girls Play: Contexts of Girls and Video Games examines the contexts of girls' experiences with video gaming. Video games are an important aspect of children's media culture, not only because of the amount of time spent playing games, but also because of their potential educational benefits. However, there continue to be gender-based differences in how girls and boys play video games which are limiting to girls' full social and cultural participation. Additionally, while more girls and women are playing video games, they continue to be under-represented in the video game industry. This book looks at the role that video games play in girls' lives, including how games structure girls' leisure time, how playing video games constitutes different performances of femininity, and what influences girls to play or not play video games. Through interviews, focus groups, and qualitative content analyses, this book analyzes girls' involvement with video games. It also examines different contexts in which discourses of girls and video games occur, including girl-oriented video games, activist efforts to change the video game industry, and informal education programs that teach girls video game design.