Is life a game or not ?

I think that whoever said that plainly doesn't really live their lives fully. Life is not a game. Everything we do is for real and has consequences. Life is about the people we are, and the journey we take. There's no such thing as "winning" or "losing" in life - it's not a competition. What matters is that we are true to ourselves, and accept responsibility for the decisions and actions we take. Life is about learning about us and the world around us. It's about developing and becoming the best people we can. It's not about comparing ourselves to people around us, and it's not about "results" because if you accept someone else's version of what "counts" in life, you're living by their rules and accepting their viewpoints and philosophies. The trick is to find yourself, and be yourself, to understand the consequences of all of your actions, and to realise that living a worthwhile and good life is not to use others, or to gain at their expense. What others think of you doesn't matter, unless they're people you respect, and they deserve your respect. Life is not a game - that's why games are games - because they're not real life. Unfortunately, many people nowadays seem to be in a perpetual state of childhood/adolescence in their minds, and behaviour, and so therefore are reckless and don't take life/others/the world around them seriously. This is a huge mistake, and a waste of their lives, not to mention all the damage they leave in their wakes.

I'd personally have to say that life is but a stage that we perform on. We are always changing masks and rolls several times throughout our life.