Journal profile · SOCIAL SCIENCES, INTERDISCIPLINARY
American Journal of Play
ISSN 1938-0399 · eISSN 1938-0402
American Journal of Play: CAS Zone 4 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); subscription journal; 14 articles a year; indexed in ESCI.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
American Journal of Play is in Zone 4 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Digital Games and Media, Child Development and Digital Technology and Early Childhood Education and Development, together about 40.4% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The American Journal of Play is a forum for the history, science, and culture of play. Published three times a year, the Journal features interviews, book reviews, and original peer-reviewed research for a wide readership of scholars, educators, policymakers, museum and industry professionals, healthcare workers, and those who seek to understand the importance and impact of play in our world. The first peer-reviewed journal devoted to this study, our publication presents thought-provoking and timely material on play across disciplinary perspectives and methodologies, including research in the fields of education, psychology, cultural studies, biology, sociology, media and game studies, neuroscience, anthropology, history, folklore, and more. We welcome research exploring all areas of play such as: play in learning and development from infancy to adulthood cultural histories of playthings and ways of playing practices of play therapy in health (behavioral, mental, physical) intersections of play and gender, race, class, sexuality, and ability public policy decisions impacting play play in schools and other educational settings biology and neuroscience of play evaluations of major themes and theories in traditional and emerging play scholarship
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): SOCIAL SCIENCES, INTERDISCIPLINARY
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Digital Games and MediaSocial Sciences19.3%
- Child Development and Digital TechnologySocial Sciences11.2%
- Early Childhood Education and DevelopmentSocial Sciences9.9%
- Child Therapy and DevelopmentPsychology6.8%
- Impact of Technology on AdolescentsSocial Sciences4.7%
- Educational Games and GamificationPsychology4.4%
- Creativity in Education and NeurosciencePsychology3.7%
- Themes in Literature AnalysisArts and Humanities3.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCILetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- h-index
- 36OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 98OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 20%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 14LetPub ·
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Subscription journalLetPub
A subscription journal: articles are read by subscription or purchase, and authors usually pay no publication charge.
No source has fee information yet; check the journal's website.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 100–150 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 5
- Reference style
- Chicago
Article types accepted3
- book reviewsthe Journal features interviews, book reviews, and original peer-reviewed researchLength not stated
- interviewsthe Journal features interviews, book reviews, and original peer-reviewed researchLength not stated
- original peer-reviewed researchthe Journal features interviews, book reviews, and original peer-reviewed researchLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteLicense & copyright
- License & copyright Copyright Information
© The Strong, 2008—2024. All Rights Reserved. All materials appearing in the American Journal of Play and on its website are protected by copyright individually and as a collective work or compilation under U.S. Copyright and other laws and are the property of The Strong and the creators of the content.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- ISSN
- 1938-0399
- Electronic ISSN
- 1938-0402
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about American Journal of Play
What CAS zone is American Journal of Play in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, American Journal of Play is in Zone 4 of Sociology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What are the manuscript requirements of American Journal of Play?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 100–150 words; Keywords: ≥ 5; Reference style: Chicago. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Which databases index American Journal of Play?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, American Journal of Play is indexed in ESCI.
Is American Journal of Play open access, and what is the APC?
American Journal of Play is a subscription journal. Fee information is not available yet; check the journal's website.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .