Play has been widely associated with the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) pedagogy and curriculum, as it is considered one of the most appropriate forms of organizing learning. It enhances children's holistic development and learning (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009; Payler, et al., 2017; Wood, 2015, Loizou, 2017).  Article 31 of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (Loizou & Avgitidou, 2014) considers play as a fundamental right of every child.  Each type of play (socio-dramatic, imaginative, constructive, creative, kinesthetic, experimental, and games with rules) appears to contribute differently to each of the child's developmental domains (cognitive, social, emotional, and motor).  Focusing on play with rules, there seems to be an agreement in the existing literature regarding the positive impact they have on children’s cognitive development (e.g. language development, mathematical skills) (Ramani, et al., 2019; Andika, et al., 2019) and their socio-emotional development (e.g., social skills, interaction) (Anzman-Frasca et al., 2020; Barton, et al., 2018).  Individual studies show that games with rules can help children develop their communication skills (Barton, et al., 2018) since they can become dynamic tools that promote the development of critical communication skills by encouraging verbal expression and understanding (Anzman-Frasca et al., 2020).  However, the benefits of games with rules in facilitating the development of children's communication skills have not been sufficiently studied and need further investigation (Pellegrini, et al., 2002).  In this context, the present research aims to investigate children's communication skills during their participation in a game with rules with peers. We define this type of play as a game with specific rules, specific structure and development. For this research, communication skills were defined and measured considering the following elements:  verbal communication, non-verbal communication, listening, utilization of materials for communication purposes and the relevance of communication between children during the games with rules. Five children from six to nine years old participated in this study in a research lab with two doctoral students (researchers). Data collection included observation of each session and information was collected using an observational tool which had been developed by the two first researchers and examined and finalized by the third one for the purpose of this study.  For triangulation purposes, data collection was carried out by the two researchers who analysed both the results collected by the observation tool and the results from the videotaping through episode recording.  This study was based on the deductive approach of data analysis. It is evident that all the communication skills studied were utilized during the game with rules, some to a lesser and others to a greater extent. Data suggests variations in the occurrence of each skill related to the children's age. Older children used mostly verbal communication skills during their play while younger children used listening and non-verbal communication skills. Specifically, the older children used more their listening skills and commented less on the opponent's actions in the advanced form of play. Findings suggest that games with rules provide children with opportunities to exercise and enhance their communication skills. 

To investigate communication skills during games with rules, as well as note differences in these skills based on the difficulty of the games five children aged 6 to 9 years old participated in a structured study. The participants were selected using the purposeful sampling method as children of acquaintances were invited. The study was conducted at the Early Childhood Research Lab of the University of Cyprus. For this study, two well-known games with rules were used, both in their simple and advanced form. They were presented to the children after they were differentiated by the first two researchers. Data collection included participant and non-participant observation conducted by the first two researchers for triangulation and reliability purposes. The role of the one researcher was that of a spectator-non-participatory and the role of the second one was participatory. For this study, two different methods of data collection were used, video recordings and observations. The observations were conducted on two consecutive days and each observation lasted approximately 2 hours. In the first observation, data was collected on children's communication skills during the games with rules in the simple form while in the second observation in their advanced form. Specifically, a total of 12 video recordings ranging from 1 to 18 minutes in duration were collected. An observation tool developed by the researchers was used, consisting of communication characteristics as seen in the literature suitable for observing communication skills. The observation tool included a total of 21 statements related to 5 communication-related variables (verbal, non-verbal communication, listening, utilization of materials for communication purposes, communication relevance). The tool included four ratings related to the occurrence of the behaviour in each round of game (e.g., None, Rarely, Often, Very often). Data analysis involved two stages. Regarding the first stage, upon completion of each observation, the tool was completed for each child individually while at the same time, each researcher watched the relevant video recording noting down the children's dialogues and reactions. The data from the first and second observations were studied both individually and collectively. The second stage involved transcribing the video recordings resulting in a series of episodes which were linked with the variable categories. These were reviewed by the third researcher and any differences were discussed and a consensus was reached when compared to the observation tool outcomes.

Play is a vital context in which children can acquire and practice skills necessary for the development of communication (Brodin, 2020). Previous research has shown an increase in communication skills (e.g., commenting, responding) due to play interventions. In the present study, all communication skills studied appeared to be applied in children's play, concluding that they seem to be necessary during games with rules. However, there were differences in the occurrence of each skill related to the children's age. Specifically, older age children exercised greater control over the materials of each game. That is, the element of sharing the materials was more prominent, perhaps because they had more developed leadership and organizational skills due to their age. Also, older children used mostly verbal communication skills during their play. Specifically, they commented on their teammates' actions as an attempt to judge their correctness and asked questions about the game (both for clarification and to challenge a teammate) much more than younger children. Furthermore, the older children were strongly negotiating the progress of the game according to their interests. The younger children mainly followed the flow of the game determined by the older children. Our study showed that younger children used listening and non-verbal communication skills to a greater extent during their play. There were differences in children’s behaviour in terms of communication skills during their participation in the games with advanced difficulty. Specifically, the older children used more their listening skills and commented less on the opponent's actions. This can be interpreted due to the difficulty of the game and the fact that children were trying to maintain their concentration.

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