Circle Run

In games and digital media, the "magic circle" is the space in which the normal
 rules and reality of the world are suspended and replaced by the artificial
 reality of a game world.[1] As noted by Edward Castronova in Synthetic Worlds:
 The Business and Culture of Online Games, the boundary delineating this space 
"can be considered a shield of sorts, protecting the fantasy world from the outside
 world".[2] Instead of being impenetrable, however, an examination of contemporary
 virtual worlds reveals that the magic circle is actually quite porous. 
More directly, there appears to be a relationship between virtual worlds 
and the outside world. Even though virtual worlds display a range of 
attributes that are unique to their realm, they also exhibit characteristics
 deriving from the outside world. Castronova uses the term "synthetic world"
 because a synthetic world "cannot be sealed completely; people are crossing it 
all the time in both directions, carrying their behavioral assumptions and attitudes
 with them".[2] As this suggests, elements of synthetic worlds are being 
evaluated in terms of their importance in the outside world. These newly
 established values, subsequently, gain significance on both sides of the membrane. 
Thus, it becomes difficult to determine the meaning of the word "virtual".
 As stated by Castronova, the "allegedly 'virtual' is blending so smoothly 
into the allegedly 'real' as to make the distinction increasingly difficult to see

All play moves and has its being within a play-ground marked off beforehand
 either materially or ideally, deliberately or as a matter of course.
 Just as there is no formal difference between play and ritual, so the 'consecrated spot' 
cannot be formally distinguished from the play-ground. The arena, the card-table, the magic 
circle, the temple, the stage, the screen, the tennis court, the court of justice, etc,
 are all in form and function play-grounds, i.e. forbidden spots, isolated, hedged round,
 hallowed, within which special rules obtain. All are temporary worlds within the ordinary
 world, dedicated to the performance of an act apart.