Considers how the Greek notion of paidia might help resolve some knotty problems that often arise in modern theorizing about play. Play is often described as accompanied by pleasure or giving rise to pleasure, while, at other times, pleasure is hardly mentioned at all. The Greek notions of paidia suggest an alternative, that play is a manifestation of pleasure itself, and for this reason there can be no moment during play without pleasure, since pleasure is its defining feature. Putting paidia into dialogue with modern play theorists such as Huizinga, Caillois, Gadamer, and others, I consider both the strengths and weaknesses of such a pleasure model of play.