This article demonstrates how taking the time out to play, commenting pungently on play, serving up surprise and adventure, and developing mutually understood codes or inside jokes help the psychiatrist to turn a child around. In this article, the authors categorized what principles of treatment their 10 vignettes about playfulness illustrated, they fell into four categories: (1) using the process of play to communicate; (2) commenting pungently and with good timing on play; (3) serving up creative surprise and adventure; and (4) developing mutually understood, imaginative "codes." Here, each author presents cases of each category.