In this presentation I have tried to describe the connection between trauma, play, and perversion. The connecting link emphasized was the need of the ego to render a traumatic experience unreal through the medium of play. The same elements enter into more highly structured perversions. This is the result of a failure of mastery by the ego. Perversions represent an unsuccessful attempt to solve the unconscious conflicts generated by the traumatic experiences. Perversions resemble a game that has failed in its purpose. When the mechanism of denial in fantasy does not succeed in curbing anxiety, the perverse practice is repeated again and again, but the individual remains unconvinced of his denial of reality, and the game ceases to be a form of play.