It's not exactly play, it's more like focused exploration. Eg Columbus setting sail without knowing what he would find. You wouldn't say he was playing but you would say he was discovering.

I mean the guy was going for a shorter trip to the indias and found out the americas

I'd call that mostly luck lmao

Took courage to go to the end of the world, for sure, but still god damn luck too

Ideation and customer discovery? Market research?