In this paper, we argue that current research on games in language education, predominantly framed as "digital game-based language learning" (DGBLL), is lacking details regarding the role of teachers, or more precisely, the verbalization of the pedagogical underpinnings, scaffolds, and techniques teachers use to successfully integrate games and play in their teaching contexts. Thus, we propose a new direction of research that emphasizes the importance of teachers in game-based language learning and argue for the necessity of an inclusive field of inquiry that is open to the diverse instantiations of games and play which exist outside the current scope of DGBLL. This new field places teachers and a deeper consideration of the connections between play and learning at the center of an approach to studying the intersection and implementation of games and language teaching. We present three "ludic language pedagogy" (LLP) studies which demonstrate what teaching with and around games looks like. Finally, we propose numerous avenues of further inquiry for teachers and researchers to advance the field of LLP.