Games are the simplest form of learning for children through which they develop various skills and strengthen self-confidence, so in recent years more and more efforts are being made to introduce games into the teaching process. Games play a particularly important role in foreign language teaching. By learning English through playing games, students primarily free themselves of the fear of language because they think less about whether they are using the correct form. Also, children unconsciously learn language while playing, in a similar way as the mother tongue. Since textbooks are the first teaching aid used by teachers in planning the teaching process, it would be desirable that they contained activities with elements of play that would serve to help teachers and students. The aim of this paper is therefore to find out whether and to what extent English textbooks contain such activities. For this purpose, six sets of English language textbooks from 1st to 3rd grade of primary school that were approved in the school year 2020/2021 were analysed, of which three sets by Croatian authors and publishers (Tiptoes, New building blocks and Dip in), and three international ones (Poptropica, Smiles and Let's explore). Both quantitative analysis, counting activities with elements of play in individual textbooks, and qualitative analysis, which provides insight into the types of activities in textbooks, were used. The results of the analysis showed the existence of play activities in textbooks, to a greater or lesser extent, as well as a significant difference between textbooks by Croatian and foreign authors. The results indicate the need for careful consideration and supplementation of textbook content to ensure a teaching process that is appropriate for children as foreign language learners and that, therefore, contains numerous and varied play activities.