"This is not a game."

Translation: Ez nem játék.

[_k8mc_]

why is "ez nem egy játék" wrong? or is it?

[vvsey]

More unusual than wrong. It is much more common this way. Like "This is no game".
Btw, "játék" means both "game" and "toy". But not wildlife.

[archieb67]

Why is this incorrect: "Ez nincs játék." ?

[Raphi_K]

Because "nincs" means "there is not". It is the opposite of "van" - "there is" or "have" in English.

E.g. Nincs penzem - I have no money

[joemagyarul]

Sort of - nincs is literally the irregular conjugation of nem van (which is never used)
Nincs is used in the sense of there is not/does not have because van is used in this sense also, but is literally is not: for example, ő nincs itt = (s)he is not here

So Ez nincs játék is wrong because equality of two nouns (or a noun and an adjective) requires omitting van (and by extension, omitting nincs - but of course keeping nem, because otherwise you would have no idea there was a negation)

[Raphi_K]

What a wonderfully clear explanation. Thanks!

[Anar698059]

Is it okay to rephrase "nem játék van"