This article is dedicated to the peculiar genre of the ‘Freudenspiel’ (joy play), which was used in the German-speaking world in the 17th century. It will be shown that the term was by no means only understood as a synonym for ‘comedy’, but that there are heterogeneous hybrid subgenres under the term, which will be briefly introduced and functionally analyzed. On the basis of Harsdörffer’s five “Freudenspiele”, which are largely unknown today, and his reflections on the genre, the second part of the study identifies and differentiates the art of transformation as the main method of Harsdörffer’s “Freudenspiele”. It is a poetic calculation adapted from Arcimboldo, which Harsdörffer’s intermedial “Freudenspiele” follow. The “Freudenspiele” are hybrid in many ways; they draw on Italian, French, Spanish and English sources, are partial translations and adaptations, use images and music, but are also new creations that are appreciated for their independence and originality in comparison with their European models.