The phenomenon of language game as a way of creating a journalistic image, also humorous, ironic, satirical, can be called one of the most actively developing traditions in modern Russian media. The aesthetics of postmodernism has increased interest in both the language game and the humour – an effective way to assess the events of reality, and to express the author's position. In the situation of language inflation, the audience, tired of the news, formed a request for a multifunctional text, involving co-creation, provided exactly by language game. Researchers define "the virus of irony" as a characteristic feature of modern media text, with the paradigm of irony constantly expanding: from light humor to destroying sarcasm and grotesque. The paper attempts to identify and systematize the functional types of language game as a way to create a comic effect. On the basis of the analysis of prominent journalists’ works the authors determined the techniques of language games, which are most actively used to create the humour – humorous, ironic, satirical – image. These are paronomasia, pun, occasionalisms, transformation of phraseological units, stylistic contrast. Language game as a deliberate violation of the norm is manifested at different levels of the text: grammatical, lexical-semantic, syntactic, and stylistic. The role of the humour in the headlines of modern publications of different directions is also characterized. Special attention is given to principles for the publicists’ appeal to laughter as a simple and sharp form of criticism that allows implementing a variety of communicative intentions: humour, outrage, and others.