Playing A Fish Quest. ?

Hi,

New at this, and would like to see a discussion on
the subject of "playing a fish" when flyfishing for trout.

For "typical" sized New England trout, e.g. rainbows and brookies,
do you folks literally just haul them in (certainly no problem in
overpowering them even with very thin tippet sizes), or do you
like to "play" them some, and tire them a bit, before landing them.

Which is better for the fish' chance of surviving ?

Do you wait until you have a real large sized trout on before "playing him"
off the reel, some ? How large ?

Very interested in the techniques for this used by others.

Thanks,
B.