these articles: What We Learn from One of the World’s Oldest Board Games and another treasured find: 4,000-Year-Old Game Board Carved into the Earth Shows How Nomads Had Fun show us the seriousness of play, or just gives a peek that playing games has been relevant at all times by all cultures, as off-course also Johan Huizinga wrote about in Homo Ludens 1938.
“The ability to judge another person was valuable, Crist said. It helped find answers to important questions: Are you good enough to be part of my family? Should I trust you enough to trade with you? “This is how games passed between cultures,” Crist said. Where language cannot reveal everything, something may still be gleaned from the silent, ludic routines of a game.”
“Samanth Subramanian”