Games have been a universal cultural phenomenon for thousands of years and possibly longer. Senet. Mehen. The Royal Game of Ur. Backgammon. Pachesi. Mancala. Go. Draughts. Chess. Dice. Cards. Dominos. Marbles. Hide-and-Seek. Stop-and-Go. Tag. Word games. Trivia games. Wargames. Resource management games. Railroad simulation games. Roleplaying games. Video games. On and on.

Games have histories, some remembered and some lost. One story tells of a Chinese emperor Yao who had his couselor Shun design the game Go for his unruly son. In 11th century Persia, it is said that Burzoe invented nard, a variant of backgammon. Albert Lamorisse, a French filmmaker, invented the strategic board game, Risk. From its tabletop wargaming roots, Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson invented Dungeons & Dragons and rediscovered roleplaying games. Allan Alcorn, an American engineer and computer scientist, invented the video game Pong. Richard Garfield, an American mathematician, invented the trading card game, Magic: The Gathering. Klause Teuber, a German dental technician, invented the strategy and negotiation board game Catan. 

Games can serve as a leisure activity to relax and pass the time. While a variety of vices can attach themselves to games, playing games is not a vice in itself.

Games can teach a variety of skills. Rules. Counting. Probability. Logic. Planning. Math. Spelling. Stealth. Coordination. Bluffing. Negotiation. And so on.

Games can also convey values. Karma or morals in Snakes and Ladders. Family and responsibility in Life. Money, debt, and property in Monopoly.

Games can teach esoteric ideas. The Persian invention of chess conveys the idea of opposing forces of the universe. The Hindu invention of Moksha Patam conveys the spiritual journey. Roleplaying games can teach non-identification and the playing of roles.

Games were a part of my family life for as long as I can remember. Elders playing cribbage or some other card game after the meal at a family gathering. Kids playing Candyland. Dark Tower for one Christmas, and Dungeons & Dragons the next. The entrancing experience of Pong on the television set. Tag or stop-and-go at school. Hide-and-seek with us neighborhood kids. Games of dominos after church. 

Hanging out with friends and playing arcade games, or on an ATARI, Intellivision, Sega Genesis, Nintendo, Playstation, XBOX.

Or hanging out with friends and playing many different roleplaying games and board games over the years. Talisman, Warhammer Fantasy, and Illuminati with a bunch of hardcore, punk, and metalheads many years ago. Now Pathfinder or Cthulhu Wars with some of the same old friends.

For all of these, I wish to give thanks. Thanks to all of the game designers who invented their games, known and unknown. Thanks to the players who preserved the games sometimes over thousands of years. And I don’t know if there is a patron saint of games or gamers, but they too have my lifelong thanks.