A to Z Challenge 2026 - G - Contessina’s Collection of Human Treasures

“Games! Humans have a seemingly infinite variety of games! Card games! Board games! Video games! They play games in their backyards, their front yard, inside their homes, on courts, in fields, stadiums, vacant lots…In short, I don’t think there’s anything in their cultures with a greater variety or participation than games.

“They have professional and amateur leagues of sports competitions. They have Olympics Games. They insisted on holding the Olympics even during the Danab War, and when it was over, at the Mumbai Olympics, Rine Lo, competing for Sweden, swept the Gold Medals in seven categories and was immediately accused of being a Danab, and yet was still embraced as a hero around the world, simply for having been so spectacularly successful. 

“Certainly other worlds have rich traditions in this fashion, too. The Puck have twiddleball, and we have tried repeatedly to introduce it on Earth, but it seems it’s one game humans can’t play. We keep trying. We’ve played it for more than five thousand years. I guess the concept of what I always try to describe as combat Chess is just too elusive, or maybe it’s too full of cultural cues. Give them a few more years. I’m sure they’ll figure it out.

“I mean, it’s not as if I don’t still have difficulties with Pinochle. Or bunting. Or a triple lutz. And don’t even get me started on POG…”