Stopping by for the first time for the A-Z Challenge? Read a short intro to the A-Zs of Worldbuilding here!

I have another post up at the Ferret blog today, as well! Hop on over there to read all about Choosing the Best Opening Scene for Your Story!

I’m going to warn you now – this post is a long one. Grab a cup of something, pull up a chair, and settle in!

Oblectation, according to The Phrontistery means:

enjoyment; pleasure

Where there are people, there will be recreation. How much recreation depends on their lifestyles, because their lifestyles affect their wealth, and their finances dictate how much they can have other people do for them, and how much they have to do themselves. 

Some of it will also be affected by the level of technology available – how much can machines do for people? Then, of course, there’s always the matter of who can afford those machines anyway.

However, we could speculate over that all day. So we’re going to move on!

Forms of Recreation

Games

Games teach skills. They may not always be the wisest of skills to hone, but when something is fun it’s more likely to be memorable.

Children’s Games

These are simple games often created to make mundane chores something enjoyable.

Anything can be made into a contest.

• Who can pull the most weeds the fastest?
• Who can find the most eggs? (From hens, not for Easter.)
• Who can milk the most cows?

Another game I remember from my childhood was learning the waltz while folding sheets.

There are also games for wearing off children’s excess energy, or for teaching them manners and other skills.

• Red Rover (This was such a dangerous game. But so much fun.)
• Tag
• Hide ‘n Seek
• The Quiet Game
• “Mother May I?”

Adult Games

Games for adults usually require more refined skill than children’s games, but not always, and the skills practiced and developed are sometimes more sinister.

Games of Chance

Games of chance are unpredictable (we’re not going to deliberate statistics here), unless one cheats, and usually rely on the skill of bluffing.

• Card games – not solitaire, but anything where your betting against another person’s dealt hand, etc.
• Dice games
• Betting on other games/events

Games to Display Physical Prowess

In any society where fitness or the ability to perform manual labor is prized, recreation and games will arise out of that.

These games may be just for fun, or they may have higher stakes – even up to a fight to the death.

• Wrestling
• Rodeo (more common in societies where people deal with livestock for their livelihood)
• Fencing (more common in societies that place great emphasis on swordsmanship)
• Running
• Tournaments

Tournaments don’t have to be jousting, they can really be pitting several different sets of people against each other multiple times until a sole victor remains. It can be adapted to any game, but is more likely to be made a great deal over in cases of games of physical prowess. Think about the Olympics.

Logic & Puzzle Games

Games that exercise the mind have always been a part of society and culture. They are especially prized among those who need to think strategically often – whether it’s plotting the next war, or the next marriage.

• Chess
• Sudoku
• Riddles

Chess is an ancient game, so it’s not hard to think that there might be a similar game in your fictional world that has remained largely unchanged for centuries.

Stories: The Stuff of Legends & History

Oral tradition is a fascinating thing to study – and many times, especially before a written language is widespread, it will become the recreation of a community. Later, the stories may be written down, but ultimately many of them will be lost.

I had the privilege in high school of seeing the performance of an Irish storyteller for a St. Patrick’s Day event, and I can tell you there’s nothing like hearing old stories the way they were originally shared. It is a very visceral, memorable moment.

How are stories passed on in your current timeline?

• Plays?
• Books?
• Oral Tradition?
• All of the above?
• None of the above? (Think Avatar – yes, the James Cameron one. Memories were shared through that tree-thing.)

What is the most well-known story?

What stories does everyone know?

• What historical stories?
• What moral stories? (Think Aesop’s Fables.)
• What just-for-fun stories?

Celebrations

Celebrations accomplish two things: they keep the morale of a community up, and they help people bond with each other. That bond is important at time of crisis, whether it is famine, drought, plague, or war, or any of the numerous other calamities that can befall a society.

What types of events warrant celebration?

• Spring planting
• The first harvest
• The first rain
• The beginning of each season (solstice & equinox)
• Birthdays
• Betrothals
• Marriages

What holidays are celebrated?

• Religious – more on this in a later post.
• Civil – anything that commemorates an occasion that was beneficial for the people. IE: Independence Day.
• Memorial – usually commemorating an event, usually involving a selfless act that cost someone something precious.

Other Forms of Recreation

Dancing

Attending Lectures

Sex

To Sum It Up…

Almost every facet of life is affected by how much enjoyment or pleasure can be derived from it. Pleasure is secondary only to survival.

Image used in header is by PgmJanssen, public domain.

My intention is to turn the A-Zs of Worldbuilding into a workbook after the Challenge is finished. If you’d like to stay notified about that, you can subscribe to my newsletter here. Please make sure and select the A-Zs of Worldbuilding option!