# Why do humans play games? | Irving Finkel and Lex Fridman

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqH2wfGKp0o
Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/uqH2wfGKp0o
Generated: 2025-12-18T01:32:38.475+00:00

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## Quick Overview

Humans play games, which involve chance and strategy, because these activities provide a structured, safe environment to explore fundamental aspects of human nature, such as rivalry, hostility, and the desire to win, which are often constrained in real-life social settings.

**Key Points:**
- The desire to play games, incorporating chance and strategy, is deeply rooted in human nature, offering a safe outlet for inherent rivalry and the drive to win.
- Ancient games, like those played with astragali (sheep knucklebones), were not just for entertainment but also served divination purposes, as evidenced by Tablet BM 33333B from Babylon (177 BC).
- The guest suggests that the rules of ancient games were often carefully crafted to be 'cauch[ed] in such a way' that they talked about life in a bar or tavern setting, reflecting social dynamics.
- Some ancient games, such as those involving wolves against geese or Fox and Geese, were structured so that winning was less important than the process or the social interaction itself.
- The concept of 'Time pass' is distinguished from 'pastime'; the former refers to what one does when it is too hot to do anything else, while the latter implies a more deliberate, beneficial activity.
- The guest notes that ancient games often involved both monetary betting and literary/narrative elements, such as the genre 'Gambler's Lament'.

![Screenshot at 02:58: The screen displays an image of five ancient astragali \(sheep knucklebones\) used as primitive dice, accompanied by a text overlay defining them as tools for ancient games and divination, illustrating the historical context of gaming.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/uqH2wfGKp0o/00-02-58.png)

**Context:** This is an interview segment from the Lex Fridman Podcast featuring a guest, Irving Finkel, an Assyriologist known for his work on ancient Mesopotamian culture and cuneiform tablets. The conversation centers on the deep, perhaps evolutionary, reasons why humans engage in games, contrasting modern gaming with ancient practices like using astragali (knucklebones) for both play and divination.

## Detailed Analysis

The discussion explores the psychological and historical roots of playing games. Lex Fridman posits that the human desire for games, which combine chance and strategy, stems from an innate need to engage in rivalry and test skills in a controlled setting, preventing these competitive urges from becoming destructive in real life. Irving Finkel confirms this by referencing ancient evidence, specifically Tablet BM 33333B from Babylon (177 BC), which describes rules for games involving astragali (sheep knucklebones) used as dice. Finkel explains that these ancient games often had rules framed to reflect social situations, sometimes even involving betting or being played when it was too hot to do other work (differentiating this from true 'pastime'). He highlights that the outcome (winning) wasn't always the primary focus; for example, some games like 'Fox and Geese' or those described in the 'Gambler's Lament' were set up to provide a credible narrative or structure for social interaction, regardless of who won or lost, suggesting games serve a crucial function in managing human social competition and channeling energy.

### The Nature of Games

- Desire to play games mixing chance and strategy is part of human nature
- Games offer a safe outlet for rivalry and the desire to win
- Games provide a structured environment where hostility is channeled.

### Ancient Gaming Evidence

- Games existed in ancient India and were played by both men and women differently
- Astragali (sheep knucklebones) were used as primitive dice for games and divination, evidenced by Babylonian Tablet BM 33333B (177 BC).

### Purpose and Rules

- Rules were often couched to talk about life in social settings like a bar
- Some games were structured so winning wasn't the main point, like Wolves against Geese or Fox and Geese.

### Time Pass vs. Pastime

- The concept of 'time pass' is distinct from 'pastime'
- Time pass is what one does when it's too hot for anything else, whereas pastime is beneficial.

### Game Context

- Ancient games often involved monetary stakes and were sometimes documented in literary texts like 'Gambler's Lament'.

![Screenshot at 00:02: Lex Fridman Podcast intro screen showing an Earth view from space.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/uqH2wfGKp0o/00-00-02.png)
![Screenshot at 03:04: The guest gestures while explaining how ancient game rules were structured to reflect real-life social situations.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/uqH2wfGKp0o/00-03-04.png)
![Screenshot at 02:58: Visual aid defining 'Astragali' as sheep knucklebones used as primitive dice in ancient games and divination.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/uqH2wfGKp0o/00-02-58.png)
![Screenshot at 03:42: Image of Tablet BM 33333B from Babylon, showing cuneiform script detailing game rules, sourced from The British Museum.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/uqH2wfGKp0o/00-03-42.png)