Though some moralists through history have denied it, play is one of the fundamental activities of mankind. Even the poorest hunter-gatherers played games and sat in rapt attention listening to storytellers. As societies became more complex, so did the tools they used to have fun.
Dolls (TL0). Most societies fashioned small figurines from clay or disposable materials. These may have been used as toys. Made of clay: $4, 0.25 lb. Made of cloth, hair, or plant husks: $4, neg.
Board Games (TL1). There’s evidence of board games by 2500 B.C., but they were probably played much earlier. Early Western games involved racing around the board, perhaps while capturing others’ pieces as in backgammon, while go developed very early in China. Boards were typically wooden, with clay or stone pieces. $40, 3 lbs.
Dice (TL1). Dice made from lightly carved bones such as sheep’s knuckles may go as far back as 3000 B.C. Most can roll 1-2 (games with “two-sided dice” usually involve rolling a handful and adding up values), but 1-4 and 1-6 weren’t hard to find. Twenty-sided dice, invented by the Romans, date to as early as the second century A.D. Set of dice (up to five two-sided dice, or two or three dice with more sides): $6, neg.
Dominoes (TL1). Games played with numbered tiles were independently invented in Egypt and China by 1400 B.C. Set of around 30 tiles: $22, 1.5 lbs. Early cards-like games resembling mah jong were played with larger sets of domino-like tiles: $44, 3 lbs.
Kite (TL2). Made of paper or silk on a wooden frame, kites appeared in eastern Asia between 1000 and 500 B.C. In addition to recreational use, kites could be used as signal flags visible from a great distance, or to send small objects aloft and over obstacles. In a favorable wind, a typical kite could lift up to 0.5 lb. Kite a yard across, with 20 yards of string: $33, 2 lbs.
Cards (TL3). Playing cards date to the Middle Ages. Before printing (p. 48), they had to be individually painted: $400, 0.5 lb. Cost dropped when printing allowed them to be mass-produced (late TL4): $50, 0.5 lb.
Public Spectacles (TL1). Though sporting contests and theatrical performances are probably as old as humanity, purpose-built venues were a product of early civilizations. Nominal prices for an afternoon’s entertainment could range from $3 for remote seats to $50 for seats near the action. Civic groups or politicians might buy and distribute blocks of seats. The best seating was often reserved for the ruling classes, making admission a benefit of Status.
Automata (TL2). Several empires had upper classes wealthy enough to spend considerable sums on mechanical amusements. Among the earliest such contrivances were small automated displays and vending machines, operated by the energy provided by a falling coin. A Roman hand-cranked theater, invented in the first century B.C., provided small audiences with a show lasting several minutes. The most expensive devices weren’t commercial amusements, but were incorporated into temples and palaces to impress visitors: self-opening doors and so on, powered by hydraulics, servants behind the scenes, or occasionally steam (see Rudimentary Steam, LT p. 28). A simple contraption, such as a holy water vending machine, is at least $3,000, 50 lbs.; automated architectural features start at $10,000.
Bathhouse (TL2). Since heating water at home was expensive, many sophisticated low-tech societies had bathhouses. For a nominal fee (ranging from $1 for small baths, using individual wooden tubs, to $6 for grand ones, with pool-sized baths and multiple water temperatures), one could purchase a long bath in hot water. Bathhouses were typically segregated by sex either physically (men used one side, women the other) or in time (men and women alternated days). Even the smallest establishments provided other services – such as soap, massages, hairdressing, or snacks – for additional fees. Large ones might host shops, athletic grounds, or even libraries.
Optical Amusements (TL4). Two 16th-century inventions, the camera obscura (see GURPS Low-Tech Companion 1) and the magic lantern, were mostly curiosities for wealthy scholars, but occasionally used as entertainment. Magic lanterns projected light from an enclosed source through an etched glass panel, casting an image on the wall of a darkened room. Admission to a viewing lasting up to an hour costs about $10 to $20.
Many historical sports, from running to wrestling, required no gear whatsoever; some societies even practiced these naked. Other activities, such as chariot racing and archery contests, used equipment, but nothing specialized for the sport; for example, there would be no difference between a bow for an archery competition and one for war. Some sports needed purpose-built gear, however.
Ball (TL0). Small ball for throwing and light stick games: $3, 0.25 lb. Large, soft ball suitable for games resembling soccer and rugby: $9, 1 lb.
Stick (TL0). Variations on the theme of knocking a ball through a goal with a stick have been independently invented across continents. Many sticks have a feature on the end suitable for the sports for which they’re designed; e.g., a curved blade for hockey, a paddle or a net for tennis, or a mallet head for polo. $25, 1 lb.
Maya Ball Game Kit (TL1). The Maya practiced a sport involving athletes wearing heavily padded loincloths knocking a large rubber ball around an I-shaped court. Ball: $40, 6 lbs. Uniform: $18, 1.5 lbs. (Variants of the game had the players wear arm and leg protection; treat as leather limb armor.)
Discus (TL2). A Greek throwing discus, made of bronze, might average $30, 6 lbs., but examples from half to double that weight and cost aren’t unheard of. An athletic discus isn’t designed for point accuracy; combat stats are as for a fighting version (p. 77), but Acc is 0.
Fire-driven noisemakers date to the second century B.C. (some woods, like bamboo, have pockets of air and sap that explode if heated), but real fireworks originated around the 10th century A.D., in China. Knowledge of fireworks spread along with gunpowder, reaching Europe by the later Crusades (see Black Powder, LT pp. 85-87). Static displays, involving figurative frames covered with fireworks, became popular in the West, while noisemaking capabilities were particularly prized in the East. Continuous linked fuses weren’t developed until TL5; TL3-4 fireworks were lit individually or in tight clusters by artisans wearing damp clothes or layers of fresh green leaves for protection from sparks.
By late TL3, most fireworks fell into four categories:
Fountain (TL3). A slow-burning powder in a tube that’s open at one end, producing a fountain of flame and sparks for 1-2 minutes. Does 1 point of burning damage per second to anyone holding it, but can be used as a jet (Range 3), likewise doing 1 point of burning damage per second to its target. $40, 1.5 lbs.
Ground Rat (TL3). A faster-burning powder in an open-ended tube. Essentially an underpowered rocket, the ground rat skimmed unpredictably over the ground for 20- 30 seconds. If held, damage is as for a fountain. $5, 0.1 lb.
Noisemaker (TL3). Gunpowder in an enclosed paper tube. Explodes with a loud noise, doing 1d-3 burning damage if in direct contact with someone when it goes off. $1, 0.05 lb.
Rocket (TL3). A development of the ground rat producing enough thrust to get off the ground. Rockets have a range of up to 75 yards, but are unguided; use Gunner (Rockets) at -5 (maximum skill 9) to hit anything; see Rockets (p. 87). $10, 0.5 lb. Exploding rockets (TL4) have a separate compartment that blows up when the rocket reaches its height (1d cr ex, if anything fragile is in the vicinity). $20, 1 lb.