PUBLISHEDFebruary 24, 2025

IFLScience We Have Questions: Why Do Humans Play Games?

From hopscotch to Harvest Moon, we really do love games.

Rachael Funnell

Senior Science Writer

Rachael has a degree in Zoology from the University of Southampton, and specializes in animal behavior, evolution, palaeontology, and the environment.View full profile

Rachael has a degree in Zoology from the University of Southampton, and specializes in animal behavior, evolution, palaeontology, and the environment.

View full profile

Episode 6 of IFLScience We Have Questions — Episode 6 of We Have Questions.
Image credit: Milagli/Sensvector/Tartila/Shutterstock.com; modified by IFLScience

Stick two humans in an enclosed space with nothing to do, and before long, someone is likely to suggest a game of I Spy. Kids are so hot for smartphone games that it inspired its own meme format, and while certain generations might like to tell you this compulsion is a new thing – the fact is, humans have been playing games for thousands of years.

It’s believed that gaming actually predates language, begging the question: why do humans play games? We spoke to Kelly Clancy, a neuroscientist and author of Playing With Reality: How Games Shape Our World, to find out.

You can listen to this episode and subscribe to the podcast on all your favorite podcast apps: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, Amazon Music, and more.

This interview first appeared in Issue 25 of our digital magazine CURIOUS.