Physical Games and Sports:
1. Jousting: This was a popular sport among knights, where they charged at each other on horses, aiming to unseat their opponents with lances.
2. Sword Fighting: Medieval knights and men-at-arms practiced swordsmanship as a form of training and self-defense.
3. Archery: Archery was a crucial skill for hunting and warfare. People practiced target practice and participated in archery competitions.
4. Handball: An early version of handball was played, involving hitting a ball with the hand and passing it between players.
5. Wrestling: Medieval peasants and nobles participated in wrestling matches as a form of recreation.
Board Games:
1. Chess: Chess was a common game played by both nobles and commoners. It involved strategic planning and required mental prowess.
2. Backgammon: Backgammon, a board game involving dice-rolling and moving pieces on a board, was popular in taverns and among travelers.
3. Nine Men's Morris: This was a medieval strategy game played on a board with nine spaces, using pegs or markers to capture opponent's pieces.
4. Fox and Geese: A game similar to checkers, involving capturing opponent's pieces on a checkered board.
Card Games:
1. Tarot Cards: Tarot cards were used not only for fortune-telling but also for card games such as Tarocchini, a trick-taking game.
Other Pastimes:
1. Dancing: Dancing was a common form of entertainment, both in courtly settings and among common people during festivals.
2. Music: Musicians performed in courts, at taverns, and during celebrations, playing instruments like lutes, harps, and drums.
3. Storytelling: Professional storytellers, known as troubadours or minstrels, traveled from town to town entertaining people with tales of adventure, romance, and legends.
4. Feasts and Banquets: Feasting and banquets were not only social events but also provided an opportunity for games, dancing, and performances.
These are just a few examples of the diverse range of games and pastimes that people enjoyed during the medieval period.