About and method

The Encyclopedia of World Heritage Games is an atlas of the games, sports, instruments, crafts and dances that people around the world have made and kept. Each entry has a permanent ID so that links never break.

How we research

We start from published sources, community knowledge and freely licensed photographs, then write every description ourselves in plain language. Each entry lists where to read more. Dates are given only as broad eras, and we say "uncertain" whenever the origin of a tradition is disputed.

Content principles

• Respect first. Where a practice carries deep meaning for a community, we describe the play and the craft only.
• No religious teaching, symbols or ritual are presented as entertainment.
• Traditions that belong to specific communities are published only with the right cultural partners.
• Generic names, never trademarks.
• Animals are partners in some traditions; their welfare is always part of the story.

How to contribute

Know a game, a correction or a better photograph? Open an issue with the name, the country or community, and a link to a source. Photographs must be free to reuse, and we credit every photographer.

What you are seeing

The site currently publishes 1,147 entries. Many more are being researched; they appear here only when our own description is ready. Browse by era, cradle, country, type or A to Z.

Open data

All public fields are available as JSON and CSV.