ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses games as valuable sources of social history and agents of social interaction, particularly in the field of micro-history. After an introductory discussion of the social function of games, the author turns to the study of games and gaming as agents of socialization, i.e. as tools indirectly teaching the player how to behave in a way accepted by the society s/he belongs to, and also as arenas of mixing socially with others. There follows a discussion of games and gaming as mirrors of social equality and inequality. Finally, games and gaming are approached as witnesses of ideas and practices related to gendered identity. More often than not, games are gendered arenas, where stereotypes are transported over time. The author presents some of these stereotypes, related to both femininity and masculinity. He proposes that the historian should not consider games and gaming only as mirrors of sociocultural values, principles and priorities of past societies, but also as agents that influenced, directly or not, the function of these societies in the past.
