# Why Do Humans Play Games? Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/iflscience-we-have-questions-7025311/why-do-humans-play-games Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/iflscience-we-have-questions-7025311/why-do-humans-play-games.md Podcast: [IFLScience - We Have Questions](https://stenobird.com/podcast/iflscience-we-have-questions-7025311) Published: 2025-02-24T10:25:21+00:00 Episode link: https://iflsciencewehavequestions.podbean.com/e/why-do-humans-play-games/ Audio file: https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/bd94zgyrsg8adn5n/WHQ-Games_v2.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/iflscience-we-have-questions-7025311/episodes/why-do-humans-play-games Duration seconds: 2305 ## Resource 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. ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/iflscience-we-have-questions-7025311/episodes/why-do-humans-play-games/transcription-requests` β€” Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/iflscience-we-have-questions-7025311/why-do-humans-play-games.md` β€” Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.