Single Comment

There are many types of mental endeavors which can help people exercise
their minds, sharpen their acuity or even, enhance their intelligence
slightly-to-moderately over time.  I would not assess playing board games
as being of greater importance than many other, unrelated (or seemingly
so) ways.  However, game-playing is ideal for this purpose due to the
great number of events which can be simulated and learned from via
feedback within a brief time without risking harm to one's self or others
in any non-trivial way (unless gambling is involved).  At a cursory 
glance, people generally classify games as trivial pursuits.  Maybe so. 
Yet game theory is the most instructive branch of mathematics applicable
to areas of life generally agreed to be far more effectual and important
than mere parlor games.

Economics, business, political science, revolutionary theory, military
science, legal theory, legislation, police science, terrorist behavior,
criminal behavior, social behavior, etc can all be learned from, to some
extent, from the perspective of game theory.  Essentially, game theory
offers some valuable holistic insights with predictive, empowering or
controlling potential into many of the possible resourceful, rational
decisions and moves by governments, corporations and individuals designed
to maximize rewards and minimize losses or risks.  Of course, the
complexity intrinsic to these non-scientific subjects, which do not allow
some important variables to be isolated or treated mathematically, gives
rise to many errors and limitations.  Nonetheless, a wide range of 
seemingly-unrelated subjects which involve utilitarian behavior and its
various methods of calculation can be approached with some fruitfulness by
this mathematical science with interdisciplinary value.

The reason I do not consider chess variants trivial lies in my
marginally-tenable theory, ideal or notion that perfect game(s) truly
exist within the infinite universe of possibilities.  Moreover, I am
confident that our efforts to discover or invent perfect game(s) can and
eventually, will succeed (if they have not already).  Furthermore, I would
classify any perfect game created as a perfect model and in turn, value any
perfect model very highly instead of trivially as an educational tool which
could possibly be catalytic to rapid and/or deep human learning to the
greatest extent.  In turn, this extraordinary tool for human learning
could have an unprecedented, high positive transfer to other important
subjects of study effecting humanity which are also approachable from game
theory- the limiting factors involving levels of emergence and mental
adaptivity where crossing distinct subject matters.