Anendurance game is agame where the object is to last as long as possible under some sort of stress. The stress might bephysical pain, fear, social embarrassment or any other negative sensation.
The important distinguishing feature of endurance games is that the object is to outlast one's opponents, rather than outdo them in any test of skill. Endurance games are common in schoolyards, as they provide a way for children to establish a pecking-order based on toughness. They are also a feature ofhazing rituals in institutions where hazing is common.
One playing an endurance game grants consent to other players' possible harm to oneself. One child justified hurting others during games which require one to do so, saying, "If they know the game then they know what's going to happen."[1]
Among the Inuit, endurance games, "stress the body and test the limits of the individual's psychological and physical endurance," thereby helping, along with other games, to, "prepare children for the rigors of the arctic environment by stressing hand-eye coordination, problem solving, and physical strength and endurance."[2]
There have been a number ofgame shows orreality shows which have included tests of endurance. This style of game show was pioneered in Japan such asZa Gaman — "The Endurance" — and there are now several British and American shows which test the contestants in this way.
InNever Say Never Again, James Bond is successful in defeating Maximillian Largo at an electric shock arcade game,Domination, similar to Shocking Duel, so he can pass word to Largo's mistress Domino Petachi that her brother Jack was murdered.
Notes
Citations
Sources
Media related toEndurance sports at Wikimedia Commons