Just like the real world, the Avatar world has many types of games to keep themselves busy or prove their worth/skill. Here are some that have been seen on the show thus far.

Agni Kai

Traditional firebender duels in the Fire Nation, where firebenders can settle disputes or prove their worth. The arenas are gigantic; giving lots of room and space for the fighters to work with. Official arenas are built with stadium seats, while make-shift ones are not. Agni Kai duels are important, so they are open to viewing from officials, military, and even civilians. The Agni Kai seem to be held at important times of the day, like sunrise or at sunset. It begins with the sound of a gong, and ends only when one is left standing. Whether the loser lives or dies depends wholly on the victor. "Agni" is the name of the Hindu God of Fire and the word "Kai" is Japanese for "meeting". [thanks Cala!]

Airball

Unique to the Air Nomads, this elevated ball game is kind of like playing a hybrid of foosball and soccer on giant poles. ^^; The field is about the size of a basketball court and is filled with over 120 poles. As you can see in the close up, the wooden poles are different heights and are not evenly placed. However they are all the same width, maybe 2ft, which is wide enough to stand on. They are probably around 20ft tall. The ball is about the size of a soccer ball. Possibly made out of lightweight wood, it is hollow and the sides are slotted for maximum air resistance and bouncy-ness. It spins sideways with the help of the airbending players, then the momentum keeps it going. The goal is pretty large, and there's one on both sides of the field. The center circle can spin, and 7 points are awarded when the ball goes through it. Using airbending to get the ball moving, it bounces between the poles as it makes its way towards the goal. Of course, there is a goal defender, and probably offensive players as well to gain control of the ball. The field is just too big for only two players.

Animal Riding

Penguin Sledding: Found in the South Pole; the penguins make great sleds and are willing to let you ride on their backs as long as you give 'em a fish first. And with the many snowy slopes and icy tunnels, it makes for a fun and exciting ride.

Elephant Koi Riding: Found in the Kyoshi Island bay, these gigantic koi are very friendly and don't mind taking on a passenger. Being able to hold your breath is a must, as is keeping an eye out for the Unagi, a monstrous-sized eel. If the koi gets eaten, it's taking you down with it.

Hang Gliding

Enhanced versions of the Airbender gliders, these new gliders were made for non-airbenders by an Earth Kingdom mechanist. The wingspan is longer and in the shape of a rectangle to help maintain lift. On the back of the glider under the tail wing is a leg 'hammock' for the pilot's feet. Teo's chair uses a glider that is similar to the Airbender's design. This glider connects to the footrest and top of his chair, and uses two levers for steering. Fancy glider tricks include sky writing, loops, and barrel rolls. However because they can't airbend, pipes outside of the Northern Air temple are constantly pumping hot air currents to keep the gliders afloat.

Omashu Super Slides

It's actually the delivery system inside the Earth Kingdom's City of Omashu -- containing miles and miles of tubes and chutes. But don't let that fool you; Young Bumi saw its potential and so will you. Technically it's not an official city sport (probably because of safety reasons), but even the King is known for riding them. It works like any other slide, except you ride inside these stone cargo carts. They can fit from two to four people, depending on the individual sizes. Collective weight is not a problem, if anything it'll help you go faster. The only thing you really need to watch out for are guards and other cargo. Especially cargo that's sharp and pointy.

Pai Sho

A large two-player strategy game that uses tiles as pieces. Each player is given a certain amount of tiles, and the objective is to... uh, win. ^^; I have no idea how this game works, but it sort of reminds me of Chess, maybe? Anyway, the large board is split into 8 sections, with white and orange squares in the center. Round tiles are used as pieces, and each of them has a different picture on them. Although it's kind of hard to see, some of the designs include flowers like lotus and chrysanthemum, ships, wheels and etc. Surely, each tile has a different meaning and strategic use. Too bad we haven't found out what it is, though. Monk Gyatso and Aang have also played this game, so it isn't secluded to the Fire Nation.

Redemption Ritual

An ancient Gan Jin tribe ritual in which someone carried the tribe's Sacred Orb from the Great Eastern gate to the Great Western gate. This trial represented the rising and setting of the sun. The journey itself looks like it took about a full day to reach from one gate to the other, possibly making the gates many miles apart. Interestingly enough, The Eastern gate is just outside the Gan Jin village, while the Western gate is outside of the Zhang village. Jin Wei, patriarch of the Gan Jin tribe, took this ritual over 100 years ago. However he couldn't complete it because he was attacked or fell down and Wei Jin, forefather of the Zhang tribe, was imprisoned for 20 years by the Gan Jin for "stealing the Sacred Orb" before he brought it back to them. Details differ by tribe, and a 100-year feud ensued between them because of this incident.

Redemption (game)

A reconstructed version of the Gan Jin tribe's Redemption ritual, Aang made this game up to solve/trick the Gan Jin and Zhang tribes into stopping their 100-year feud. This game explains what "really happened" to the tribes' founding patriarchs Jin Wei and Wei Jin on that fateful day... They were playing a game! The Sacred Orb was just a regular ball, and the Great Eastern and Western gates were the goal posts. Jin Wei was running with the ball when he fumbled it. Wei Jin picked it up and began running the other way, but went out of bounds. Because of that, he was put in a penalty box for two minutes (not twenty years). Game wise, this is your typical 'get the ball to the goal' game, except you can run with the ball and there are panda referees! ^-^ When you get the ball to the goal, everyone yells "Redemption!"

WindSurfing (Airbender style)

Using a piece of driftwood and his glider, Aang made a makeshift windsurf board in ep 3x01 to help him get to the Fire Nation. Aang holds the glider out in front him and uses it and shifts his weight on the board to direct where he's going, and uses Airbending to help keep his momentum. However unlike most windsurf boards, it looks like nothing is holding the glider to the driftwood except for Aang's sheer will power and excellent balance. Which makes it seem like the glider is acting less like a sail than an Airbending tool and counter-balance to Aang.

A Wooden Card Game

I don't know the name of this game or what real game it's based on. But, the cards are the size of hanafuda cards and it kinda looks like a solitaire type of game. On each of the card faces is one of the element bending symbols -- Airbending, Waterbending, Firebending, or Earthbending -- and in the upper right corner is a different element symbol. The Air card has a Fire symbol in the corner; the Fire card has an Earth symbol; the Earth card has a Water symbol; and the Water card has an Air symbol. Goes full circle. ^-^

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