 The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor is one of the most known events of the Second World War. What most people do not know, though, is that one of the main reasons for its success was that it was first played as a board game. Yes, the Japanese forces had prepared the attack by playing various scenarios of it as war games, over and over again, in a period of at least 14 years. We usually associate games with entertainment, but games have been used in various periods to serve serious purposes. We have countless examples for that. To start with modern times, Monopoly is an ideal introduction to capitalism and real estate activities. In the deeper past, the popular board game Snakes and Ladders was used for over a millennium to introduce children to the doctrine of reincarnation. Chess was played for centuries with only male pieces, without a queen. And when later the queen entered the game, it became in just a few decades the most powerful piece on the board. Was this related to changes in the social and political role and position of women in medieval times? And what do the figures of card games, as for example the tarot cards, reveal about the sociocultural trends of the societies that produced them? Games we all have played were used in the past to support political ideas and practices, to spread social principles and economic values, to introduce to cultural ideals and even to teach metaphysical doctrine. And it's because exactly of these uses that games are excellent historical sources. The course Games of History approaches games as sources to better understand the past. Let us study history from an alternative perspective as a fascinating game with very serious consequences, a game which is never over. So join me, the game is on.