Games are an important form of ancillary worldbuilding. They create verisimilitude by showing that characters do play games, but can also create a fundamental alien-ness. Think of the Dejarik from Star Wars or the 3D chess from Star Trek.

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For today’s worldbuilding exercise, let’s look at something that is at once universal and distinctive. Everyone eats food. At the same time, eating unfamiliar food can be a very alien experience. Food is a big part of cultural and geographic identity. Real life cuisine has countless gradations and variations. The ingredients and resources available give each real life culture a distinct history and evolution.

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