Recreation in Eorzea?

[DentiusChestus]

You could always hit the pluto and somnus (don't.) I'm sure every region has a fairly diverse drinking culture. In real life, before things like prohibition and the industrialization of agriculture, most households brewed what was on hand. Drinking was probably more fun and varied.
Not to mention the widespread availability of moko grass! The crafting vendors sell it for an unbelievable 2 gil a stalk. Guess the city states haven't levied the recreational tax yet.

I'm sure there's a thread on drugs and recreational substances in the forum somewhere. They seem to have removed most references to smoking and such in the game, aside from the occasional drink and Tsuyu's pipe, most likely due to ESRB and PEGI concerns. Hilariously, the one pugilist quest where someone uses pluto to get a defense buff is STILL in the PEGI notes for FFXIV, even the Endwalker expansion specific ones. It's funny how you can tell whoever audited ARR way back started as a pugilist and caught that, and it just stayed in someone's .CSV file for every future installment.

If you want to use your imagination, I'm sure the guilds could give some insight onto what entertainment is available. Professional woodworkers and goldsmiths would be good candidates for making figurines, game boards and pieces, and puzzleboxes. There's that little playground in the Gridania woodworkers' yard. Simple bar diversions like darts and team games could also be viable.

Anyway... Seems most of the other canon diversions I could think of were already mentioned. Unless you want to come visit the Hrothgar bathhouse.

[Hycinthus]

Is there no worldwide accepted sport like Blitzball in FFX or Quidditch in HP? I think there should be. Maybe in next expansion.

[SannaR]

Sport? No. The only thing that everyone seems to play or at least has reached to all corners of the star and then some is Triple Triad.

[Cleretic]

• Ishgard has a local ball sport, mentioned like, once. Basically all we know is its name, and even that I don't know off the top of my head.

An important update, because I've found more information on this sport, and it's WAY better than I remembered. It turns out this is from a levequest!

The sport in question is spineball; it's essentially a very simple game like soccer, where players compete to get the ball into one of two baskets using only their feet. The catch: the ball in question is a spiky lake urchin. No alterations are done to make this more safe or aerodynamic.

Yes, this is absurdly stupid. That's part of its appeal, though; it's a sport devised by bored soldiers, watching people get hurt in a safe context is just another part of the fun.

Which means that, yes, Ishgard invented Jackass.

[SannaR]

An important update, because I've found more information on this sport, and it's WAY better than I remembered. It turns out this is from a levequest!

The sport in question is spineball; it's essentially a very simple game like soccer, where players compete to get the ball into one of two baskets using only their feet. The catch: the ball in question is a spiky lake urchin. No alterations are done to make this more safe or aerodynamic.

Yes, this is absurdly stupid. That's part of its appeal, though; it's a sport devised by bored soldiers, watching people get hurt in a safe context is just another part of the fun.

Which means that, yes, Ishgard invented Jackass.

I'm sorry but what? Why would you think playing something like soccer with a spikey hacky sack would be good fun? Was this before the war or during?

[Cleretic]

I'm sorry but what? Why would you think playing something like soccer with a spikey hacky sack would be good fun? Was this before the war or during?

It's a levequest, so we can reason at least during the war, probably also after.

I can't claim that the inventors of said sport were smart, and the person requesting the levequest certainly doesn't think they are either. I recommend reading some of the Heavensward levequests for that reason, it's a great mixture of windows into how the Temple Knights interact with the populace and their administration boggling vacantly at the insane requests handed down to them.