2008 Summer Journey

Frederic J. Brown / AFP / Getty

Games People Play

Who invented chess? Why is polo big in Pakistan? From the ancient city of Ur to modern Africa, from Cornwall to Korea, how sports and games have changed our world More »

Games We Play

Who invented chess? Why is polo played in Pakistan? From Cornwall to Korea, how sports and games have changed our world More »
Hong Kong Parkour

Meet Hong Kong's own practicioners of parkour, and watch them demonstrate how it's done More »
India's Passion for Cricket

Once the pastime of its colonizers, India has made a traditional British game its own — and become its most avid and powerful player More »
Cameroon's Football Fever

TIME's Vivienne Walt travels to Cameroon, where young footballers dream a recruiter will spot them and lift them—and their families—out of poverty
Photographs for TIME by Anna Kari / Documentography More »
China's Hoop Dreams

Thanks to the international success of players like Yao Ming, street basketball is a phenomenon in urban China
Photographs for TIME by Daniele Dainelli / Contrasto More »
Boxing Out of Poverty and Prison in Thailand

For some, boxing has become a hard-won ticket out of a life of crime in Thailand
Photographs for TIME by Philip Blenkinsop/NOOR More »
Future Sport

Don't call them dweebs. In South Korea, computer-game players are serious athletes driving a sport that is reaching big-money sponsors and millions of spectators worldwide
Photographs for TIME by Kemal Jufri / Imaji More »
Parkour: An Urban Adventure

Part gymnastics, part Tai Chi, parkour brings thrills and discipline to enthusiasts
Photographs for TIME by Philippe Dudouit More »
China's Olympic Ambitions

TIME's Hannah Beech travels to China's athletic training schools to witness the grueling grooming of the country's next generation of medal contenders
Photographs for TIME by Ian Teh More »