I have always thought that we play games like chess because the rules are known, whereas in life, although we may think we know the rules, we can never be sure.
I used to play a game in which you use a chessboard with 3 players. Two opponents sit opposite each other, with black and white pieces.A third person decides the rules, but does not tell the other two. The other two take turns trying to make moves, which the 3rd person can accept, reject, or alter. One example is that rooks cannot move backwards. This is the kind of thing that happens in life. A business makes money for years and years, and then “the paradigm” changes.
The reason kids (and adults too) like to play games is that after they replay them a few times, they are very predictable. Unlike real life.
There's a mix of unpredictability in there, or you'd always know who would win. ("On any given Sunday, any football team...")
Cheers!